Circassians Unite to Fight Amalgamation of Adygea and Krasnodar Krai
Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 17 Issue: 86
By: Paul Goble
June 16, 2020
Circassians both in their North Caucasus homeland and in the diaspora are uniting to oppose the possibility of the amalgamation of the Republic of Adygea with the surrounding Krasnodar Krai. Members of the community view such a step as an attack on their nation. Their worries were triggered both by the revival of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s campaign to unite smaller non-Russian republics with larger and predominantly ethnic-Russian-populated oblasts and krais as well as by an intemperate attack from Moscow on the very existence of republics and nations within the federation. Putin’s plan for Arkhangelsk Oblast and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is presently on hold, until at least next year; and following Circassian protests, the attack on republics and nations has been taken down from the online portal of the newspaper that carried it. Nevertheless, Circassians continue to worry that Adygea remains in Moscow’s crosshairs and are digging in to defend it (Echo Moskvy, May 28; Zapravakbr.ru, May 29). Read more
