The Circassian genocide (; ; ) was the Russian Empire's systematic mass murder, ethnic cleansing, forced migration,Coverage of The tragedy public Thought (later half of the 19th century), Niko Javakhishvili, Tbilisi State University, 20 December 2012, retrieved 1 June 2015 and expulsion of 800,000–1,500,000 Muslim Circassians (at least 80\% of the total population) from their homeland Circassia, which roughly encompassed the major part of the North Caucasus alongside the Black Sea. This occurred in the aftermath of the Russo-Circassian War in the second half of the 19th century. It has been recorded that during the events, the Russian and Cossack forces used various brutal methods to entertain themselves, such as tearing the bellies of pregnant women and removing the baby inside, then feeding the babies to dogs. Russian generals such as Grigory Zass described the Circassians as "subhuman filth", and justified their killing and use in scientific experiments and allowed Russian soldiers to rape 7 years and older Circassian girls. The displaced people were settled primarily to the Ottoman Empire.  A large portion of indigenous peoples of the region were ethnically cleansedMemoirs of Dmitry Milyutin, "the plan of action decided upon for 1860 was to cleanse [ochistit'] the mountain zone of its indigenous population", as quoted in W. Richmond The Northwest Caucasus: Past, Present, and Future. Routledge. 2008 from their homeland at the end of the Russo-Circassian War by Russia. The peoples planned for removal were mainly the Circassians (or Adyghe) , Ubykhs, and Abaza, but Abkhaz, Arshtins, Chechens and Ossetians were also heavily affected. Other Muslim peoples of the Caucasus were also affected to a degree such as Avars and Ingush . A large deportation was launched against the remaining population before the end of the war in 1864 and it was mostly completed by 1867.Kazemzadeh 1974 Only a small percentage accepted to convert to Christianity and resettle within the Russian Empire. The remaining Circassian populations who refused were thus variously dispersed, resettled, tortured, and most of the time, killed en masse. An unknown number of deportees died during the process. Some died from epidemics among crowds of deportees both while awaiting departure and while languishing in their Ottoman Black Sea ports of arrival. Others were killed when ships underway sank during storms.King, 2007 Calculations including those taking into account the Russian government's own archival figures have estimated a loss of 80\%–97\%Richmond, Walter. The Circassian Genocide. Page 132: ". If we assume that Berzhe’s middle figure of 50,000 was close to the number who survived to settle in the lowlands, then between 95 percent and 97 percent of all Circassians were killed outright, died during Evdokimov’s campaign, or were deported."Sarah A.S. Isla Rosser-Owen, MA Near and Middle Eastern Studies (thesis). The First 'Circassian Exodus' to the Ottoman Empire (1858–1867), and the Ottoman Response, Based on the Accounts of Contemporary British Observers. Page 16: "... with one estimate showing that the indigenous population of the entire north-western Caucasus was reduced by a massive 94 percent". Text of citation: "The estimates of Russian historian Narochnitskii, in Richmond, ch. 4, p. 5. Stephen Shenfield notes a similar rate of reduction with less than 10 percent of the Circassians (including the Abkhazians) remaining. (Stephen Shenfield, "The Circassians: A Forgotten Genocide?", in The Massacre in History, p. 154.)" of the Circassian nation in the process.  , Georgia was the only country to recognize the Circassian genocide , while Chechnya and Jordan were countries whose state officials mentioned the genocide but did not pass an official resolution to recognize it . Russia, however, actively denies the Circassian genocide, and classifies the events as a simple migration of "undeveloped barbaric peoples". Russian nationalists in the Caucasus region continue to celebrate the day on 21 May each year as a "holy conquest day", when the Circassian deportation was launched. Circassians commemorate 21 May every year as a day of mourning commemorating the Circassian genocide. On 21 May, Circassians from all over the world fill the streets and protest the Russian government, Circassian banners and flags are a common sight in certain regions of cities such as Istanbul and Amman during these events.
