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Ethnocultural Diversity of the North Caucasus: the Interrelation of Unique, Special and General
DOI 10.18522/2072-0181-2015-84-4-89-97
The article is devoted to the interaction, which was established between the Circassian and Chechen Diasporas in the Middle East in the nineteenth century and still exists nowadays. The process of the Caucasian migration from the
places of their origin to the countries of the Middle East (fi rstly, the Ottoman Empire, than Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Iraq) and a common religion, which they confessed, consequently led to the wide-spread collaboration between Circassians and Chechens. Moreover, since then, they have been seeing Russia as one of the main threats to their existence.
The main goal of the study was to show the reasons of the Chechen-Circassian interaction and to identify the causes of lasting cooperation between the Chechens and Circassians in the countries of the Middle East, taking into account the identity shift in the 90-s. Thus, the study has revealed, that collective memory, as well as the common history, religion and enemy may serve as the main factors of such kind of interaction. Today the Cechens in the Middle East, especially in Turkey, have a great infl uence on the radicalization of the Circassian Diaspora, which is trying to find a way to fulfi ll its political aspirations, including the recognition of the so-called Circassian genocide.
The article is devoted to the interaction, which was established between the Circassian and Chechen Diasporas in the Middle East in the nineteenth century and still exists nowadays. The process of the Caucasian migration from the
places of their origin to the countries of the Middle East (fi rstly, the Ottoman Empire, than Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Iraq) and a common religion, which they confessed, consequently led to the wide-spread collaboration between Circassians and Chechens. Moreover, since then, they have been seeing Russia as one of the main threats to their existence.
The main goal of the study was to show the reasons of the Chechen-Circassian interaction and to identify the causes of lasting cooperation between the Chechens and Circassians in the countries of the Middle East, taking into account the identity shift in the 90-s. Thus, the study has revealed, that collective memory, as well as the common history, religion and enemy may serve as the main factors of such kind of interaction. Today the Cechens in the Middle East, especially in Turkey, have a great infl uence on the radicalization of the Circassian Diaspora, which is trying to find a way to fulfi ll its political aspirations, including the recognition of the so-called Circassian genocide.
Circassians, Chechens, Diaspora, interaction, Middle East, Turkey