Mahatma Gandhi may never actually have said of colonized peoples that “first, the imperial authorities ignore you; then, they laugh you; then, they fight you; and then, you win”; but this observation nonetheless aptly fits Moscow’s evolving relationship with the Circassians. The Russian center had previously dismissed and derided this group, but now it finds itself compelled to both combat the Circassians in their North Caucasus homeland as well as attack member of their large diaspora in the Middle East and in Western countries, where support for that much-victimized nation is growing. That does not mean the Circassians are about to win. But it does suggest the Kremlin now fears they have a chance to assert their rights and national identity. As such, the Russian government has launched a new effort to prevent that outcome via repression and subversion.