The Circassian genocide (; ; ) was the Russian Empire's systematic mass murder, ethnic cleansing, forced migration,Coverage of The tragedy public Thought (later half of the 19th century), Niko Javakhishvili, Tbilisi State University, 20 December 2012, retrieved 1 June 2015 and expulsion of 800,000–1,500,000 Muslim Circassians (at least 80\% of the total population) from their homeland Circassia, which roughly encompassed the major part of the North Caucasus alongside the Black Sea. This occurred in the aftermath of the Russo-Circassian War in the second half of the 19th century. It has been recorded that during the events, the Russian and Cossack forces used various brutal methods to entertain themselves, such as tearing the bellies of pregnant women and removing the baby inside, then feeding the babies to dogs. Russian generals such as Grigory Zass described the Circassians as "subhuman filth", and justified their killing and use in scientific experiments and allowed Russian soldiers to rape 7 years and older Circassian girls. Only a small percentage accepted to convert to Christianity and resettle within the Russian Empire. The remaining Circassian populations who refused were thus variously dispersed, resettled, tortured, and most of the time, killed en masse. A large portion of indigenous peoples of the region were ethnically cleansed.Memoirs of Dmitry Milyutin, "the plan of action decided upon for 1860 was to cleanse [ochistit'] the mountain zone of its indigenous population", as quoted in W. Richmond The Northwest Caucasus: Past, Present, and Future. Routledge. 2008 The peoples planned for removal were mainly the Circassians , Ubykhs, and Abazins, but other Muslim peoples of the Caucasus were also affected to a degree . A large deportation was launched against the remaining population before the end of the war in 1864 and it was mostly completed by 1867.Kazemzadeh 1974 An unknown number of deportees died during the process. Some died from epidemics among crowds of deportees both while awaiting departure and while languishing in their Ottoman Black Sea ports of arrival. Others were killed when ships underway sank during storms.King, 2007 Calculations including those taking into account the Russian government's own archival figures have estimated a loss of 80\%–97\%Richmond, Walter. The Circassian Genocide. Page 132: ". If we assume that Berzhe’s middle figure of 50,000 was close to the number who survived to settle in the lowlands, then between 95 percent and 97 percent of all Circassians were killed outright, died during Evdokimov’s campaign, or were deported."Sarah A.S. Isla Rosser-Owen, MA Near and Middle Eastern Studies (thesis). The First 'Circassian Exodus' to the Ottoman Empire (1858–1867), and the Ottoman Response, Based on the Accounts of Contemporary British Observers. Page 16: "... with one estimate showing that the indigenous population of the entire north-western Caucasus was reduced by a massive 94 percent". Text of citation: "The estimates of Russian historian Narochnitskii, in Richmond, ch. 4, p. 5. Stephen Shenfield notes a similar rate of reduction with less than 10 percent of the Circassians (including the Abkhazians) remaining. (Stephen Shenfield, "The Circassians: A Forgotten Genocide?", in The Massacre in History, p. 154.)" of the Circassian nation in the process. The displaced people were settled primarily to the Ottoman Empire. , Georgia was the only country to recognize the Circassian genocide . Russia, however, actively denies the Circassian genocide, and classifies the events as a simple migration . Russian nationalists in the Caucasus region continue to celebrate the day on 21 May each year as a "holy conquest day", when the Circassian deportation was launched. Circassians commemorate 21 May every year as a day of mourning commemorating the Circassian genocide. On 21 May, Circassians from all over the world fill the streets and protest the Russian government, Circassian banners and flags are a common sight in certain regions of cities such as Istanbul and Amman during these events.
D
The displaced people were settled primarily to the Ottoman Empire.
A
Only a small percentage accepted to convert to Christianity and resettle within the Russian Empire. The remaining Circassian populations who refused were thus variously dispersed, resettled, tortured, and most of the time, killed en masse.
R
cleansedMemoirs
cleansed.Memoirs
D
from their homeland at the end of the Russo-Circassian War by Russia.
D
(or Adyghe)
R
Abaza, but Abkhaz, Arshtins, Chechens and Ossetians were also heavily affected. Other
Abazins, but other
D
such as Avars and Ingush
D
Only a small percentage accepted to convert to Christianity and resettle within the Russian Empire. The remaining Circassian populations who refused were thus variously dispersed, resettled, tortured, and most of the time, killed en masse.
A
The displaced people were settled primarily to the Ottoman Empire.
D
, while Chechnya and Jordan were countries whose state officials mentioned the genocide but did not pass an official resolution to recognize it
R
of "undeveloped barbaric peoples".
.