Who are the Circassians?

Who Are The Circassians, And Why Are They Outraged At Sochi?

     

By  Alexander Smith and Ghazi Balkiz

 The Sochi Olympics have already proved the most controversial games in decades. But while gay rights, Islamic terrorist threats and Pussy Riot have stolen the headlines, the Circassian ethnic group has a far older grievance with Sochi, a city it says is steeped in 150 years of bloodshed    

Who are the Circassians?

The Circassians are an ethnic group from the North Caucasus, an area in southwest Russia between the Black and Caspian seas. (The photo above shows men dressed in typical Circassian style near Sochi in October.) Activists say the Sochi Olympics is an "outrage" because the event falls on the 150th anniversary of an alleged genocide by Russian troops in 1864, a massacre that Russia denies. The Circassians' anti-Sochi protests around the world have been peaceful, but their cause has now been taken up by computer hackers and militants in the North Caucasus.

          

By  Alexander Smith and Ghazi Balkiz

Only one day old, the Sochi Olympics have already proved the most controversial games in decades. But while gay rights, Islamic terrorist threats and Pussy Riot have stolen the headlines, the Circassian ethnic group has a far older grievance with Sochi, a city it says is steeped in 150 years of bloodshed.

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