Balkars are a Turkic ethnic group in the North Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria.
Kumyks are a Turkic ethnic group living in Dagestan, Chechnya and North Ossetia. They are the largest Turkic people in the North Caucasus.
Sheikh Mansur was a Chechen military commander and Islamic leader who led an anti-Russian North Caucasian resistance, known as the Sheikh Mansur Movement. He was influential in the resistance against Catherine the Great's imperialist expansion into the Caucasus during the late 18th century. Sheikh Mansur is considered the first leader of the resistance in the North Caucasus against Russian imperialism. He remains a hero of the Chechen and North Caucasian peoples in general, and their struggle for independence.
The Russo-Circassian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Circassia, was the invasion of Circassia by Russia, starting in 1763 (O.S) with the Russian Empire assuming authority in Circassia, followed by the Circassian refusal, and ending 100 years, 10 months and 6 days later with the last army of Circassia defeated on 21 May 1864 (O.S), making it exhausting and casualty-heavy for both sides. The Russo-Circassian War was the longest war both Russia and Circassia have ever fought and the longest war in the Caucasus region.
The Battle of Aldy, also known as the Battle of the Sunzha River was a failed military expedition launched by the Russian Empire with the aim of capturing Sheikh Mansur, who, through his speeches and teachings had gained a wide following the North Caucasus, especially in his hometown Aldy. His teachings on Jihad ("Gazavat") and his idea of the unification of the North Caucasian tribes under a single Islamic state concerned the Russian administration, who, as a result, sent a 3,000 strong force under Nikolai de Pieri in order to capture him.
Terki fortress, Terka, or Terek was a Russian fortress in the Caucasus in the 16-18th centuries. It was originally erected at the mouth of the Sunzha river on the lands of the Tyumen Khanate, it was demolished several times, restored and transferred.
Kostek is a village (selo) in the Khasavyurt District of the Republic of Dagestan in Russia. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 4,551. It is the administrative center of the rural settlement of Kostekskogo.
The Battle of Gordali was one of the fiercest battles of the Caucasian War. The battle between the Separate Caucasian Corps of the Caucasian Army under the command of Colonel Baklanov and the Chechen troops under the leadership of Naibs Eski and Talkhig took place on August 11, 1852, near the village of Gurdali, located on the Michik River. The purpose of the campaign was to destroy the village of Gordali. The Russians managed to break into the village, but due to heavy losses Baklanov was forced to retreat.
Russian–Kumyk wars — a series of military conflicts between the Russian Tsardom and the Kumyk Tarki Shamkhalate and other Kumyk states and feudal possessions during the 16th–18th centuries. At the end of the 18th century, as well as during and after the Caucasian War, and throughout the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, conflicts continued in the form of uprisings in Shamkhalate, Northern Kumykia, Southern Kumykia, and in the form of anti-colonial protests of individual villages (societies). In the result of these wars and uprisings, some Kumyk areas and villages were destroyed several times over.
The Battle of Grigoriopolis, or the siege of Grigoriopolis was a 2 day long siege of the Grigoripolis Redoubt by Sheikh Mansur's forces which ultimately failed and forced the North Caucasians to retreat.
The siege of Kizlyar in August 1785 was the second and final attempt of Chechen forces and Kumyk allies led by Sheikh Mansur to capture the Kizlyar fortress.
The Battle of Chechen-Aul was an ambush conducted by Chechen rebels led by Aidemir Bardykhanov on the retreating Russian army led by Colonel Kokh on the 7th of July, 1732. It resulted in a major Chechen victory, the destruction of the Russian detachment, and the death of Khasbulat Bamatov, the senior Chechen prince. According to popular legends, the battle was the origin of the Chechen ethnonym.
The Murat Kuchukov Movement, also known as the 1708 Insurgency in Chechnya or the 1708 Insurgency in the North Caucasus, was caused by the oppressive policies of Russia towards the North Caucasian peoples as well as the teachings and propaganda of the Islamic preacher and military commander Murat Kuchukov, a Bashkir prince who had previously participated in the Bashkir rebellion of 1704–1711.
The Anapa campaign (1787) was a military expedition launched by the Russians to capture the fortress of Anapa. The Russians failed to capture the fort.
The Attack on Karginsk took place on 14 July 1785. Sheikh Mansur attacked Karginsk Redoubt with his army of North Caucasians before advancing on Kizlyar, which ended in a success for the former and his capture and looting of the redoubt. The attack was the first victory of Sheikh Mansur outside of Chechnya.
The Anapa campaign in 1788 was a military expedition launched by the Russians to capture the fortress of Anapa. The expedition ended in failure for the Russian army.
The Sheikh Mansur Movement, also known as the 1785–1791 Insurgency in the North Caucasus, was a major war between the Russian Empire and the North Caucasians, caused by the Chechen religious and military leader Sheikh Mansur, who opposed the Russian expansionist policies and wanted to unite the North Caucasians under one, single, Islamic state.
On January 16, 1788, Chechen fighters attempted to attack a plantation near Chervlyonnaya, spurred by Sheikh Mansur's letters urging them to attack Russian settlements. However, the Russian Empire repelled the attack.
The Battle of the Tokhtamysh River, also known as the Battle of the Abazinka River, was a major battle between the Ottoman forces and the North Caucasians with a Russian army led by Johann Hermann von Fersen. The battle ended in a major Russian victory and forced the Ottomans and North Caucasians to flee. The main commander of the combined army, Batal Hussein Pasha, was captured, however, according to some sources, Batal surrendered himself without a fight to the Russians and betrayed his army.
The siege of Anapa of 1788 was a major confrontation between the North Caucasians led by Sheikh Mansur and Turkish troops led by the commander of Anapa, Tatal-Bey, with a Russian force led by General Peter Tekeli. During the battle, the Russian army managed to force the Turks and North Caucasians into the fortress, after which they began besieging it. However, according to General Tekeli, the Russian army was not ready to storm Anapa yet, and if they managed to capture fortress, it would be difficult to hold. Thus, the Russian troops retreated from Anapa on October 15, 1788, and, except for minor skirmishes with Circassian mountaineers, the iege of Anapa was the last major battle of the campaign and the year 1788 as a whole.
Russian Empire 
Sheikh Mansur 
Dol Mudarov