Karachay-Cherkessia celebrates the Day of the Return of the Karachay People to their Homeland
Today, Karachay-Cherkessia commemorates the 69th anniversary of the return of the Karachay people, deported by Joseph Stalin during the Soviet era. This momentous event occurred on May 3, 1957, when the first train carrying Karachays returning to their historical homeland arrived at the autonomous republic's railway station.
"This is the day of justice and the return home, which we have waited 14 long years for. This holiday reminds us of the strength of spirit of our ancestors," wrote Rashid Temrezov, head of the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic, on his Telegram channel.
The Karachays were the first people in the North Caucasus to be subjected to repression on such a scale. A similar fate subsequently befell the Chechens, Balkars, Ingush, and other ethnic groups. The mass expulsion of the Karachays began in 1943, with a total of 79,000 people deported. More than 43,000 of them did not survive the journey or died in exile in Central Asia.
In 1956, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union decided to restore national autonomy for the Kalmyk, Karachay, Balkar, Chechen, and Ingush peoples. In January 1957, a decree was signed re-establishing the unified Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Oblast, paving the way for the Karachays to return home.
