Narrative of the United Caucasus: Political or Historical Project?

Abstract

The paper deals with the problem of the narrative of united Caucasus
in the prism of interrelation of historical narrative and collective
memory. The idea of the Caucasian unity has been existed
for centuries. At different times it has got different content and
shape. The attempts of creation of the common Caucasian narrative
were blown a new breath in the post Soviet period, emerging
in different contents, although they were found to be unsuccessful.
The experience of the common past, preserved in the collective
memory, turned out to be unable to overcome existed grievances,
territorial pretenses and mutual allegations preserved by the same
memory. The offered analyses of the presented materials point to
the narrative of united Caucasus more as a political/ideological
myth, rather then a real project, based on a historical reality.