Mountains and prejudices
The dispute over the battle of the eighteenth century led to clashes in Kabardino-Balkaria.
Upstairs
In Kabardino-Balkaria are continuing ethnic unrest and clashes with police in the village of kendelen. The reason for the conflict was the holding of the Kabardian organizations equestrian March in honor of the 310th anniversary of the battle of cengelkoy: they believe that while the Circassians defeated the troops of the Crimean Tatars. The outcome of this battle is still sensitive to the Turkic activists, so the residents of the Balkar villages kendelen forbade the cavalry to pass through their territory. To help the Balkars in the village arrived the participants of the Circassian youth organizations; the outbreak of the conflict tried to stop the forces of Ashwaria, which in the end had to use batons and even fired in the air. Now the village is blocked by law enforcement agencies, the Republic’s authorities are trying to negotiate with protesters. The investigative Committee started checking the facts of attacks on the police and “hate speech” in social networks.
Kabardian public organization “Khase Suwa” was planned for 17 September to hold a horse trek in honor of the 310th anniversary of the battle of cengelkoy. It was assumed that the transition involves 200 riders on the special horses of Kabardian breed. However, shortly before the appointed time, the police conducted interviews with activists, trying to convince them to cancel the event. As a result, the transition is decided only 30 people. Led a detachment Ibrahim Yaganov — known in the Republic of breeders involved in the early 1990-ies in the Georgian-Abkhaz war.
Kinalska the battle was one of the episodes of the Caucasian wars of the eighteenth century. She is believed to have occurred in 1708, at the foot of mount Kangol. This battle is still a sensitive issue in the North Caucasus. According to one version, the Circassians refused to pay increased tribute to the Crimean Khan and the Ottoman Sultan. The Khan’s army sent to pacify the discontented, was utterly defeated by the troops of the local militia. For the Circassians, Kabardians and other adygejskij peoples it is one of the symbols of national heroism. Turkic peoples — including Balkars — negative attitude to this topic: among them circulated the slogan “cengelkoy battle was not”. There is a third version — that the battle was an episode of the feudal war, not national liberation. Her supporters point out that the Circassians fought on both sides of the conflict.
In 2008, Circassian activists have carried out horse trekking, dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the battle. As reported then, the “Caucasian knot”, the Council of elders of the Balkar people said that the participants of the transition was installed on mount Kangol memorable sign — “stuck in the ground with a dagger symbol, which in the old days meant that the land conquered”. Just before the residents located near Balkar village kendelen appealed to the leadership of Kabardino-Balkaria with a request to return to the municipality 47 thousand hectares of land that had previously been recognized as “inter-settlement territories”. Kabardian has added fuel to the fire: the Balkars accepted the installation of the memorial sign as an attempt to seize their land. This has increased tensions between the Balkars, which is in the CBD about 12%, and Kabardinians, the majority.