Konstantin Hagondokov in emigration in France: between Russia and the Caucasus

Abstract

The aim of this article is to study fate of the General of the Russian Army Konstantin Nikolaevich Hagondokov (1871–1958) in emigration. He came to France after the October Revolution and the events in 1917–1919. This study is based on archival materials from France and Russia. The fate of the Russian military from Caucase in emigration after 1919, who made excellent careers in Russia before the 1917 revolution, has not yet been the subject of research by Russian and foreign Caucasian scholars. Meanwhile, such persons were in emigration in very difficult situation. On the one hand, they had the Russian identity and the imperial views on the state and society. On the other hand, they had the Caucasian roots, partly the Caucasian identity. The author of this article studies the everyday life of the Hagondokov family, the national identity of the general and the members of his family, social and political activities, the views by K.N. Hagondokov, his participation in Russian masonic lodges in France. General Hagondokov took part in the North Caucasian nationalist organizations (as a rule the leader of these organizations) and in Russian organizations, in particular, in masonic lodges. The author comes to the conclusion that Hagondokov had his own political interest and his own clear political line.