Battle of Caucasus (2/3)

Russia 1942 ▶ Battle of Caucasus (Part 2/3) Mt. Elbrus Gebirgsjäger Mountain Troops Kaukasus Pjatigorsk Пятигорск Circassia Cherkess @GERMANHISTORYARCHIVE Playlist ▶ Circassia (Cherkessia; Adyghe, Çerkesya, Çerkezistan) was a country and historical region in the North Caucasus along the northeast shore of the Black Sea. It was destroyed and devastated after the Russian-Circassian war (1763–1864) as 90% of the Circassian people were either massacred or exiled from the region in the Circassian genocide. The Circassians also dominated the north of the Kuban river in the early medieval and ancient times, but with the raids of the Mongol Empire, Golden Horde and the Crimean Khanate, they were withdrawn south of the Kuban, from the Taman Peninsula to North Ossetia. During the Medieval Era, Circassian lords subjugated and vassalized the neighboring Karachay-Balkars and Ossetians. The term Circassia is also used as the collective name of Circassian states established on Circassian territory. Although Circassia is the original homeland of the Circassian people, today most Circassians live in exile. The proposal to deport the Circassians was ratified by the Russian government, and a flood of refugee movements began as Russian troops advanced in their final campaign. Circassians prepared to resist and hold their last stand against Russian military advances and troops. With the refusal to surrender, Circassian civilians were targeted one by one by the Russian military with thousands massacred and the Russians started to raid and burn Circassian villages, destroy the fields to make it impossible to return, cut trees down and drive the people towards the Black Sea coast. It has been recorded that Russian soldiers used various methods such as tearing the belly of pregnant women and removing the baby inside to entertain themselves. Some Russian generals, such as Grigory Zass, argued that the killing of the Circassians and their use in scientific experiments should be allowed. Although the main target of the genocide was the Circassians, some Abkhaz, Abazin, Chechen, Ossetian and other Muslim Caucasian communities were also affected. Although it is not known exactly how many people are affected, researchers have suggested that at least 75%, 90%, or 95% -97% (not including the other ethniticies such as Abkhaz) of the ethnic Circassian population are affected. Considering these rates, calculations including those taking into account the Russian government’s own archival figures, have estimated a loss 600,000–1,500,000. It is estimated that the population of Kabardins in Circassia was reduced from 500,000 to 35,000; the Abzakhs from 260,000 to 14,600; and the Natukhajs from 240,000 to merely 175 persons. The Shapsugh tribe which numbered some 300,000 were reduced to 3,000 people. Circassia was a small independent nation on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. For no reason other than ethnic hatred, over the course of hundreds of raids the Russians drove the Circassians from their homeland and deported them to the Ottoman Empire. At least 600,000 people lost their lives to massacre, starvation, and the elements while hundreds of thousands more were forced to leave their homeland. By 1864, three-fourths of the population was annihilated, and the Circassians had become one of the first stateless peoples in modern history. As of 2020, Georgia was the only country to classify the events as genocide, while Russia actively denies the Circassian genocide, and classifies the events as a simple migration of “undeveloped barbaric peoples“.[attribution needed] Russian nationalists continue to celebrate the day on May 21 each year as a “holy conquest day“, when the Russian Empire’s occupation of the Caucasus ended. Condemning this, Circassians, arguing that celebrating such a bloody war that resulted in genocide is a crime, commemorate May 21 every year as a day of mourning commemorating the Circassian genocide. In Abkhazia, May 21 was declared a national mourning day to commemorate the genocide. On May 21, Circassians from all over the world take to the streets to protest against the Russian government. history, ww2, Germany, Россия, Stalingrad, Cталинград, simplehistory, military, worldwar, Kaukasus, Caucasus, Elbrus, Gebirgsjäger, mountain troops, Circassia, Cherkess #history #ww2 #Caucasus #Circassia #Россия #Germany #military #worldwar #worldwar2 #wwii #simplehistory #Elbrus