On May 21, in honor of the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Caucasian War, Circassian activists held a traditional procession to the Tree of Life monument in Nalchik. This year’s action was spontaneous - the authorities, under a formal pretext, refused to sanction the place and time of the procession.
The Day of Remembrance and Mourning for the victims of the Caucasian War is celebrated by the Abkhaz-Adyghe peoples on the anniversary of its end on May 21, 1864.
it is dedicated to the Muhajirs - Muslim emigrants who moved from Russia to the Ottoman Empire after the war. Many of them drowned while crossing the Black Sea to Turkey. As a result of mass deportation, Circassians found themselves scattered throughout the Middle East and the Balkans. The tradition of honoring the memory of those who died and lost their homeland arose in different countries where there are Circassian diasporas.
In three Russian republics - Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia - May 21 is officially declared a non-working day, but in recent years the authorities have been reluctant to authorize commemorative events. At first this was due to Covid restrictions, then with a general attack on freedom of meetings and the activities of national public organizations.
This year, the authorities of Kabardino-Balkaria banned events in memory of the victims of the Caucasian War. According to the Chairman of the Coordination Council of Adyghe Public Associations Aslan Beshto, the Minister of Nationalities Affairs of the republic justified his refusal by the fact that the organizer did not provide his passport when submitting the notification, the Caucasian Knot reports. Nevertheless, the march and rally in Nalchik took place without any incidents.
In the capital of Karachay-Cherkessia, Cherkessk, a rally and dua, a Muslim ritual of worship, were also held, which was also attended by officials from the government of the republic.
The memory of the victims of the Caucasian War was also honored in Georgia. A horse procession was organized in Sukhumi. Riders with torches rode to the monument to the Muhajirs. In the village of Anaklia, on the initiative of the Circassian Cultural Center, a meeting was held at the memorial to the victims of the Circassian genocide. Representatives of the diaspora from the North Caucasus, Turkey, and Jordan took part in it.