Timur Tenov on Circassian question

Timur Tenov, chair of social and political theories and technologies at the Kabardino-Balkar State University presented his vision of the Circassian question today at the international conference "The Caucasian War of the XIX century: Realpolitik and the memory wars" held in Ankara. Talking about the position of Circassian organizations, Tenov noted that "one of the key criteria for designation of positions is the historical interpretation of the tragic events of the Caucasian War".

He divided organizations that have different approaches into several groups. Those that consider a historical interpretation as a possibility for moral and ethical compensation, which will raise the prestige of an ethnic group in the region; those organization that see a historical interpretation as a matter of "trade" and a political tool in their interaction with the federal government; and the third group of organizations that operate with temporal categories of 10-30 years and whose motivation is to form a certain ideological background that can affect the preservation of traditions and education of the youth.

According to Tenov, an indicator in determining the positions and preferences of the designated groups is their attitude to the Sochi Olympics. "Expert opinion on such an important issue for the Circassians is that there is a need for the inclusion of the "Circassian component" in the Olympic project, following the example the Vancouver Olympics in Canada. The primary thesis of this position is that the presence of an ethnic component in the Olympic project will eliminate a lot of issues related to the present tensions, and eventually will eliminate political speculations on ethnic and sectarian lines," Tenov said.