It is common knovvledge that diversity is spice of life. No one candeny, however, that the same diversity can and does in a way encourage thecmergence of conflicting interests. If this is true, and I tend to believe that itis, the Caucasus must be one of the most conflict-prone areas in the world,since hardly anyvvhere else on the planet can one find a territory of acomparable size as heterogeneous in terms of language, religion and culture.1The Caucasus has över the centuries dravvn attention and attractedunremitıing interest of majör powers. Their encroachments and incessantmeddling, that often resulted in pitting peoples, tribes and feudal lords oneagainst the other, added to the locally generated vvoes, and by the 17th and18th centuries life in the area turned into a virtual nightmare. Invasions,forccd deportations, mass killings, devastating raids by the mountaintribesmen, abduetions, slave trade and looting became routine.