Saturday, February 2, 2019
Circassians Seek International Recognition as an Expelled People
Paul Goble
Staunton, February 2 – More than five million Circassians live outside of the Russian Federation, the result of the tsarist genocide in which their ancestors were expelled in 1864. Only about 750,000 Circassians still live in the North Caucasus, and fewer than 4,000 Circassians have been allowed to return to their homeland by Russian officials.
Now, Russian officials are seeking to deport some of those Moscow earlier allowed to return, on what appear to be trumped up charges that are to be held in closed courts because, officials say, state secrets are involved, and that almost certainly are intended to send a message that no more Circassians should bother applying. Read more
