Hi everyone.
Welcome to my Eyes on Eurasia podcast with Glen Howard! Well, there has been a lot going on recently with Putin’s mobilization drive for additional military manpower to fight in his war in Ukraine, now grinding on into its fifth year. Moscow’s desperate push for more cannon fodder recently backfired after the death of a Circassian repatriant Nurdin Qaraf.
After learning about his son’s death, Nurdin’s father, Khalid Qaraf—a Syrian Circassian who relocated back to his homeland—has publicly protested the disappearance of his son, creating a major backlash for Moscow among the Circassians. An estimated 700,000 Circassians currently live in the North Caucasus, distributed among the three republics of Adyge, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Karachai-Cherkessia. Nurdin’s death has also created outrage among the 7 million Circassian diaspora who reside mostly in Turkiye, Syria, Jordan, and Israel.
Joining us to discuss this recent tragedy and its implications, as well as the significant reverberations it has created for Circassians in the North Caucasus and their overseas community, are two experts: Paul Goble, one of the world’s leading experts on Russian nationalities who runs the Window on Eurasia blog, and Adel Bashqawi, a noted Circassian historian and activist who operates the Justice for the North Caucasus website.
For those of you who are interested in watching the full video of this interview, you can watch the full video here 👉 on my YouTube channel,
Enjoy the podcast and the video!
About the Speakers:
Paul Goble
Paul Goble is a longtime specialist on ethnic and religious questions in Eurasia. Currently, in addition to preparing Windows on Eurasia, he writes for The Saratoga Foundation Eurasia Outlook and is a Distinguished Fellow. Before 2004, he served in various capacities in the U.S. State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the International Broadcasting Bureau, as well as at VOA, RFE/RL, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Adel Bashqawi
Adel Bashqawi is a Circassian activist, writer, and member of the Committee for the Restoration of the Statehood of the Nations of the North Caucasus. He is deeply engaged in human rights efforts and international forums addressing the Circassian Question and the broader struggles of North Caucasian nations.
Bashqawi is the author of three books, all of which can be found online here: Circassia and Ukraine: Two Nations Even Russian Genocide Can’t Destroy, The Circassian Miracle: The Nation Neither Tsars, Nor Commissars, Nor Russia Could Stop, and Circassia: Born to Be Free.
Born in Amman, Jordan—where his ancestors were exiled following the 1864 Circassian genocide—he pursued education in Jordan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, and served as a civil pilot for thirty-nine years.
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