The Circassian genocide and forced deportation of 1864 remain among the darkest chapters of 19th-century history in the North Caucasus. This tragic event, often referred to as the “Great Exile,” was a direct result of the Russian Empire’s colonial policies aimed at crushing Circassian resistance—most notably following the prolonged resistance led by Imam Shamil. On May 21, 1864, after a fierce conflict, the Russian Empire decisively defeated the Circassians, triggering the mass deportation of approximately 1.5 million people from their ancestral lands in the North Caucasus to the Ottoman Empire, covering present-day Türkiye, Syria, Jordan, and other regions. Hundreds of thousands perished from hunger, disease, and exhaustion during this forced migration.

To date, only a few countries, including Georgia (2011), East Turkestan (government in exile, 2023), and Ukraine (2025),........

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