08 February 2019, 08:33
Circassians offered to define single name of their nation
On the eve of the All-Russian Census, Circassian activists have announced a flash mob "#yacherkesAty?" (I'm a Circassian, and you?) with the aim to unite all the Circassians under the common international name "Circassians". Facebook users have supported the action order to exclude an artificial split of one nation during the census.
According to Shamsutdin Neguch, an activist of the "Adyge Khase" of Adygea, in order to support the action, a video with an appeal to the nation should be recorded with a justification of how important it is for all the Circassians to have a single name.
"From the viewpoint of the Russian legislation, our nation is split into four nationalities. The official list includes Circassians, Adygeis, Kabardians, and Shapsugs. We consider ourselves to be Adygs; and all over the world we are called Circassians," Mr Neguch has explained, adding that if all the Circassians declare themselves Circassians, then this is the first step towards the official recognition of the nationality in Russia; having united, it will be easier to preserve the mother tongue, common to all Adyg nationalities.
Almost all residents of the republics, where Adygs live, support the flash mob; Circassians from abroad have also joined the action, said Olga Efendieva-Begret, a co-founder of the NGO "Ochag" (Hearth) from Kabardino-Balkaria.
Ruslan Gvashev, a Circassian activist, supports the action "#yacherkesAty?", but believes that the nation should be named "Adyg-Circassian". Adygs need to unite to preserve their ethnicity and eliminate the confusion among the Circassian ethnic groups, he believes.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 7, 2019 at 05:35 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Anna Gritsevich Source: CK correspondent
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