In Cherkessk, activists accuse authorities of ignoring memory of Holocaust victims

In Cherkessk, more than 30 people have gathered at the monument to Holocaust victims. The participants of the action have claimed the republic authorities silence down the history of extermination of Jews.

Many pages of the history of Jews in Northern Caucasus are silenced down. This opinion has been expressed by Max Belenky, a participant of the action, a former prisoner of the ghetto. He lives in Karachay-Cherkessia since 1964. "At present, residents do not know what gas cells were here in 1942. Nobody talks about the history and way of life of the Jews in Northern Caucasus. Yet in the years of the revolution, fighters of the White Guard killed Jews. In the Caucasus, Jews led a cultural way of life and were engaged in agriculture," Max Belenky told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The problem is that many officials do not know the history of their republic. And those people who are responsible for culture and education in our republic also do not know the history," said Rustam Djankezov, the secretary to the council of the regional branch of the Renaissance Party of Russia, who together with the chairman of the regional council of the party joined the action in Cherkessk on September 28. According to his version, the authorities do not pay attention to the place of mass execution in the capital of Karachay-Cherkessia. "At least on the site of the monument to Holocaust victims, the authorities could organize a kind of cleaning action, some kind of subbotnik. Officials from the authorities and public activists should take part in memorial events, and it is unacceptable to ignore those tragic events," concluded Rustam Djankezov.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.