On May 21, in honor of the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Caucasian War, Circassian activists held a traditional march to the Tree of Life monument in Nalchik. This year, the event was spontaneous – the authorities refused to sanction the place and time of the march under a formal pretext.

The Day of Remembrance and Sorrow 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, the Circassians were scattered throughout the Middle East and the Balkans. The tradition of honoring the memory of the dead and those who lost their homeland arose in various countries where there are Circassian diasporas.

In three Russian republics – Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia – May 21 has been officially declared a non-working day, but in recent years the authorities have been reluctant to authorize memorial events. At first, this was due to COVID restrictions, then to a general crackdown on freedom of assembly 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 of the republic justified his refusal by saying that the organizer did not provide his passport when submitting the notification, the “Caucasian Knot” reports. Nevertheless, the procession and rally in Nalchik took place without any incidents.

In the capital of Karachay-Cherkessia, Cherkessk, a rally and dua – a Muslim rite of worship – were also held, which was 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, a meeting was held at the memorial to the victims of the Circassian genocide at the initiative of the Circassian Cultural Center. Representatives of the diaspora from the North Caucasus, Turkey, and Jordan took part in it.