d Subtitle - NPS Publications - Naval Postgraduate School

in the Caucasus for centuries. The word murid means a
disciple in a mystical sect, in this case a sect in which
the disciples are initiated in the true Path (tarikat) to
wisdom by a holy man. What differed in the rise of Muridism
in this case was the leadership of a young murshid (head of
a sect) named Kazi Mulla. Mulla declared a holy war against
the Russians in Dagheston in 1827 and received widespread
support. In October 1832 General Velyaminore invaded Kazi
Mulla's territory and managed to largely pacify the area
and kill Mulla. Kazi Mulla was succeeded by Shamil, who
has been accorded by all historians of that area and period
as possessing a brilliant military ability, political know-
how and religious conviction. The problem of the official
government position on Shamil haunts the Soviet Union to this
day with frequent revision as to his historical status. 47
Shamil was elected Imam in 1834 and immediately set
about to reorganize the administration of his movement.
He divided his territory which at that time consisted of
most of Daghestan and Chechnya, into provinces and dis­
tricts, each of which was administered by a naib who was
both military commander and civic ruler. The naib was
assisted by a kadi or judge who was responsible for the
administration of religious law. The positions were
mutually exclusive and each was forbidden to interfere with
the other. In the case of any dispute the matter was referred
47Henze, P. B., "Unrewriting History-The Shamil Problem,"
Caucasian Review, 1958, p. 7-29.
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