The Circassians, one of the indigenous peoples of the Caucasus, resisted the territorial expansion of Tsarist Russia for nearly three centuries. That prolonged resistance came to an end on 21 May 1864, when Tsarist Russia launched what Circassian groups describe as a genocide against Circassian fighters and civilians, followed by mass deportations.

 

Hundreds of thousands of Circassians forced into exile towards Ottoman lands died while crossing the Black Sea. Many others who survived the journey later died from disease, particularly in the ports of Samsun and Trabzon.

 

Historical records indicate that nearly two million Circassians were expelled from the North Caucasus during the period. Those who remained faced assimilation policies targeting their language, culture and beliefs, as well as internal exile within Tsarist territories. The massacres and deportations are regarded by many Circassians as crimes against humanity that still await justice and recognition.

 

SYSTEMATIC ATTACKS AND OCCUPATION

 

Turgut Aydın said the conflict dated back to attacks launched by Tsar Ivan IV, known as Ivan the Terrible, against Circassian lands in 1556. However, he noted that historians generally regarded the construction of the Mozdok Fortress by Russia in 1763 as the beginning of systematic Russian expansion into the Caucasus.

 

Aydın stated that Russian forces intensified operations against western Caucasian peoples, including the Shapsugh, Abzeh, Ubykh and Abkhaz communities, after the capture of Imam Shamil in 1859.

 

“For Russia, 21 May 1864 marked victory. For the peoples of the Caucasus, it marked the beginning of genocide and exile,” he said.

 

‘IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE’

 

Aydın said Russia, Britain and the Ottoman Empire had agreed on the deportation of Circassians to Ottoman territories. He argued that the arrangement suited the Ottoman Empire, which sought experienced fighters after years of warfare.

 

Aydın said: “Circassians had spent centuries fighting Russia, and war was what they knew best. This represented a major opportunity for the Ottoman state.”

 

He said hundreds of thousands of people waiting in ports such as Tuapse, Sochi and Anapa were packed onto Ottoman ships “like fish in a barrel”.

 

ASSIMILATION AND FORCED SETTLEMENT

 

Aydın said around 1.5 million Circassians were deported by land and sea, with roughly half dying from hunger and disease during the journey. Those who survived were dispersed across Ottoman territory under a special settlement policy designed to weaken community ties and accelerate assimilation.

 

He also argued that Circassians were deliberately settled in regions where the Ottoman authorities sought to suppress local uprisings by minority groups.

 

‘COLONISED PEOPLES WERE DIVIDED AMONG POWERS’

 

Aydın said the events in the Caucasus could not be separated from the broader global context of the 18th and 19th centuries, which he described as the age of colonialism.

 

Aydın added: “Across the world, peoples resisted colonisation and were subjected to massacres, deportations and genocides. Colonial powers sometimes fought each other, but often reached agreements and divided peoples and territories among themselves.”

 

‘21 MAY IS A DAY OF SURVIVAL AND RESISTANCE’

 

Aydın said the scale of death and displacement remained deeply traumatic for Circassians. However, he stressed that 21 May should not only be seen as a day of mourning or revenge. “For Circassians, it is also a day of survival, solidarity, coexistence, resistance and rebirth,” he said.

 

He added that Circassian society had long struggled to organise effectively against assimilation and colonial policies, although there had been some recent gains regarding identity and mother-tongue education. Circassian and Abkhaz language courses are now offered as electives in some Turkish schools, while several universities have established departments dedicated to Caucasian and Circassian language and culture.

 

‘WE MUST TELL OUR STORY BETTER’

 

Stating that Circassian genocide and exile remained far less widely known internationally than the Holocaust or the Armenian genocide, “We were not able to explain ourselves sufficiently,” he said, calling for stronger international lobbying efforts and greater public awareness.

 

He said the ultimate aim was not to condemn the Russian people or present-day Russia, but to ensure that historical crimes against humanity were acknowledged so that similar atrocities would never again be committed against any people.

 

MA / Ibrahim Acikyer