Caucasus
The day to remember the ‘forgotten genocide’
Between 5 million and 7 million Circassians live around the world, descendants of the native tribes expelled from the Caucasus in the 1860s by Russian Imperial forces. The recent Winter Olympics in their ancestral capital of Sochi angered Circassians, but it also brought them together. They aim to get Russia to recognize a right of return for Circassians. It’s a long shot, but these are not people known for giving up easily.
Reviewing Chechyan History for Clues About Suspects’ Motives
Early reports about the profiles of the two suspects sought in the Boston Marathon bombings case indicate their family lived for a time in the city of Makhachkala, the capital of the Dagestan region, near Chechnya, before moving to the United States. The Tsarnaev family reportedly left Dagestan for the United States in 2002 after […]
Rescuing the Lost Sacred Songs of Georgia
For most of the 20th century, the country of Georgia was under Soviet rule. A lot of Russian traditions flowed across the border–sometimes influencing–sometimes replacing native Georgian traditions. Now, 20 years after Georgia became independent, religious communities want to unearth one of those lost traditions: sacred song.
