#Circassian genocide

[1iiilac]

Circassian Genocide (4/4)

In October 1862, Yevdokimov ordered the de-population and mass-expulsion of all Circassians from Caucasus.

Russians troops with heavy artillery and other modern weaponry killed all the men, women and children, in a scene that a Circassian chronicler Shauket who had witnessed the events described as "a sea of blood". Describing his account of the mass-murder in the valley, Shauket outlined:

"men and women were slaughtered mercilessly and blood flowed in rivers, so that it was said that the 'bodies of the dead swam in a sea of blood'. Nevertheless, the Russians were not content with what they had done but sought to satisfy their instincts by making children targets for their cannon shells”

The last Circassian resistance, along with the coastal Abkhaz tribes of Pskhu, Akhtsipsou, Aibgo and Jigit were defeated and then killed en masse to the last man, woman and child, after which, on 21 May, Prince Mikhail Nikolayevich gathered the troops in a clearing in the area for a thanksgiving service. The Russian army began celebrating victory, as a military-religious parade was held, and 100 Circassian warriors were publicly mutilated in a public execution in order to establish authority. After this, the Russian army began increasing their efforts in raiding and burning Circassian villages, destroying fields to prevent return, cutting down trees, and driving the people to the Black Sea coast.

An unknown number of deportees perished during the process. Some died from epidemics among crowds of deportees both while awaiting departure and while languishing in their Ottoman Black Sea ports of arrival. Others perished when ships underway sank during storms or due to cases where profit-minded transporters overloaded their ships to maximize profit. To pay for the voyage, Circassians sometimes were forced to sell their cattle, belongings, or even themselves into slavery

In some cases as many as 1,800 refugees were packed into one ship, which would also carry livestock and household possessions. When the ships did not sink, such crowded environments proved suitable for the spread of diseases and dehydration, and when the ships arrived at their destinations, they contained only remnants of their original human cargo

Only a portion of those who had left the Circassian coast actually made it to Ottoman ports. Of the portion that made it to Ottoman shores, many more would die there soon after while they were quarantined on either beach, the vessels that had carried them, or in lazarettos, and many more died in makeshift accommodations or in the process of being transported a second time to their final destinations.

According to a census conducted in 1830, more than 4 million Circassians lived in their homeland in the Caucasus. Of these, between 1.5 and 2 million Circassians were killed in several massacres, military operations, and large-scale state terror perpetrated by the Russian imperial army during its extermination campaigns in Circassia Ottoman archives show nearly one million migrants entering their land from the Caucasus by 1879, with nearly half of them dying on the shores as a result of diseases.

Overall, calculations including those taking into account the Russian government's own archival figures as well as Ottoman figures have estimated a loss of 90%, 94% or 95–97% of the Circassian nation in the process. One of the biggest population changes came in the Circassian capital city of Sochi, which previously had a population of around 100,000, and according to Russian sources, was reduced to 98 after the events.

[enagismos]

there's nothing more or new to say about palestine and israel - obviously i support palestine and wish for it to be free - but i just noticed and realized two things:

israel is using the same fucking rhetoric russia does regarding bombing schools and hospitals in ukraine: "they are hiding in these buildings!!! these terrorists!!! they're using human shields!!! anyway we didn't even bomb them, they BOMBED THEMSELVES!!" fucking fascist behavior

a bitter realization hit me today that what's happening to palestinians today is what have happened to circassians 150 years ago. nobody gave a shit back then and we almost disappeared from the face of the earth. we can't let that happen again.

[d-dormant]

today, on 21st of may, we mourn and remember the victims of the caucasian war and of the circassian genocide.

in 1864, this day was marked by a military parade in honor of the victory in the battle of qbaada and the annexation of circassia by the russian empire.

i have a long twitter thread from last year where i gave a brief description of what happened, but mostly i tried to give a little insight into who my people are, to get the world to know what our culture is. it's in russian and i wonder if i should translate it.

[dougielombax]

Far too many people out there seem to think that mass deportation and ethnic cleansing is somehow perfectly normal stuff.

It’s ghastly!

This applies in all contexts btw. Whether it’s the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, the Sayfo (Assyrian genocide), the Circassian genocide, etc.

[russianreader]

Circassian Day of Mourning (May 21)

On the day of the end of the Russian-Caucasian war of 1763–1864, on the day of memory and sorrow of the Circassians, we publish another album-manifesto from Jrpjej. In addition to music, the album is accompanied by a pdf-zine with our reflection on Circassian songs of the 20th century and their relevance today “Sefitse” is a line from the song “Quedzoqo Tole Tsiku.” In the Adyghe language, “se”…

[awesome-casuallyfamouscollector]

May 21 marks the anniversary of the Circassian genocide and exile. As a result of the Russian empire's conquest of the Caucasus, up to 1.5 million Circassians were slaughtered or forced to flee. Since the 19th century, nothing has changed. The only choice given by the Russians to the conquered peoples is forced assimilation or genocide. Source: Defense of Ukraine

[nimbus-tatze]

remembrance day is coming up and all i wanna do is lay down in the grass by our river and listen to the kids play behind the hill and the elders chat under the shade of the wild pear trees.

