1201 - 1300 | Raiding Mongols drive Karachays into the highlands of the Northern Caucasus. |
1701 - 1800 | Karachays convert to the Islamic faith under the influence of the Kabard people. |
1828 | Russia formally annexes Karachay territories. |
1831 - 1860 | Karachays join in bloody anti-Russian revolts carried out by Caucasian peoples. |
1861 - 1880 | To escape repression by the Russian army, large numbers of Karachays migrate to Turkey. |
Jan 1, 1921 - Dec 12, 1930 | Early Soviet period: Bolshevik authorities quell resistance to Soviet rule in Karachay region and other territories of the Caucasus. |
1942 | The invading German army occupies the Karachay region. |
1943 - 1944 | After the Red Army liberates the Karachay region, Stalin orders the deportation of Karachays to Central Asia in retaliation for their alleged cooperation with the German army. |
1956 | Along with other deported minority groups, the Karachays are officially rehabilitated under Soviet leader Khrushchev's de-Stalinization campaign and are allowed to return to their traditional homeland. |
1957 | The Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Oblast is reconstituted. |
1986 - 1990 | Reflecting their somewhat weak collective identity, Karachays do not mobilize as stridently as other groups under the new freedoms granted by Mikhail Gorbachev's reform initiatives. |
Nov 1990 | The Karachay parliament declares the territory's sovereignty as the Soviet Socialist Republic of Karachay. |
Nov 1991 | Experts issue a report claiming that a decade of dumping radioactive waste into Lake Karachay has dangerously polluted the region. A rally is held in the city of Karachayevsk demanding restoration of autonomy for the Karachay republic which was lost under Stalinist repressions. |
Dec 1991 | The Congress of the Moslems of Karachay calls for a return of Karachay autonomy. A mass rally bringing together representatives from across the republic issues a similar appeal. The USSR is dissolved. |
Feb 1992 | The leadership of the Islamic Party of Rebirth calls for the reconstitution of Karachay autonomy. |
Mar 1992 | 78 percent of the Karachay-Cherkessian electorate votes in a referendum to support the unity of the republic. |
Jun 1992 | 89 percent of the Karachay-Cherkessian electorate votes in a referendum to support the unity of the republic. Karachay authorities respect a request by Muslims and declare an official holiday in honor of the Islamic "Feast of Sacrifice." |
Jul 1992 | Dzhokhar Dudayev, President of Chechnya, attends a congress of Karachay peoples held in the city of Karachayevsk. The congress calls for a restoration of Karachay autonomy. |
Aug 1992 | The Karachay-Cherkess republic and the Adygey republic sign a treaty of friendship and cooperation. The document stresses the importance of trade relations. |
Oct 1993 | In official ceremonies and speeches, the Karachay people mark the 50 year anniversary of their deportation to Central Asia by Stalin. |
Nov 1993 | The Russian government undertakes measures to support the social and economic development of the Karachay people, including restitution payments for individuals deported under Stalin. |
Jun 1994 | Russian President Boris Yeltsin issues a decree on measures in support of rehabilitating the economic and cultural life of the Karachay. Karachay and Russian officials meet and reach an agreement to diffuse political and ethnic tensions in the republic, in part by scheduling elections to local and republic-level representative bodies. |
Feb 1995 | Leaders from the Cossack, Russian, and Cherkessian communities of the Karachay-Cherkess republic appeal to President Yeltsin to support the region's return to the administrative control of the Stavropol territory. |
Mar 1995 | The Karachay-Cherkess Justice Ministry announces its intention to ban operations of the "Rus" political movement (a Russian nationalist organization) on the grounds that it incites inter-ethnic conflict. |
May 1995 | President Yeltsin confirms Vladimir Khubiyev as head of the Karachay-Cherkess republic, a position he has occupied since January 1933. The bloc of Communist parties wins the largest number of seats in the republic's parliamentary elections. |
Jun 1995 | Cossacks in Karachay-Cherkess announce that they are mobilizing a militia as a self-defense measure against armed gangs of Ingush, Kabardins, and Karachays. |
Dec 1995 | The Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy announced plans to build a new fast breeder reactor to evaporate the contaminated water of Lake Karachay, after which sludge wastes from the lake would be buried. (Nucleonics Week12/14/95) |
Mar 1996 | Karachay-Cherkessia became the last of the Russian Federation Republics to adopt its own constitution. The constitution said that state power in Karachay-Cherkessia would be exercised by the head of the republic, the national assembly, the government and the courts. The head of the republic was to be elected for a period of four years. (British Broadcasting Corporation 3/10/96) |
May 1996 | The Russian government formally criticized the ongoing clean-up of a 1957 nuclear accident in Karachay-Cherkessia, which was considerably worse than the 1986 Chernobyl accident. About 10,000 families evacuated from the contaminated area were still living in makeshift houses built 30 years before, and radiation levels at Karachay lake were as high as 120m curies. (British Broadcasting Corporation 5/7/96) |
