#circassia

this is, if i have the executive function, going to be part of a series of posts about the circassian day of mourning. for now, let's start with the resources. All are English-language, unless otherwise noted. I have not individually vetted each of these; they may be somewhat inaccurate.

As a very short summary: every May 21 is the day of mourning for the dead and displaced of the Circassian genocide/Tsitsekun. In that genocide, perpetrated by the Russian empire in the mid-to-late 1800s against the indigenous Circassian people, 90-95 percent of the Circassian population was killed or fled as refugees. They also destroyed the independent country of Circassia. Some tribes were completely destroyed, with not a single member surviving. It was devastating. Today, Circassians predominantly live in Turkey, with some remaining in Russia and a large diaspora in other countries.

Websites

Learncircassian.com

Center for Circassian Studies

Circassianworld.com might be down on the main page at least. If so, try this mirror

Circassianworld.blogspot.com

Txyde: the visual memory of the Circassian people

Circassian voices blogspot

Justice for North Caucasus dot info (Yeah, I know a lot of these are dubious, don't worry, we'll get to more scholarly sources).

Articles/webpages

The Circassians - A Forgotten Genocide? PDF, ten pages.

It gained some attention due to the Sochi Olympics, as Sochi [look up Sci-Hub] is Circassian.

Discussion of Israeli Circassians, and a scholarly paper thereon

Circassians and the Politics of Genocide Recognition, PDF

The North Caucasus: Russia's Long Struggle to Subdue the Circassians, pdf, ninety-some pages

45-page account of Circassian literature

Reflections on the Caucasus, 36 pages

An overview of Circassia from the nineties

A brief History of Kabarda, 52 pages

The Birth of Modern Circassian Nationalism

Circassian re-immigration to the caucasus

Welcome, Not Welcome: The North Caucasian Diaspora’s Attempted Return to Russia since the 1960s, 26 pages

Books

The Circassian Genocide, Walter Richmond, 229 pages as a PDF, seems to be the scholarly work on the subject. Highly recommended.

A 796-page history in documents, as a PDF, of the Circassian genocide: https://www.adiga.com/assets/English.pdf

The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus, 1908 book by a British. Treat it with appropriate caution. The pdf is 599 pages.

Journals of a Residence in Circassia from 1837-39, two volumes, old and British-sounding author.

Life of Schamyl and Narrative of the Circassian war of Independence, 1800s, presumably non-Circassian author

From Tsar to Cheka, seemingly after the Circassian genocide but also seemingly by a Circassian

The Circassians: a Handbook (Anna's Archive)

The Circassians of Turkey (Anna's Archive)

Let Our Fame Be Great: Journeys Among the Defiant Peoples of the Caucasus, Anna's Archive

Empire of Refugees: North Caucasian Muslims and the Late Ottoman State, at Anna's Archive: pdf, epub

Bitter Choices: Loyalty and Betrayal in the Russian Conquest of the North Caucasus, Anna's Archive

198 page PDF bibliography