On November 2, 1943, almost 70,000 Karachay natives, including old men, women and children, were exiled to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. They were accused of aiding the Nazi troops. Most of the repressed people, more than 43,000 persons, including 22,000 children, perished in a way and at places of the resettlement because of hunger, cold, and diseases. The exile lasted 14 years and ended in 1957.

According to historians, as a result of the deportation, about one third of the Karachay nation was destroyed. The Stalin repressions killed 60 percent of Karachay children. According to Professor Murat Karaketov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, if the deportation of 1943 had not occurred, at present, the number of Karachay people would have reached 400,000-450,000 persons twice as many as the current numbers of 230,000-240,000 persons.

“The Karachay nation and other repressed nations will always feel the consequences of that terrible tragedy, no matter how many years had passed. The losses were too big, and people suffered too much. The nation withstood the inhuman conditions of the special settlements and maintained its main wealth national dignity, language, and culture,” emphasizes the statement, published on the official site of the leader and the government of Karachay-Cherkessia.

Courtesy of: Caucasian Knot