A rally organised by members of Circassian diaspora communities took place in Berlin on 24 October. Participants called for Circassians and their descendants to be granted the right to return to their historic homeland in the North Caucasus. The demonstrators gathered at the Brandenburg Gate, marched through the city streets and then headed to the Russian embassy.

Outside the embassy, participants called for a state programme to facilitate the return of Circassians to the Caucasus. In their view, it should provide for access to citizenship, assistance with finding employment and learning the language, as well as support with settling in their new homes.

The demands are rooted in the events of the Caucasian War. After the war ended in 1864, the Russian Empire forcibly expelled part of the Circassian population from their ancestral lands. According to some historical estimates, around one million people left the Caucasus. Many died of hunger and disease, including during the crossing of the Black Sea.

Circassian organisations and a number of researchers classify the mass expulsion and deaths of Circassians as genocide. The consequences of these events left a significant part of the people outside their historic homeland.

Today, Circassian communities live in Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Germany and other countries. “The descendants of an exiled people are demanding the right to return to the land of their ancestors,” the rally participants said.

For Circassian diaspora communities, returning to their historic homeland is not merely a national objective but also a matter of restoring historical justice. They are seeking the opportunity to visit their ancestral lands and resettle there permanently.

The organisers of the Berlin rally described it as a step towards the national revival of the Circassian people and their reunification in their historic homeland.