Circassian Day of Mourning

The Circassian Day of Mourning (Adyghe: Шъыгъо-шӏэжъ маф, Russian: День памяти жертв Кавказской войны) or the Day of Mouning for the Victims of the Circassian Genocide (often censored in Russian media as Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Caucasus War) is mourned every year on 21 May in remembrance of the victims of the Russo-Circassian War and the subsequent Circassian genocide by members of the Circassian diaspora. The choice of the date is due to the fact that on 21 May 1864, General Pavel Grabbe held a military parade in the what is now Krasnaya Polyana in honor of the victory in the Battle of Qbaada.

A remembrance march of the Circassian diaspora in Turkey.
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Background

From 1763 to 1864 the Circassians fought against the Russians in the Russian-Circassian War. During the war, Russian Empire employed a genocidal strategy of massacring Circassian civilians. Only a small percentage who accepted Russification and resettlement within the Russian Empire were completely spared. The remaining Circassian population who refused were variously dispersed or killed en masse.[1] Circassian villages would be located and burnt, systematically starved, or their entire population massacred.[2] Leo Tolstoy reports that Russian soldiers would attack village houses at night.[3] Sir Pelgrave, a British diplomat who witnessed the events, adds that "their only crime was not being Russian."[4]

A mass deportation was launched against the surviving population before the end of the war in 1864 and it was mostly completed by 1867.[5] Some died from epidemics or starvation among the crowds of deportees and were reportedly eaten by dogs after their death.[6] Others died when the ships underway sank during storms.[7] Calculations, including taking into account the Russian government's own archival figures, have estimated a loss of 80–97%[6][8][9][10] of the Circassian population in the process. The displaced people were settled primarily to the Ottoman Empire.[11]

In 1914, Nicholas II celebrated the 50th anniversary of the defeat of the Circassians, describing it as one of the empire's greatest victories. Boris Yeltsin acknowledged in 1996 when signing a peace treaty with Chechnya during the First Chechen War that the war was a tragedy whose responsibility lies with Russia.

Holiday

In 1990, the Circassians designated 21 May as the Day of Mourning for their people, on which they commemorate the tragedy of the nation. It is memorable and non-working day in the three republics of the Russian Federation[12] (Adygea,[13] Kabardino-Balkaria[14] and Karachay-Cherkessia[15]) as well as In the Circassian villages of the Krasnodar Krai. The government of the partially recognized Republic of Abkhazia also mourns the day of mourning on May 21[16] (until 2011, it was mourned on May 31).

The day is also widely mourned with rallies and processions in countries with a large Circassian diaspora, such as Turkey, Germany, United States, Jordan and other countries of the Middle East.

See also

References
  1. King, Charles. The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus. p. 95.
  2. Richmond, Walter (9 April 2013). The Circassian Genocide. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-6069-4.
  3. "Çerkesler'in Kesilen Başlarını Berlin'e Göndermişler". Haberler (in Turkish). 29 April 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  4. Grassi, Fabio L. (2018). A new homeland: The Massacre of The Circassians, Their Exodus To The Ottoman Empire and Their Place In Modern Turkey. Aydin University International. ISBN 9781642261349.
  5. Kazemzadeh, Firuz (1974). "Russian penetration of the Caucasus". In Hunczak, Taras (ed.). Russian Imperialism from Ivan the Great to the revolution. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-0737-8.
  6. Grassi, Fabio L. (2018). A new homeland: The Massacre of The Circassians, Their Exodus To The Ottoman Empire and Their Place In Modern Turkey. Aydin University International. ISBN 9781642261349.
  7. King, 2007
  8. Richmond, Walter (9 April 2013). The Circassian Genocide. Rutgers University Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-8135-6069-4. If we assume that Berzhe's middle figure of 50,000 was close to the number who survived to settle in the lowlands, then between 95 percent and 97 percent of all Circassians were killed outright, died during Evdokimov's campaign, or were deported.
  9. Rosser-Owen, Sarah A.S. Isla. The First 'Circassian Exodus' to the Ottoman Empire (1858–1867), and the Ottoman Response, Based on the Accounts of Contemporary British Observers (Thesis). p. 16. with one estimate showing that the indigenous population of the entire north-western Caucasus was reduced by a massive 94 percent.
  10. Shenfield, Stephen. "The Circassians: A Forgotten Genocide?", in The Massacre in History, p. 154.
  11. Richmond, Walter (2013). The Circassian Genocide. Rutgers University Press. back cover. ISBN 978-0-8135-6069-4.
  12. "21 мая День памяти и скорби – Адыгея, Кабардино-Балкария, Карачаево-Черкесия".
  13. "О праздничных и памятных днях республики Адыгея".
  14. "Праздничные (нерабочие) и памятные дни по Кабардино-Балкарской Республике" (PDF).
  15. "Жители Карачаево-Черкесии почтили память жертв Кавказской войны".
  16. "День памяти махаджиров отмечается в Абхазии 21 мая".
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