Russians: You lost, we expelled your ancestors. Get over it

Circassians: Not blood likely.

“Circassians were once the largest ethnic group in the North Caucasus and dominated the region, especially the central and the western parts. However, after the Russian state conquered the region in a long and bloody war that spanned the 18th and 19th centuries, the Circassians were reduced to a small ethnic group in the area. After dealing the final blow to Circassian forces near modern-day Sochi in 1864, the Russian government expelled the remaining Circassian population and replaced them with Cossacks and ethnic Russians, who were quickly dispatched to the area. By 1870, an estimated 2 percent of the Circassians’ prewar population remained in their homeland (Onkavkaz.com, December 1). The rest were either killed, starved to death or expelled to the Ottoman Empire. Currently, the Circassian diaspora in Turkey is several times larger than the Circassian population remaining in the North Caucasus. Even within the North Caucasus, the Circassians are split among four regions, which also irritates many Circassian activists.

“Discussion of their lost homeland has become especially popular among Circassians due to the ongoing war in Syria, which has influenced Circassian self-consciousness in a big way. Since Syria used to be part of the Ottoman Empire, it had a substantial Circassian population. After the war started there, Circassians pushed for the evacuation of the estimated 100,000 Circassians in the affected areas. However, Moscow allowed only a handful of the Syrian Circassians—about 1,000—to resettle in their homeland. Moreover, they do not have full residency rights, and constantly have to pay various fees as temporary residents (Facebook.com/psekups.kulokova, December 1).”

http://www.jamestown.org/regions/thecaucasus/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=44878&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=54&cHash=1a7e41e61923fdc3316cfdc64af0ddc4#.VmxUq2DMs5s