What for the Adyghe people should be deprived of Russian citizenship?

Our editorial board received a curious paper - a project of «The World Circassian Summer Goodwill Games», scheduled to be held in Nalchik in August 2012. The project was presented at the Congress of the public organization «Adyghe Khase» by chairman of the Union of Abkhazian Volunteers of KBR Alexei Bekshokov. Everything seems to be beautiful and noble. At first glance. But many questions arise when carefully reading the draft

To start with, let’s say that organization of the Olympics on mono-national basis is contrary to the spirit of the international Olympic movement, which is according to initiator of the revival of Olympic Games Baron Coubertin, must unite, close peoples rather than isolate them. In November 1892, the Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin read a public lecture at the University of Paris «The Olympic renaissance», concluded by his famous phrase: «We should make sport international, we should revive the Olympic Games!». Therefore, the proposed events may be called the Circassian Sports Games, but not the Olympics. I am sure that in this case, the International Olympic Committee will mind using the word «Olympic Games» and Olympic symbols, and there have already been such precedents.
The draft has too many beautiful references to the symbols. Since the Adyghe flag has 12 stars, the competition is scheduled to be held in 2012, within 12 days in 12 kinds of sport! Here is a list of these kinds: 1.Football; 2.Freestyle wrestling; 3.Greco-Roman wrestling; 4.National Circassian belt wrestling; 5.Judo; 6.Boxing; 7.Oriental martial arts (kick boxing, tae kwon do, karate); 8.Volleyball; 9.Basketball; 10.Horse racing; 11.Weightlifting; 12.Athletics.
Interestingly, on what principle these 12 sports have been chosen? If, on the principle of primordial Adyghe sports, why judo and oriental arts? Kick-boxing, karate and tae kwon do are different kinds of sports, not the Olympic ones. So the symbolism is broken - more than 12 sports. Another good idea would be to specify which of the styles of karate is meant? By the way, the national belt wrestling and horse racing are also not included in Olympic sports.
It is understandable why horse racing is included. Wonderful Kabardian saddle horses are hardy, unpretentious, can tirelessly cover great distances. But why then has not been included flat racing, which has many fans in the Caucasus? Probably, this is because none can match English horses of pure saddle breed in flat racing. As one of our local horse-breeder once explained to me, it is meaningless to compare Kabardian saddle bred and English pure bred. Kabardian horse can be compared to the Jeep cross-country, which can go in the mountains and off-road; but English horse - to the bolides of «Formula 1», which gets ahead of everybody on ideal route, but is poor off-road. So, it seems that authors of the draft apply the national principle of competitions even to horses.
If one takes as a basis the principle of the greatest popularity and development of the above-mentioned sports among the Adyghs, then basketball and volleyball become doubtful - from the time of the famous women's team «Nalchanka», created by great coach-enthusiast Oleg Shogenov, they have had neither popularity, not development. Unfortunately, the man early departed this life, and the team was immediately «buried». I do not know, maybe I am not aware of the Circassian famous foreign volleyball and basketball clubs? However, significant achievements have been, for example, in table tennis. Brothers Kushkhov from Kabardino-Balkaria won at various international tournaments. Then they played for a professional club in Germany. Achievements have also been in rugby, though it's also not the Olympic sport. And why have water sports been completely ignored?
Actually, when it comes to playing sports, professional clubs today have no teams created solely on the basis of nationality. Except the Spanish football team «Athletic» (Bilbao), in which play only Basques. Look at our «Spartak-Nalchik». For all of its long history it has been an international team. I'm against the full dominance of legionnaires in Russian teams, but «Spartak-Nalchik» has always consisted as well of many of its pupils. One more aspect. In August 2012, the football season of professional clubs will be in full swing. So, players of the Nalchik «Spartak», Maikop «Druzhba» - professional footballers of Adyghe origin, playing for other clubs, will be busy. It is possible, of course, to create national teams of Kabarda, Cherkessia, Adygea from the players who play in the championships of their republics. But whether so vividly presented draft of the Circassian Sports Games will then be of great sport value? Because all what is said above concern top wrestlers, boxers, weightlifters, members of the teams of Russia and other countries. They also have their schedule to prepare for major international tournaments. By the way, the planned timing of the Circassian Sports Games, in general, concurs with the Summer Olympics in London in 2012.
The Circassian language is suggested to become official language of the Sports Games in Nalchik. Russian, English, Arabic and Turkish will be called international languages. And why do they offend the French, Spanish and German? The Adyghe people live there too. For example, the famous Kabardian artist Mukhadin Kishev with his French wife, Jacqueline Moss, lives in Spain; another artist - Mikhail Shemyakin - built a castle in France.
Let’s turn to the financial component of the project. As it said, there are also twelve sources of funding (and how can be otherwise?). These are private voluntary and charitable donations, funds from the budgets of the regions where Adyghs live (so all Russia's regions can be used - bravo!). Support from the states where Adyghs live (however, one still should ask these governments for consent). I have already said about the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Committee of Russia. Of course, presidents of KBR, KChR and Adygea Arsen Kanokov, Boris Ebzeyev and Aslan Tkhakushinov can meet them halfway and provide funding. But ask Kabardian football fans what they would prefer: a questionable, though widely advertised, football tournament in Nalchik, or the purchase of good players for «Spartak-Nalchik»? Do not purchase Brazilians if you don’t want! Let's purchase from Moscow «Saturn», a true Adygh, halfback Ruslan Nakhushev, pupil of the KBR football school. Nakhushev holds an expensive contract with «Saturn», he is highly valued in the club, and may be released only for a large compensation. KBR President Arsen Kanokov, for example, now devotes much attention to sports, in Nalchik take place international chess tournaments, the championship of Russia in kick-boxing; it is scheduled to hold international wrestling tournaments. It seems that these efforts more contribute to glorification of the republic, creation of its positive image in the world, than holding mono-ethnic sports games.
