Circassian historical geography is essential for understanding the genocide. The destruction of Circassia was not only the destruction of people. It was also the transformation of land, maps, names, settlements, and political geography.
The north-western Caucasus and the north-eastern Black Sea coast were not empty spaces before Russian imperial conquest. They were part of the Circassian world. Circassian communities lived across mountain, valley, river, and coastal regions. They organised social, political, and military life through local institutions, kinship structures, customary law, and regional forms of authority.
After conquest, many Circassian territories were depopulated, resettled, renamed, and incorporated into Russian imperial administrative structures. Later Soviet and post-Soviet names became internationally familiar, while older Circassian names and territorial memories were marginalised.
Why place names matter
Place names are not just labels. They carry political memory. When a place is known only through Russian imperial or later administrative names, the earlier Circassian history of that place can disappear from public awareness.
This is especially important for places such as:
- Sochi / Shache — associated with the north-eastern Black Sea coast and Circassian historical geography;
- Tuapse / T’uapsə — connected to Circassian coastal geography;
- Qbaada / Krasnaya Polyana — remembered in Circassian memory in relation to the final stages of conquest;
- Krasnodar Krai — a modern Russian administrative unit overlapping with historical Circassian lands.
The purpose of using Circassian historical toponyms is not to confuse readers. It is to show that contemporary Russian names are not the beginning of the region’s history. They are part of a later imperial and administrative geography layered over older Circassian landscapes.
Suggested explanatory note for public writing
When using Circassian historical names in public texts, a short bracketed explanation is useful:
Sochi / Shache — the modern Russian name and a Circassian historical name associated with the north-eastern Black Sea coast.
Tuapse / T’uapsə — the modern Russian name and a Circassian historical toponym associated with the Black Sea coastal region.
Qbaada / Krasnaya Polyana — a Circassian historical site later known by its Russian name, associated in Circassian memory with the final stage of Russian conquest in 1864.
This approach keeps the text accessible while making the older geography visible.