"Greater Cherkessia", "Own Lezgistan"...

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has met youth of the North Caucasus Federal District, who supported his idea to establish the National People's Front and had talked about their problems. President of the Federal Lezgin National-Cultural Autonomy, Arif Kerimov, attended the meeting. He reminded those present that Stalin set a border on River Samur in 1921, putting part of Lezgin in Azerbaijan and part for the Gorskaya Republic (Dagestan). The situation changed in 1991 and the Lezgin people lost their status. The OSCE believes that they are part of Azerbaijan, which is about 700,000 people, or 1.1 million according to other data.

Some of the most radical Lezgins talk about the so-called "Lezgin Albania", fight against Iranian and Arab conquerors, defense against Seljuks, tyranny of the tsar's functionaries, soviet colonization, discrimination from Azerbaijan and poor policy of Dagestan. Some believe that the territorial separation after the revolution in 1917 violated ethnic realities. The national Lezgin movement Sadval was organized with demand for own Lezgin Republic, or Lezginstan. There are rumours that Dzhokhar Dudayev wanted to provoke Lezgins for the war in the Caucasus. Analogies may be pointed out with demands of Adygs for own republic, the Great Cherkessia consisting of the Krasnodar Territory, Adygeya, half of Karachay-Cherkessia and Kabrdino-Balkaria and a part of the Stavropol Territory. The question is about their loyalty to Moscow.

Some radical Adygs want to cooperate with Georgia, that recognized genocide of Cherkessians, some speak out against the Olympic Games in Sochi.

Lezgins promise loyalty to Moscow. Arif Kerimov insists that Lezgins are a reliable partner. Moscow fears that certain forces in Azerbaijan, Russia and Dagestan may use it to augment major interethnic tensions.

Yekaterina Tesemnikova. Exclusively for VK.