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
