Ukraine recognises the genocide of Circassians committed by the Russian Empire

On Thursday, January 9, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a draft resolution “On the recognition of the genocide of the Circassian people committed by the Russian Empire.” The decision was supported by 232 MPs.

The text of the document, in particular, states:

–To recognise that the mass extermination of Circassians (Adygs) and their forced expulsion from their historical homeland to the Ottoman Empire during the Russian-Caucasian War of 1763-1864 has all the signs of genocide and that if such crimes were committed today, they would undoubtedly be recognised as a violation of the Fourth Hague Convention of October 10, 1907, and an act of genocide, in accordance with the UN Convention of December 9, 1948;

-To honour the memory of all victims of this crime and express its solidarity with the Circassian (Adyghe) people;

–To strongly condemn the genocidal actions of the Russian Empire, which led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Circassians, caused significant damage to the foundations of Circassian society and great losses to humanity;

–To call on all countries and international organisations that have not yet recognised the mass destruction of Circassians as genocide to do so;

–To call on the Russian Federation to officially recognise this crime and apologise for it;

Thus, Ukraine became the second country in the world to recognise the Circassian genocide. Earlier, in 2011, Georgia adopted a relevant resolution.

You can learn more about the Circassian genocide from the lecture by the Holodomor Museum employee, Professor Dmytro Bilyi, a Doctor of Historical Sciences.