Circassian genocide

Circassian genocide
Part of the Russo-Circassian War
Painting depicting Circassians trying to evacuate their town in order to avoid Russian aggression
Circassian population remaining in Circassia after the genocide. After the genocide, only those forced into exile, hiding in marshes and caves, and, in rare cases, who could make agreements with the Russians, survived.
Native name	Ubykh: ЦӀыцӀэкӀун
Location	Circassia under Russian invasion
Date	1863–1878[1]
Target	Circassians and other Muslim peoples of the Caucasus
Attack type	Genocidal massacres, genocidal rape, deportation, torture, death march, ethnic cleansing
Deaths	Killed in Russian massacres: 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 deaths[2][3][4] Lives lost during death march and fleeing: 500,000 deaths[5][6]
Victims	Minimum 1,000,000–1,500,000 forced deportations and expulsions[7][8][9] (95–97% of the total Circassian population killed or expelled from the Caucasus)
Perpetrators	Russian Empire
Motive	Imperialism, Anti-Muslim sentiment, Russification, Christianization

The Circassian genocide,^[10][11] or Tsitsekun,^[a][b] was the Russian Empire's systematic mass murder, ethnic cleansing, and expulsion of 95–97%^[c][d] of the Circassian population, resulting in 1 to 1.5 million deaths^[15][e] during the final stages of the Russo-Circassian War.^[16][17][18] The peoples planned for extermination were mainly the Muslim Circassians, but other Muslim peoples of the Caucasus were also affected.^[17] Killing methods used by Russian forces during the genocide included impaling and tearing the bellies of pregnant women as means of intimidation of the Circassian population.^[16][19] Russian generals such as Grigory Zass described the Circassians as "subhuman filth", and glorified the mass murder of Circassian civilians,^[16][20][21] justified their use in scientific experiments,^[22] and allowed their soldiers to rape women.^[16]

The Genocide is considered to have had its first steps in the deportation and/or massacre of the Muslim Circassian population of the Russian Empire. The Muslim Circassians were deported to the Muslim Ottoman Empire. During the Russo-Circassian War, the 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.^[23] Circassian villages would be located and burnt, systematically starved, or their entire population massacred.^[24] Leo Tolstoy reported that Russian soldiers would attack village houses at night.^[25] William Palgrave, a British diplomat who witnessed the events, adds that "their only crime was not being Russian".^[26] In 1864, "A Petition from Circassian leaders to Her Majesty Queen Victoria" was signed by the Circassians requesting humanitarian aid from the British Empire.^[27][28][29] In the same year, mass deportation was launched against the surviving population before the end of the war in 1864 and it was mostly completed by 1867.^[30] Some died from epidemics or starvation among the crowds of deportees and were reportedly eaten by dogs after their death.^[26] Others died when the ships underway sank during storms.^[31]

The Circassian genocide was also the deadliest ethnic cleansing campaign of the 19th century.^[32] Calculations, including taking into account the Russian government's archival figures, have estimated a loss of 94–97%^[33][34][35] of the Circassian population, who were either mass murdered or forcibly expelled during the genocide. The displaced people were settled primarily in the Ottoman Empire.^[16] Most sources state that as many as 1 to 1.5 million Circassians were forced to flee in total, but only around half of them could make it to land.^[6][36] Ottoman archives show more than one million migrants entering their land from the Caucasus by 1879, with nearly half of them dying on the shores as a result of disease.^[5] If Ottoman archives are correct, it would make this the biggest genocide of the 19th century.^[37] In confirmation of Ottoman archives, Russian records documented only the presence of 106,798 Circassians in the region, following the events of the genocide. Other estimates by Russian historiographers are even lower, with figures ranging from 40,400 to 65,900.^[13] The Russian census of 1897 recorded 150,000 Circassians still remaining in the now-conquered region.^[38][39]

As of 2023^[update], Georgia is the only country to recognize the Circassian genocide.^[40] Russia actively denies the Circassian genocide,^[41][42][43] and classifies the events as a migration (Russian: Черкесское мухаджирство, lit. 'Circassian migrationism'). Some Russian nationalists in the Caucasus region continue to celebrate the day when the Circassian deportation was launched, 21 May (O.S), each year as a "holy conquest day". Circassians commemorate 21 May every year as the Circassian Day of Mourning commemorating the Circassian genocide.^[44] On 21 May, Circassians all over the world protest against the Russian government, especially in cities with large Circassian populations such as Kayseri and Amman, as well as other large cities such as Istanbul.^[45][46]

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