Jul 1996 | The parliament of Karachay-Cherkessia passed a law On the languages of the people of the Karachay-Cherkess republic, decreeing that the state languages of the republic were Abazi, Karachay, Nogay, Russian and Circassian, but that Russian would be the language of interethnic communication and of official documents. The law guaranteed the observance of the constitutional rights and liberties of the individual and citizen, regardless of fluency or non-fluency in any of the listed state languages. (British Broadcasting Corporation 7/17/96) |
Jul 1997 | Adygeya, Kabarda-Balkaria and the Karachay-Cherkess Republic agreed to set up an inter-parliamentary council, which would settle key legislative issues in a consultative manner, taking into account the interests of each republic and each nation separately, but emphasizing their common interests: peace in the Caucasus and expansion in integration in the economy, in business and in science and culture. (British Broadcasting Corporation 7/26/97) |
Jan 1998 | The closing of the Mercury firm, the biggest enterprise in the Karachay- Cherkess Republic, prompted the residents of the capital Cherkessk to hold a rally and put forward political as well as economic demands. They wanted democratic elections of a new leadership for the republic. The protestors believed that the closing of Mercury resulted from a political intrigue which started in November when Stanislav Derev - the firm's president - was elected mayor of Cherkessk, but found himself unable to communicate with the head of the Republic, Vladimir Khubiyev due to language difficulties. Official accounts said the protest was sparked by the seizure of a truck transporting illegal vodka made at Mercury, which the firm said was an incident of framing. (British Broadcasting Corporation 1/26/98) |
Sep 1998 | A rally of political parties and labor collectives interrupted a session of the People's Assembly of the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia, which was debating the law for the election of the head of the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia. The groups wanted to speed up the passage of the law and set a date for the elections. The law was passed four days later. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/18/98 & 9/22/98) |
Nov 1998 | Work on filling in radioactive Lake Karachay, was suspended due to lack of funds. (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/27/98) |
Jan 1999 | Several leaders of national and public movements representing the Abazin and Cherkess ethnic groups prepared to poll the Abazin, Cherkess and some other ethnic groups in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic on whether they wished the republic be made part of Stavropol Territory again. Abazin and Cherkess ethnic public and political movements in Karachay- Cherkessia, had proclaimed autonomy for the Cherkess areas about two months before. Karachay-Cherkessia was an autonomous region within Stavropol Territory until 1991. [There was no indication that the Karachay were involved in the debate.] (British Broadcasting Corporation 1/11/99) |
Mar 1999 | The Federal Security Service (FSS) suspected radical Muslims called Wahhabites of leaving leaflets containing threats to stage terrorist acts near the building of the FSS Karachay- Cherkessia regional directorate in Cherkessk. There were reports that the Wahhabites were also recruiting and preparing for battle. (British Broadcasting Corporation 3/6/99) |
Apr 1999 | The head of Karachay -Cherkessia, Vladimir Semenov, formally announced that the new bodies of power in Karachay -Cherkessia were being formed on the basis of equal representation for all ethnic groups populating the republic, but that personnel was not selected according to their ethnicity and personal loyalty. At this point, Russians, Karachays, Abazin and Cherkess people had been confirmed into the new government, and a Cherkess and a Nogay were expected to be nominated for two unfilled deputy premier positions. (British Broadcasting Corporation 4/11/99) After the first round of elections for the new head of the Republic, none of the thirteen candidates won a majority. The incumbent, Vladimir Khubiyev, came sixth and was out of the running. The two candidates who gained the most votes, Stanislav Derev, the mayor of Cherkessk, and Gen Vladimir Semenov, an adviser to the Russian defense minister and native of the Karachay village of Khurzuk, moved ahead to the runoff election on May 16. (British Broadcasting Corporation 4/26/99) |
Apr 1 - May 31, 1999 | In the period between the first election and the run-off, numerous terrorist attacks were carried out, including grenade attacks and arsons. The attacks seemed mostly to target candidate Stanislav Derev as well as selected polling places. Furthermore, the Minister of Ethnic Policy, Ramazan Abdulatipov, said publicly that the violence was not linked to ethnic problems but to a traditional power struggle. Still, a week before the May 15 run-off, the Russian Federation Ministry of Ethnic Policy broadcast announcements reminding people not to vote based on ethnic rivalries. (British Broadcasting Corporation 5/3/99 & 5/6/99 & 5/8/99) |
