Welcome, Not Welcome: The North Caucasian Diaspora's Attempted Return to Russia since the 1960s

Abstract

In 1968, a Jordanian man, ‘Abbas Mirza, visited Kabardino-Balkaria, a mountainous autonomous republic in Soviet Russia. He was of Kabardian (eastern Circassian) descent, and his ancestors had emigrated to the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century. He was one of the first overseas Circassians and, indeed, any foreigners who were allowed to enter the North Caucasus since the onset of Soviet rule. Soviet authorities invited his family to visit Kabardino-Balkaria to see for themselves the progress that had been achieved under communism. Mirza did not have the best time on his trip. At some point during the carefully curated Soviet tour, he started asking questions about “the Communists”: “What kind of rights do they have in the Soviet state? Do party members and nonmembers have a similar lifestyle? Are there any Communists who believe in God? What happens to religious people in this country? Do children of party members and of nonmembers get along?”1 Mirza did not receive satisfying answers to his questions. He was then relieved of his cash when someone stole the equivalent of 800 USD in Soviet, Turkish, Syrian, and Jordanian currency, which the man had brought with him. At the end of his less than stellar trip, ‘Abbas Mirza told the Soviet organizers: “I regret deeply that I traveled