Another panel discussion titled "Ethnic and Cultural Diversity as the Wealth of Humanity" was held as part of the international conference "Cultural and Ethnic Diversity: Lessons from History, Modern Challenges", organized in Shusha by the Center for Cultural and Ethnic Diversity Public Union in partnership with the Silk Road Cultural and Historical Research Public Union, APA reports.
The panel moderator, Turkish researcher, journalist and analyst Nalan Yazgan Eris, said that dialogue and addressing problems with the participation of all stakeholders are of great importance. In this regard, she noted that the tragedy faced by the Circassian people requires special attention.
"The Russo-Circassian War of 1763–1864 was not an ordinary military campaign. It was a policy aimed at the systematic destruction of an entire people. One of the best-known figures of the Russian occupation, General Grigory Zass, became notorious for collecting Circassian skulls as trophies. Even today, monuments honoring General Zass still stand in some parts of the North Caucasus, and official events are held in his memory. For the descendants of the genocide victims, such public glorification symbolizes not reconciliation, but the continuation of historical violence," she said.
Nalan Yazgan Eris also stated that peaceful commemorative events related to Circassians are still not permitted in Russia, noting that participants in a silent memorial march held in Nalchik in 2025 were placed under administrative arrest.
"The legal, political and cultural consequences of the 1864 Circassian genocide continue to affect the lives of the descendants of its victims to this day," she added.
Professor Cahit Aslan, a researcher at Türkiye's Çukurova University, delivered a presentation titled "Circassian National Identity and Collective Memory."
He said that millions of Circassian families living in different countries are striving to preserve their collective memory through memories, cultural rituals and commemorative ceremonies.
"Throughout history, the term 'Circassian identity' has been used with different meanings. In a narrow sense, it refers to the Adyghe people, while in a broader sense it represents a supra-identity encompassing many indigenous peoples deported from the North Caucasus," Aslan said.
He also listed the deportations carried out by the Kremlin against the peoples of the North Caucasus during the Soviet era, including the Karachays, Balkars and Chechens, noting that these events also left deep marks on collective memory.
"Collective memory is not only a way of remembering the past, but also the will to build the future. Identity remains alive only through memory, and memory survives through the transmission of cultural heritage. Therefore, Circassian national identity should be viewed as a dynamic process nourished by the past while oriented toward the future," he said.
Rustam Khuzhayev, a member of the Board of the League of Free Nations, joined the conference via video link from Germany and delivered a presentation titled "Discrimination and the Fight Against It."
Describing the current situation in Russia, he said:
"The state is trying to dictate how people should think, what should be considered right and who they should perceive themselves to be. This is where the most dangerous form of discrimination begins. It is no longer merely political, but systematic discrimination of a cultural, social and psychological nature. Genuine political representation of indigenous peoples is weakening, society's mechanisms for influencing the authorities are gradually being eliminated, and a centralized system of governance in which decisions are made without people's participation is becoming even stronger. However, institutional discrimination is only one side of the problem. There is another, even more severe and dangerous aspect. We are witnessing mass detentions and arrests of young people, as well as pressure on their families. The values people hold within themselves cannot be changed by any decree or administrative decision. When discrimination becomes systemic, no opportunities for development remain."
Fatima Tlis, a representative of the World Circassian Agency from the United States, addressed the conference via video link with a presentation titled "Responding to the Challenges of a New Era."
She said that ensuring historical justice is the most important challenge.
"If a people preserve their will for freedom and their national identity, attempts to erase them from the map of history or assimilate them within artificial administrative borders are doomed to fail. As long as the historical homeland of the Circassians remains a territory of colonial oppression where learning the native language is restricted and the right of return is blocked, and as long as the constitutions of the national republics continue to be deprived of sovereign substance, the Circassian issue will remain an unresolved problem and a source of tectonic political change," she said.
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