Diaspora

Sunday, May 28, 2023

Far More Circassians Abroad Want to Return to their North Caucasus Homeland than have Applied to Do So, Expert Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 22 – Moscow’s increasingly restrictive approach to those its own laws declare to be compatriots but who do not speak Russian means that the share of the 3.5 million Circassians living in exile in Turkey who have applied to return is far smaller than the actual number who would like to go back, Umit Dincher says.

            The president of the Federation of Caucasian Associations of Turkey says that is highlighted by what has happened since last winter’s destructive earthquakes hit that country. Many Circassians were near ground zero of that disaster, hoped to leave but recognized that going to Russia was no longer a real option given Moscow’s policies. Read more →

Paul Goble’s 50 Windows on Eurasia / June 4, 2023

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International Conference to Mark the 105th Anniversary of the Formation of the Republic of the Union of the Peoples of the North Caucasus — the Mountain Peoples’ Republic

May 27, 2023

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Moscow Faces Increased Difficulties in Countering Circassian National Movement

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 20 Issue: 83

By: Paul Goble

May 23, 2023

May 21 marks the anniversary of the 1864 expulsion of the Circassians from their North Caucasus homeland after more than a century of resistance to Russian imperial expansion, an action most Circassians and many others consider an act of genocide. It is the most important day on the calendar as far as that nation is concerned and traditionally the moment at which tensions between the Circassians, on the one hand, and the Russian state, on the other, reach a fever pitch (see EDM, August 11, 2020; May 19, 2022; Kavkaz-uzel; Ekhokavkaza.com, May 19; Kavkaz.Realii, May 22). This year, as in the past, the Circassians recalled this tragedy and expressed hope that they will be able not only to gain international recognition of this “genocide” but also overcome the divisions the Russian state has imposed on them. This in turn would open the way for the return of many of the more than five million Circassians living in exile and the restoration of a single Circassian state in the North Caucasus. At the same time, the Russian state has sought to discredit and suppress this movement in every way. And some might be tempted to see this as a clash that will be repeated again and again with little change on either side. Read more →

The Duty of Putting the Record Straight

Adel Bashqawi

May 25, 2023

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Wednesday, May 17, 2023

US and Ukraine Promoting Separatism in Chechen, Circassian, Nogay, Kumyk and Ingush Areas, Amelina Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 12 – Yana Amelina, the coordinator of the Caucasus Geopolitical Club, a group of pro-Moscow experts in that region, says that today just like 40 years ago, the West is seeking to dismember the Russian state by promoting both ethnic separatism and regionalism, which she defines as separatism without an ethnic component. Read more →

15 May 2023, 23:08

Nalchik activists refused to hold events on Circassian Day of Mourning

The authorities of Kabardino-Balkaria have banned holding events in memory of the victims of the Caucasian War, threatening responsibility for violating the ban, reports Aslan Beshto, the chair of the “Coordinating Council of Adyg Public Associations”.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in 2022, the authorities of Kabardino-Balkaria refused to sanction a march in memory of the victims of the Caucasian War. Despite the ban, on May 21, a mourning meeting was held at the “Tree of Life” monument, and several dozen young people held a march in memory of the victims of the Caucasian War on the streets of Nalchik. The police drew up a report on the violation of public order against a horseman who took part in the march. Read more →