Russia: Balkars mark anniversary of Stalin-era deportation
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 8 March 2017 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russia: Balkars mark anniversary of Stalin-era deportation, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5975a606a.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
March 08, 2017
![Kabardino-Balkaria head Yury Kokov called the deportation 'a criminal act by the [Soviet] regime.'](https://gdb.rferl.org/C8EB3204-18DF-4100-A682-EE504DAB0BDD_w250_r1_s.jpg)
Kabardino-Balkaria head Yury Kokov called the deportation "a criminal act by the [Soviet] regime."
NALCHIK, Russia – Balkars in Russia's North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria have marked the 73rd anniversary of their mass deportation to Central Asia by Soviet leader Josef Stalin.
Prayers in the region's mosques on March 8 were devoted to those who died during the deportation to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan between 1944 and 1957.
The head of Kabardino-Balkaria, Yury Kokov, called the deportation "a criminal act by the [Soviet] regime."
In a statement on March 7, he said that all residents of Kabardino-Balkaria "share the bitterness of loss and honor the memory of the victims of all political repressions."
Balkars are a small, Turkic-speaking, and predominantly Muslim ethnic group.
On March 8, 1944, some 38,000 Balkars were deported to Central Asia by Stalin's government, which accused them of collaborating with Nazi Germany.
Those who survived deportation were able to return to the North Caucasus in 1957, after the Soviet Union's Supreme Council restored the Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet republic of Russia.
With reporting by Kbrria.ru
Link to original story on RFE/RL website