I remember how a delegation of the Adyghs, living in the U.S., came to Nalchik last year. For them was organized a special cultural program, visits to Prielbrusye, Blue lakes, Chegem waterfalls. But they still insisted to visit the training of the Nalchik «Spartak». In the United States, they follow successes and failures of our team through Internet. They asked to acquaint them with Yuri Krasnozhan, head coach of the team, and they were not confused by the fact that Yuri Anatolyevich is Russian, though a native resident of Nalchik.
The fact is that real objectives of the authors of the project seem to be far from sport. Listed «12 goals of the Circassian Olympics - 2012» demonstrate this. The first paragraph reads «The strengthening of friendship and understanding between the Circassian world and the Russian Federation». It is a simple violation of the laws of logic. Either the authors of the draft for some reason deprive of Russian citizenship Kabardians, Adyghs, Circassians, Shapsugs living in Russia, or deny that they are part of the Circassian world. Another goal is «the development of the Circassian language through the Olympics». I think that educational and cultural programs can be more helpful. Next - «propaganda of Circassian coat, the national clothes of Circassians». A Circassian coat is wonderful clothing, not for nothing it was adopted by the Cossacks, but it’s impossible to understand: will one play football or lift weights in this elegant dress up? «The promotion of the Circassian breed of horses» and «Circassian national belt wrestling» has been mentioned above.
But now we come to the most interesting point: «Supporting the policy of consolidation of the Russian regions, to raise the question of consolidation of Circassian regions into a single republic». How do the authors of the project imagine this, I wonder? These «regions» should be first detached from, for example, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. Not only Adyghe people live in Adygea, too. The plan of the events suggests the Circassian districts, through which the Olympic flame should be carried. Among them there are the Mozdoksky district, part of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, and Shapsugsky district of the Krasnodar region. What will one think of such consolidation there?
And this is the most surprising thing. At the Congress of «Adyghe Khase», where the draft was presented, delegates received the literature, newspapers, which rightly criticized the position of some members of the Council of Elders of the Balkar people, the actions of Deputy of the State Duma of Russian Federation Mikhail Zalikhanov, who until recently headed, together with Arsen Kanokov, the republican branch of «United Russia», and now all of a sudden went into opposition. In their view, it is necessary to establish a separate republic «Balkaria», and give to it the mountain areas of KBR and the high mountain pastures Aursentkh and Khaimashi. It turns out that this will be the territory of Balkars, while in the remaining half of the republic, which might then be called «Kabarda», will live the rest: Kabardians, Russians, Ossetians and other nations. Including those Balkars who live in Nalchik, the villages of Khasanya, Belaya Rechka, etc. It is a very «wise» solution. Besides, separated «Balkaria», according to the plan, must join the Stavropol region, probably, with further association with Karachay. Which, obviously, by that time, will separate from Cherkessia, though, I do not know how. Deputy Zalikhanov and his supporters seem to know...
At the Congress of the Adyghe public organization, where such separatist plans used to be denounced, has been suddenly expressed the idea of consolidation of Circassian regions into a single republic. What is that, «our response to Curzon»? Are these initiators better than supporters of the establishment of «independent Balkaria»? All these projectors would better first study the map and think of how it will be done, without bloodshed in addition. Just think how one will divide large multinational cities? By the way, the Russians should be asked for their opinion as well. I recall that in Kabardino-Balkaria, for example, two districts -Prokhladnensky and Maisky are predominantly populated by Russians; the capital of the republic Nalchik is also multinational. And what if Prokhladnensky and Maisky districts will also decide to integrate into the Stavropol region, being tired of «sitting on a powder keg» or «on the dormant volcano»? There is really nothing to laugh at - first wahhabis are going to build the North Caucasus caliphate, then some deputies - separate «Balkaria», then some public figures - «Great Cherkessia». Has multicultural Russia already died? It’s not so. Do the authors think that Moscow will favorably treat these plans? As for the words «supporting the policy of consolidation of the regions», then the authors of the draft of the Circassian Olympics are cunning. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, for example, suggested «consolidating» everything here to one North-Caucasian province. Do you need such «consolidation»?
In conclusion, I want to remember about a wonderful guy, whose memory is fairly honored by Abkhazian Volunteers. About Ibraghim Naurzhanov, who was the first volunteer from Kabardino-Balkaria, killed in Abkhazia during the war of 1992. I was at the same year with him at the then historical-philological faculty of the State Kabardino-Balkarian University before my departure for Moscow State University. I studied at the philological department, and he - at the historic one. We were in the same platoon at the military department. Ibraghim studied well, was keenly interested in the history of his people. He is the author of the draft of renewed contemporary Adyghe flag with 12 stars and three crossed arrows. Ibraghim liked sports, I remember, he called everybody to ascent Elbrus. Any narrow nationalism was totally alien to him. He always friendly called me, Russian guy, Olezhka. However, our generation, in general, was not infected with the disease of nationalism. It is now «the peoples’ friendship has worsened» as Mikhail Zadornov neatly noted. At that time, Ibraghim Naurzhanov went to Abkhazia on the call of his heart to protect the kindred Abkhazian people. I do not think that he would approve today any actions that could split the republic, to plunge the entire North Caucasus region into inter-ethnic conflicts. He knew what this could lead to!