by Tiago Ferreira Lopes, Expert of Strategic Outlook
There is a striking resemblance between the articles and position papers about Circassia, Circassian nationalism and Circassian political goals. The majority of the authors and of the experts usually spend half of the time elaborating about historical facts and usually only a few scarce lines are about new subjects and new dynamics related with the Circassians’ political agenda.
I will try to do it differently. Do not take me wrongly, I surely believe that knowing Circassian past history is quintessential. But I also believe that it is irrelevant to repeat the same facts over and over, instead of adding something new. In the years immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Circassians were not among the most pro-active ethnic groups towards autonomy or independence.
As Julietta Meskhidze reports, the Balkars began their autonomist movement at the 17th of November 1991 with the organization of the first Congress of the Balkar People. At the event Balkars “declared the national sovereignty of the Balkar people and approved the establishment of the Republic of Balkaria” (Meskhidze, 2008: 69). Astonishingly we notice that “the challenge of Balkar separatism finally overrode the barriers to a truly mass mobilization” (Derlugian, 2003: 210) from the (until then) low profiled Kabardians (Kabardians represent one of the most populous Circassian groups).