Attitude of Black-Sea highlanders to the Russian empire at the start of the First Word War

The article considers the reasons of showing the patriotic feelings to the Russian empire in 1914 by Black-sea highlanders (Circassians), who had been “subjugated" by the Russian Empire a half a century before that. It is concluded, that one of the factors was the policy of gradual incorporation of Circassians into the Russian society. The author considers estate land commissions, highlanders' verbal courts, liberation of peasant highlanders, education of highlanders as the argument proving the thesis.