Ethnic minorities in the southern territories of the country: problems of the formation of Laz in the conditions of the Soviet period (1918–1950s)
Authors:   Institute of Russian History RAS Moscow, Russia, Bugay Nikolay F. 
Published: March 2021

The proposed article, based on new archival documents identified in the archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, with the involvement of researchers in the history of ethnic minorities on the territory of the USSR, Russia, reveals the role and place of the Laz ethnic minority in the south within Abkhazia and Georgia. Laz, as an ethnic minority, have undergone all those difficulties of transformation, including negative ones. Destructive measures were taken against them by the Government of the USSR – forced resettlement, deportation. Mohamed Vanlishi, Laz by nationality, being a member of the government of the Adjarian ASSR, minister, writer, sent a letter to L. Be-ria, the content of which touched Beria's feelings. The Lazes were returned from the special resettlement to their own homes. This side of the life of the ethnic minority of Georgia – Laz was reflected in the documents of "Stalin's special folder" The publication mentions many of the current representatives of the Laz in different periods of the his-tory of Georgia and Abkhazia and ethnic minorities living on their territory. The life of the Laz was also influenced by the policy carried out in Georgia to implement the "crys-tallization of society", pursuing the formation of statehood with one ethnic community, one culture. Introduction. The development of the problem itself in the scientific works of the author and other researchers is briefly stated. This is also a kind of reaction to complaints from the Laz themselves that the history of the ethnic minority is not being paid enough attention to. Little is known in the historiography of the Laz and their leaders, who led various kinds of movements for freedom and justice, the solution of social problems in society, the involvement of the Laz in party and state building. The content of punitive measures taken against Laz is partially revealed, the reasons and possibilities to overcome the built system in relations between the state and society, ethnic minorities are shown. Methods. The content of the article is based on different research methods. First of all, the method of historicism, a sequential presentation of the series of events that charac-terize the content of historical events, their relationship with accompanying events. It is also important to use the prosopographic method of presenting material about the main political figure of the Laz, representatives of the highest authorities. By using the narrative method, the ethnic community of the Laz is more widely represented and its participation in solving many issues in national state policy, the interaction of the ethnic community itself in the system of interethnic ties. The use of the information method is of particular value for building up an event series. This method is also quite applicable to the analysis of national processes taking place in the region where the Laz live. In the presentation of the article, the method of comparative historical analysis was also ap-plied. Results. This article was based primarily on archival documents about the holes, identi-fied in the archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This allowed a broader charac-terization of the Laz as an ethnic minority. Along with the well-known materials, show the settlement of Laz in the territory of the regions of residence. The documents of the archive make it possible to reveal the role and place of the Section for the Study of the National Question created in the structure of the Communist Academy. The forms and methods of work in the Communist Academy in the study of the history of the national question and ethnic minorities have been clarified.