Participants of the conference in Shusha demanded that Russia recognize the genocide of the Circassians.

Participants of the conference in Shusha called on Russia to recognize the genocide of the Circassians and to stop forcing representatives of ethnic minorities to participate in the military operation in Ukraine. The conference was organized by an organization created by the brother of two Azerbaijanis killed during a raid by security forces in Yekaterinburg.

"Caucasian Knot" reported that ethnic sweeps in Russia and retaliatory detentions of Russians in Azerbaijan followed the disaster of an AZAL airline plane in Kazakhstan. Baku accused the Russian authorities of extrajudicial reprisals against Azerbaijanis, and footage of the harsh detention of Russians in Baku appears to be a demonstrative response to Moscow's actions, according to a report from "Caucasian Knot" "Crisis in Azerbaijan-Russia Relations".

A conference titled "Cultural and Ethnic Diversity: Lessons from History, Modern Challenges" was held in Shusha, organized by the Public Association "Center for Cultural and Ethnic Diversity". This organization was created on January 20 by Azerbaijani journalist Seyfaddin Guseinli (Safarov) — two of his brothers were killed during a raid in Yekaterinburg in June 2025, and another brother is imprisoned in Russia, reports "Cautiously, News".

One of the discussion topics was "Ethnic and Cultural Diversity as a Heritage of Humanity", and according to a report from the Azerbaijani publication Trend.Az, it was predominantly dedicated to the situation of the Circassians in Russia.

The Russo-Circassian War was aimed at the systematic destruction of an entire people, stated Turkish researcher-journalist and analyst Nalan Yazgan Erish. "One of the most notorious figures of the Russian conquest, General Grigory Zass, gained infamy for collecting the skulls of Circassians as trophies. And today, in some regions of the North Caucasus, there are monuments erected in honor of General Zass, and official events are held in his memory. For the descendants of the genocide victims, such public glorification is a symbol of not reconciliation, but the continuation of historical violence," she emphasized.

According to her, conditions are not created in Russia even for peaceful memorial events related to the Circassians, and participants of a silent memorial march held in 2025 in Nalchik were subjected to administrative arrest. The legal, political, and cultural consequences of the genocide of the Circassians in 1864 continue to affect the lives of the descendants of the victims," the publication quotes her words.

Professor Jahit Aslan, a researcher at Çukurova University in Turkey, emphasized that millions of Circassians living in different countries of the world strive to preserve their collective memory through family memories, cultural rituals, and memorial ceremonies. The deportations of the peoples of the North Caucasus, including the Karachays, Balkars, and Chechens, also left a deep mark in the collective memory, the scholar pointed out.

"Collective memory is not only a form of remembering the past but also a will to build the future," he emphasized.

Representative of the World Circassian Agency from the USA Fatima Tlis pointed out that as long as the study of the native language is limited in the historical homeland of the Circassians and the right to return is blocked, and the constitutions of national republics continue to lack sovereign content, "the Circassian question will remain an open problem," the publication states.

Participants of the conference adopted a joint declaration calling for an end to the sending of representatives of ethnic minorities in Russia - Circassians, Lezgins, Avars, Kumyks, Chechens, and other peoples - to the military operation zone through pressure, persecution, blackmail, and deprivation of liberty, writes Report.

They also called on Russia to recognize the genocide of the Circassians and other peoples, to abandon the glorification of those involved in mass killings, to ensure access to archival materials on historical topics, and to curb manifestations of chauvinism, xenophobia, and attacks on representatives of non-Russian peoples.

It should be noted that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine recognized the genocide of the Circassians during the Caucasian War in early 2025 and called on Russia to apologize for it. Circassian organizations and activists abroad welcomed the recognition of the genocide of the Circassians by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and expressed hope that this would lead to recognition of the genocide by other countries. The International Circassian Association considered this decision anti-Russian.

What preceded the detention of Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg

Relations between Moscow and Baku noticeably deteriorated after an Azerbaijan Airlines plane with 67 people on board, flying from Baku to Grozny, crashed in Kazakhstan on December 25, 2024. More details can be read in the report from "Caucasian Knot" "Air Crash of Flight Baku-Grozny" and in the material "Geopolitical Confrontation: What Led to the Crash of the AZAL Plane".

Official Baku and Moscow only reported on April 15 about the resolution of the consequences of the AZAL airline plane crash, including regarding compensation. The cause of the tragedy was cited as "unintentional action of the air defense system".