Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed his solidarity with the Circassians on the 161st anniversary of their deportation from the Caucasus by Tsarist Russia.
This came in a post on his X account on Wednesday, marking the anniversary of the deportation of the Circassians on May 21, 1864.
The Turkish president said: “On the anniversary of the unjust, illegal, and inhumane deportation of our Circassian brothers from their homeland, the Caucasus, I ask God’s mercy for those who lost their lives and share with all my heart the indescribable pain they endured.”
On May 21, 1864, after its victory over the peoples of the Caucasus in the Kapada Valley near the Black Sea city of Sochi, Tsarist Russia pursued a policy of demographic change.
From there, Russia deported 1.5 million Circassians from the coastal cities of Sochi, Tuapse, and Sukhumi to areas under Ottoman control. According to unofficial figures, between 400,000 and 500,000 Circassians died during the forced displacements due to epidemics and famine.
