24 January 2009, 17:00
Victims of repressions against Cossacks mourned in Karachai-Cherkesia
Solemn mourning events to mark the 90 years' anniversary of repressions against Cossacks have been held today in the capital of Karachai-Cherkesia.
From the early morning, all Orthodox churches of Karachai-Cherkesia served sermons to commemorate the perished Cossacks and victims of political repressions among other nations. His Reverence Valentin of all churches of Karachai-Cherkesia conducted a sermon to commemorate the victims and called upon the parish not to forget this part of history.
"We must remember the deeds of our fathers, we must bear the name of Christians, sons shall not be responsible for what their fathers do, while fathers shall be responsible for their sons. All these victims have shed their blood and sacrificed their lives for us to live and remember them and to make our children remember all this", he said in an interview with journalists.
After the sermon, representatives of Cossacks from all Cossack villages of the republic and the guests invited from Stavropol and Krasnodar Krais took part in the icon-bearing procession from the church of the Intercession of the Mother of God to Lenin Square (central square of the republic), the place where the Nikolski cathedral, destroyed by Bolsheviks in 1934, used to be.
Petr Korotchenko, mayor of Cherkessk, relayed that, according to the archives, about 2 million Cossacks were exterminated during repressions in Russia.
Author: Bella Ksalova Source: CK correspondent
