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Circassian Repatriation: Culture Stronger Than Politics
| Article
# : |
19541 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
11 / 1991 |
4,636 Words |
| Author
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John Colarusso
John Colarusso is professor in the departments of anthropology
and of modern languages and linguistics at McMaster University
in Hamilton, Ontario. He has studied the Circassians and
other Caucasian peoples for the past twenty years and has
advised various Circassians regarding their aspirations to
maintain their identity and return to their homeland. He was
made an honorary member of the Holland Cherkess Cultural
Society in 1991. |
Prior to the abortive Soviet coup of August 19, and the subsequent disintegration of communist rule, the forces of ethnic nationalism--forces that have dictated so much of the history and politics of this century--had irrevocably penetrated the once impermeable borders of the Soviet Union. Ethnic groups from the Baltics to the Ukraine to the Caucasus and across through central Asia, were demanding recognition, autonomy, or outright independence from Moscow's control. And, as this article goes to press, the Soviet empire has plunged into a complex process of devolution, the severity of which is compounded by the conflicting ethnic aspirations of the various nationalities within the union.
Ironically, the dynamics of disintegration recall the Marxist dogma that history is an irresistible machine: in this case, one breaking up the last great colonial empire. Whatever Mikhail Gorbachev's original visions and plans might have been, he ultimately found himself facing forces that, once unleashed, could not be contained. Indeed, as the Soviet Union fragments, it becomes evident that the focus of twenty-first-century politics may well consist of efforts to avoid or resolve resulting conflicts that could span most of Eurasia.
However, there was--and is--one large ethnic group, the Circassians, that actively seeks repatriation to the Soviet Union rather than escape from it. Long estranged from their homeland in the Soviet Caucasus region, the Circassian people have been scattered in a worldwide diaspora. And even before the Soviet collapse, many Circassians had been planning an organized, large-scale return. To appreciate how remarkable this prospect is, one must know who the Circassians are and how they were driven from their homes.
Regional and Circassian history
Remote and obscure, the Caucasus Mountains extend between the Black and Caspian Seas. Home to roughly forty indigenous groups, they have also provided permanent refuge to various Turkic tribes and Alanic and Sarmatian bands. Of the indigenous peoples only the Georgians, located in the south, were well known to the outside world, at least before the apparent collapse of the USSR.
Northwest of the Georgians live their rivals, the Abkhazians. Further in this direction are the Abazas--close relatives of the Abkhaz--and then the Circassians (Kabardinians and Adygeans), who, with the Ubykh, form the northwest Caucasian language family. The Circassian homeland occupies territory in what
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