Circassian Genocide

Circassian Genocide

On May 21, 1864, the Russian Empire declared the end of the Caucasian War following the defeat of Circassian resistance in the northwest Caucasus. The conflict, which had lasted for decades, culminated in large-scale military operations against Circassian populations inhabiting the Black Sea coastal regions and surrounding highlands.

Russian imperial forces conducted systematic village destruction, forced expulsions, and mass deportations of Circassian civilians. Large numbers were compelled to migrate toward Ottoman-controlled territories via Black Sea ports. Overcrowded transport vessels, disease, starvation, and exposure resulted in significant mortality during transit.

Estimates indicate that hundreds of thousands of Circassians died between the early 1860s and 1864. The majority of the surviving population was expelled from the Caucasus and resettled within the Ottoman Empire, leading to the depopulation of large areas of their historical homeland and the formation of a widespread Circassian diaspora.