In Moscow, activists honour victims of Balkars' deportation

In Moscow, at an evening held in memory of the people who fell victim to the deportation of the Balkar people, Sulieta Kusova-Chukho, a culturologist and journalist, suggested restoring abandoned mountain auls (villages) to honour the memory of their ancestors. An attempt to re-build a pedestal for Stalin is alarming, and therefore there is a need to unite the victims of repression, said Ilyas Bogatyryov, the president of the Elbrusoid Foundation.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the day of March 8 marks the 74th anniversary of the deportation of Balkar people to Central Asia in 1944.

The Elbrusoid Foundation, an NGO to promote the development of Karachay-Balkar youth, held an evening in memory of the victims of repression. In the course of the event, Sulieta Kusova-Chukho reported about abandoned villages, from where the Balkar people were taken to the exile in 1944. The journalist invited the young people to restore those villages.

"By doing that, you will return the hearths to your ancestors, whose souls will rest in their homeland," Sulieta Kusova-Chukho said.

Aminat Djukkaeva and Yusuf Djappuev, who mastered the evening of memory, reminded the audience that the Balkar people were evicted in just two hours. At that time, most men fought on the fronts of World War II.

Ilyas Bogatyryov, the president of the Elbrusoid Foundation, has noted that the people should not forget about the events which took place 74 years ago.

According to him, almost throughout the whole Russia, there are attempts to put Stalin on a pedestal again, since "he is honoured as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army, who defeated Hitler and turned the Soviet Union into a state of great power."

Ilyas Bogatyryov believes those involved in the "creeping revival of the cult of Stalin" should be punished.