Circassians were dispersed around the world not by voluntary migration, but by war and imperial conquest in the Caucasus. After the end of the Caucasian War in 1864, a huge part of the Circassian population was expelled from its homeland, creating a diaspora across many countries. Today, generations later, Circassians are increasingly turning that diaspora from a space of remembrance into a space of political organisation.
A significant step came in 2025, when the Circassian National Assembly (CNA) was established in Istanbul. Its founding General Assembly brought together 31 civil-society organisations from seven countries. Its leadership includes representatives from Turkey, Germany, Canada, the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden, Israel and other countries.
This marks an important shift.
The issue is no longer only folklore, traditions or preserving memories of the past. Circassians are creating a transnational structure intended to articulate the community’s interests and provide organised representation.
A study published in March 2026 found that Circassians in Turkey retain a strong sense of identity and cultural attachment, while also expressing growing concern about the loss of their mother tongue and the transmission of their heritage to future generations.
This is where decolonisation begins.
An empire can expel a people from its homeland. It can scatter them across dozens of countries. It can attempt to weaken their language and historical memory.
But if a people preserves its sense of identity, it can organise again.
The Circassian National Assembly explicitly uses the concept of the “Circassian nation” and speaks about the historical homeland, the consequences of expulsion and the right to preserve Circassian identity. This is the position of a particular national structure, not evidence that all Circassians hold identical political views.
The question, therefore, is broader than language preservation.
Can a people once driven from its homeland by an empire become an independent political subject again?
The Circassian experience suggests that the path begins with memory, continues through the restoration of identity and organisation, and ultimately reaches the right of a people to speak for itself about its future.
The empire scattered Circassians across the world. It did not manage to scatter Circassia from their memory.
