#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

I never knew about my circassian heritage because of how my mom was shamed for it by her half siblings (my grandma is circassian and my grandpa isn't) , even if I want to belong to the community it'll feel weird because most of them grew up with the food, the music, the dances, and then you have someone marching just wanting to be western.

Do you know how lucky you are?

Bashi-bazouks before a Gateway by Paul Joanowits