[rihanabzakh]

«И никому не понять, что Черное море для нас красное..» 🖤

[2goldensnitches]

questions to make tankies angry: how exactly did Uyghur and Tibetan territory become Chinese/how did the Caucasus and Siberia become part of Russia

[thenuclearmallard]

Let's not forget Circassia

[1iiilac]

Circassian Genocide (3/4)

In 1833, Colonel Grigory Zass was appointed commander of a part of the Kuban Military Line with headquarters in the Batalpashinsk fortress. Zass advocated ruthless military methods predicated on this notion, including burning people alive, cutting off heads with show, burning populated villages to the ground, spreading epidemics on purpose, and mass rape of children. He kept a box under his bed with his collection of severed Circassian body parts

In August 1833, Zass led his first expedition into Circassian territory, with the goal being destroying as many villages and towns as possible. He attacked the Besleney region between November and December, destroying most villages, including the village of the double agent Aytech Qanoqo. He continued to exterminate the Circassian population between 1834 and 1835, particularly in the Abdzakh, Besleney, Shapsug, and Kabardian regions

Reportedly, Zass would pick random Circassian males from the towns he attacked and burn them alive as a form of entertainment. He did not stop at burning women; he also cut the pregnant women's bellies with a bayonet. He sent severed Circassian heads to friends in Berlin who were professors and used them to study anatomy. The Decembrist Nikolai Ivanovich Lorer said that Zass cleaned and boiled the flesh off the heads after storing them under his bed in his tent. He also had Circassian heads outside of his tent impaled on lances on a hill. Circassian men's corpses were decapitated by Russian-Cossack women on the battlefield after the battles were over for the heads to be sent to Zass for collection.

In 1842, Zass was removed from service due to his methods being deemed too cruel by St. Petersburg.

In 1837, some Circassian leaders offered the Russians a white peace, arguing that no more blood should be shed. In response to this offer, the Russian army under the command of General Yermolov burnt 36 Circassian villages.

Tsar Alexander II endorsed the plans to exterminate Circassians, and in June 1861 ordered the launch of a settler-colonial Russification and Christianization programme. Milyutin later had been appointed as the minister of war the same year, and from the early 1860s massacres and ethnic cleansing began occurring in the Caucasus.

Others among the Russian military class such as Rostislav Fadeyev characterized the Circassians as a "barbaric people", additionally expressing his view that they were incapable of being Russified. Fadeyev argued that a "re-education of a people is a centuries-long process" and claimed that Russia was at a pivotal moment in its history towards the total assimilation of the Caucasus region into the Russian empire

Sentiments for expulsion existed among prominent Russian politicians such as Prince Kochubei. Kochubei said to Americans visiting the region that "these Circassians are just like your American Indians – as untamable and uncivilized ... and, owning to their natural energy of character, extermination only would keep them quiet."

Russian officials began talks with the Ottomans about the migration of a limited number of emigrants, and in 1860 the two sides negotiated a treaty for the migration of 40,000–50,000 Circassians, with the Ottoman side being eager for an increase in population. However, Russia did not aim to limit the number of exilees to 50,000, as the plan was to exile the entire Circassian population…

[mapsontheweb]

Europe's attitude towards the Circassian Genocide

[dougielombax]

Alright.

Here’s an idea.

Stop distorting genocide into something it isn’t.

It isn’t some kind of inevitable natural disaster and it’s certainly NOT the fault of the victims! That is never true.

It is a crime!

An unforgivable crime!

To say otherwise and to try and deny it or brush it under the carpet is equally wrong!

Get in the bin with that shite!

[russianreader]

Ored Recordings: May 21st, Again (Abkhazian and Circassian Music from Turkey)

May 21st. Again. For several years now, almost every May 21st, we release a statement that speaks more clearly about memory, colonialism, defiance against repressive mechanisms, and resistance to assimilation. For the Circassians, this day is a day of mourning, marking the end of the Russo-Caucasian War in 1864, the loss of independence, and the mass expulsion from their historical…

[rhodey-rhudert-rhodes]

Wanted to make a post dunking on an idiot who seems to think using the word "genocide" for anything other than the holocaust is disgraceful, then took a look at Wikipedia for some fact checking and got too depressed and sad to do it

[nimbus-tatze]

dunno about other indigenous folks, but recently i've been talking to more of our adyghe youth and it became clear that many dont want outsiders to know all that much about us actually. We just want to connect amongst ourselves and it results in somewhat exclusionary behaviour (there is a whole conversation to be had about this actually, but that would be too much for this post). I mentioned this video a youtube history channel made about us and it was met with :/ faces.

Makes me curious about how the youth of other indigenous people view stuff like that.