"Circassians are a very grateful people"

The author is a special correspondent for Kommersant Publishing House

Yesterday Georgia celebrated the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Caucasian War. In the small town of Anaklia in Western Georgia, not far from the Abkhaz border, representatives of the Georgian government and Circassian delegates from different countries unveiled a monument to the victims of the Caucasian War, threw red roses into the Black Sea and sang Circassian songs. The importance of this event, according to Circassian activists, lies in the fact that it took place on the shores of the Black Sea - where in the 19th century, after a long war in the Caucasus, hundreds of thousands of Circassians were waiting for ships that were supposed to take them to the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria , Romania.

“Days of Circassian Culture” was opened by an exhibition of archival documents that have been studied by scientists in the State Archives of Georgia over the past few years. These are mainly reports from officers of the tsarist army about the resettlement of Circassians from mountainous regions to the Black Sea coast. Where Anaklia is now located, in the 19th century there was a large port - from here the Circassians were supposed to sail to Turkey. The exhibition contains many reports on the number and names of ships and families leaving the shores of the Caucasus. According to historians, a large number of documents have been studied confirming how “hard life was for the Circassians on the shore waiting for ships” - “there was no food, no medicine, and from 12 to 40 people died from various diseases a day.”

The Circassian delegates honored the memory of their ancestors with a procession towards the sea - in national clothes and with green Circassian flags. Each of the participants in the procession threw a red rose into the sea, and the choir performed ancient Circassian songs.

And in the middle of the day, a monument was unveiled in the center of Anaklia - a sitting Circassian woman with her daughter and son. According to Georgian Minister for Diaspora Affairs Papuna Davitai, the monument “symbolizes grief, but also hope that one day the descendants of these children will return to their homeland.”

“What is happening here is very important for the Circassian people,” said the leader of the public Circassian movement “Khase” Ibragim Yaganov, who came from Nalchik, at the opening. “A people that does not know its history has no future.”

Another Circassian activist from Russia, Ruslan Kesh, told me that the entire Black Sea coast from Anapa to Poti was full of Circassians, and the fact that Georgia today on this coast “shared the pain of the Circassian people” is very important for the Circassians.

“But Yeltsin also at one time apologized to the victims of the Caucasian War,” I say. “What do you want from the Russian authorities?” “This is not just a historical fact,” explains Keshev, “not just pain about the past. The Circassians still have not returned to their homeland. Russia can open the way for them home, to their homeland, and this will end the problem. But Russia today does not want to solve this question. Either the authorities are afraid of the geopolitical Circassian factor, or of Islamization. But the Circassians are a very grateful people and a very law-abiding one. For a thousand years, the Circassians were Christians, then Muslims, but neither Christianity nor Islam. Islam did not defeat the traditional worldview of the Circassians; for them, their own customs and traditions remained more important. And in general, they are a very secular people. We even have this proverb: “You enter a religion and you leave it, but the nation remains.”

Another reason why Russia does not meet the Circassians halfway is Georgia’s interest in the Circassian issue. Back in 2010, the parliament of this country recognized the genocide of the Circassians by the Russian Empire - this event became a starting point for many Circassian organizations around the world. In Russia, it was called “an attempt to shake up the North Caucasus in retaliation for the recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.”

One of the leaders of the Republican Party of Georgia, David Berdzenishvili, believes that the Georgian authorities are trying to use the Circassian issue to settle scores with Russia and that this is a destructive step. “When history is turned into politics, it does not lead to good,” says D. Berdzenishvili.

On the other hand, there is an opinion that in fact Georgia is trying to resolve the conflict with Abkhazia in this way. That is why a monument to the victims of the Caucasian War was opened in Anaklia. As the governor of the region, Guram Misabishvili, stated, “it is fundamental that such an event is taking place on the edge of the occupied territory.”

Anaklia is a small settlement located a few kilometers from the border with Abkhazia, in which the government decided to build a modern resort. Today, on the seashore, practically from scratch, two modern hotels have been opened, an embankment is being built and a pedestrian bridge is already in operation, which connects Anaklia with the village of Ganmukhuri, located on the Georgian-Abkhaz border. By their actions in the region, the Georgian authorities, on the one hand, show Abkhazia that Georgia is developing, on the other hand, they seem to extend their hand towards Abkhazia. "Days of Circassian Culture" fit into this concept.

Abkhazians and Circassians belong to the same linguistic group and are considered closely related peoples, and in the 19th century they were equally affected by hostilities in the Caucasus and fled to Turkey and other countries. Like many Russian Circassians, Abkhazians today are convinced that the exodus of the Circassians from the Russian Empire was caused solely by violence on the part of the authorities. Georgia has already recognized the genocide of the Circassians by the Russian Empire, while Russia refuses to acknowledge this, citing historical documents indicating the voluntary desire of many Circassians to leave the Caucasus.

“Undoubtedly, many people voluntarily left this territory,” says Circassian activist Ruslan Kesh, “but the entire territory was cleared, their relatives died, and they had no choice. Imagine that the entire Krasnodar region at one moment suddenly voluntarily withdraws from their territory? This is impossible. According to official data, about half a million Circassians were sent by ship to Turkey. But many sources say that the official data is underestimated - and in fact, about a million Circassians left their land." Ruslan Kesh believes that the Georgian military were part of the Russian army just like the Germans, French, and Dutch, but “they carried out orders, and the Russian Empire bears responsibility for actions towards the Circassians.”

David Berdzenishvili, in turn, is convinced that the participation of Georgian units in the victory parade of the tsarist troops on Krasnaya Polyana in the 19th century deprives Georgia of the right to declare genocide of the Circassians. “The Georgian military took part in the aggressive campaigns of the Russian army, and this is a historical fact, there is nothing shameful in this for modern Georgia,” the politician believes. “History has no conscience, and in those days Georgia was on the road with Russia against Turkey, and the Caucasus was on the road with Turkey against Russia."

Another aspect of the problem is the participation of the Circassians in the Georgian-Abkhaz war of the early 90s, when the North Caucasian peoples supported the Abkhazians. In Georgia, a few years ago, there was a fierce debate about whether the country had the right to establish relations with the people who helped the Abkhazians in the war for independence. As a result, the contradictions were smoothed out, and now even such heroes of Abkhazia, who participated in the war with Georgia, as Ibragim Yaganov, come to Georgia for Circassian events. According to Ruslan Kesh, Georgia’s position on this issue is an example of how to negotiate. “If even Georgia managed to find a common language with the Circassians after what happened in the early 90s, then why shouldn’t Russia find it after what happened in the 19th century?”