Genocide and the Olympics

The Czar's Genocide

As Russia marched into the Caucasus it couldn't help but get its hands covered in blood. Every ethnic group that Russia came across it found new reasons to kill, subjugate, or deport. For the Circassians this new ruler would be one to which they could not bow. So they, like many others, were deported.

Pushing the Circassian population south, the Czar made certain the bold Muslims would never return to the Russian Empire again. And for hundreds of years this decision proved to work out for the Russians. So much so that the Russians didn't seem to think twice about asking to hold the 2014 Olympics in the exact region they had exiled the Circassians to.

The Circassian diaspora claims that around 1.5 million of their ancestors died in the region of Sochi. Russia claims that the number is around 300,000 or so. But both sides do agree that there was a sizable number of Circassians killed in Sochi through starvation, exposure to the elements, and outright slaughter by Russian forces.

Of course Russia claims the acts were an acceptable extension of war with a violent rebellious ethnic group. They claim that the Circassians brought about the deportations by simply not accepting the harsh rule of Russian Czars. And that the actions were in no way "genocide".

The Circassians however, and Alder's Ledge, know that the actions taken by Russia constitute genocide. There was an obvious attempt made by Russia to destroy, in part or in whole, a distinct ethnic group. Worse yet, the attempt was not a sudden decision made in the fog of war. Russia had already planned on what ethnic groups could be cleared out or killed off to make room for ethic Russian settlers and Germans brought in from the Prussian wilderness. This was the same idea Hitler had for making "living space".

Most Circassians are only asking that Russia admit to acts of genocide in the Caucasus. Others however want an independent state in the Caucasus for the Circassians to live free in their traditional homeland. While an even more extreme element would like to team up with rebels in Chechnya to help form an Islamic state in the Caucasus.

Alder's Ledge sides with the majority of Circassians who simply want an apology and for Russia to accept the fact that it committed genocide against the Circassians. And until this happens there should be no Olympic games in Russia. Let alone holding the games in Sochi where the Circassians were slaughtered for Russian gains.

(Of the nearly 8 million Circassians world wide barely half a million live within Russia)

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Source Documents
(note not all sources are listed below)

Caucasus Regional News (Blog)
http://dailygeonews.blogspot.com/2010/11/to-recognize-sochi-as-symbol-of.html

Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/13/us-russia-caucasus-olympics-idUSTRE79C2ST20111013