May 1999 | In protest of the large number of ballots (approx. 20%) cast ahead of the run-off election, 38 polling stations refused to open on election day itself. In addition, at the capital's central square, supporters of Stanislav Derev, held a rally, demanding that the voting results be invalidated (including the early voting results which they claimed gave Semenov an advantage of 60,000 votes) and fair elections held. The general won the election with over 75% of the vote. Derev supporters claimed Semenov had tampered with the vote by controlling polling places and casting duplicate votes. The election commission walked out of the decision making process, after only some of the commissioners felt the election was fair. (British Broadcasting Corporation 5/16/99 & 5/17/99 & 5/18/99 & 5/22/99) Stanislav Derev, during the daily post-election protests, said that there were only two conditions under which he would be able to prevent ethnic war from breaking out in the Republic: either by allowing the current Russian envoy to be approved by the republican parliament or by returning the republic to Stavropol Territory where it was in the past. After five days of protests in the city, the groups disbanded after the announcement that the elections would be declared invalid. (British Broadcasting Corporation 5/20/99 & 5/23/99) In light of the tensions surrounding the election, both candidates met with the acting Russian prime minister and signed an agreement intended to defuse the situation. The agreement recognized the right of all citizens regardless of nationality or religion to be elected to any elected position, and called on the voters to reconcile, and the government to create the post of plenipotentiary representative of the Russian president in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic to cooperate with the Russian president. (British Broadcasting Corporation 5/19/99) Vladimir Khubiyev, head of Karachay-Cherkessia, and Anatoliy Ozov, chairman of the republic's government, resigned. Stepashin declared that he would submit for the consideration of Igor Ivanov, chairman of the republic's People's Assembly (parliament), should be appointed acting head of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic to govern the republic pending a ruling on the legality or illegality of the elections for the head of Karachay-Cherkessia. (British Broadcasting Corporation 5/24/99) A large group of participants in a rally led by the brothers of Cherkessk mayor Stanislav Derev stopped the car belonging to permanent envoy to the Russian president Magomed Kaitov . They turned the vehicle upside down, dragged Kaitov out and brought him to the office of the Mercury company of Stanislav Derev and beat him, allegedly because of his support of Derev's rival, Army Gen Vladimir Semenov. Kaitov was freed by staff from the local department of the Federal Security Service who had been informed about the incident by the envoy's people. According to Kaitov, the local police did nothing to detain the attackers. A rally of thousands of people indignant at yesterday's incident gathered in Karachayevsk today, Kaitov said. Some of them came from Karachay villages. The rally participants said that the situation was turning into an interethnic problem because Stanislav Derev is an ethnic Cherkess and Vladimir Semenov and Magomed Kaitov are ethnic Karachays. (British Broadcasting Corporation 5/25/99) |
Jun 1999 | The Supreme Court of Karachay-Cherkessia found that the 16th May elections for head of the republic were valid and their results stand. At the same time the court rejected as unfounded the lawsuit of Stanislav Derev, who asked the court to declare invalid the results of vote. (British Broadcasting Corporation 6/10/99) Stanislav Derev, the mayor of Cherkessk stated that he would not end his supporters' rally in the central square of the republic's capital Cherkessk . Stanislav Derev reiterated his warning that, if Gen Vladimir Semenov was declared the winner of the May 16th elections, he would insist on the partitioning of the republic and the inclusion of the Cherkess lands in Stavropol Territory (British Broadcasting Corporation 6/11/99) The Assembly of the peoples of Karachay-Cherkessia, which included delegations from villages, settlements and hamlets of the republic, representatives of 28 public political parties and movements, members of the clergy and chiefs of the Kuban Cossack, condemned the ongoing unsanctioned rally in the central square of Cherkessk. The conference believed that the passivity of the law-enforcement bodies exacerbated the situation and adopted an appeal to the country's top political leadership to establish order in the republic and remove a number of heads of the Karachay-Cherkess law-enforcement bodies from their posts. The assembly also elected a permanent presidium, delegates to go to Moscow to meet representatives of the federal authorities, and a supreme economic council. (British Broadcasting Corporation 6/13/99) |
Jul 1999 | The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation overturned the decision of the Supreme Court of Karachay-Cherkessia, which recognized the results of the elections for the head of the republic as valid. The Russian Supreme Court directed that the matter be referred back to the republic's Supreme Court for reconsideration. (British Broadcasting Corporation 7/23/99) Boris Yeltsin appointed a new person to be head of Karachay-Cherkessia while the election results were still being disputed. (British Broadcasting Corporation 7/24/99) Over 12,000 people gathered to protest the appointments of various people to the Karachay-Cherkess government, which they said violated their rights, since they were not appointed by the elected government. They urged the parliament to declare the appointments illegal and uphold the election. Similar protests continued until the 6th of August. (British Broadcasting Corporation 7/25/99 & 8/6/99) |
Aug 1999 | The congress of the Cherkess, Abazin and Russian people of Karachay- Cherkessia adopted a resolution calling for Cherkess autonomy to be restored. It also decided to appeal to the Russian president and the federal government to this effect (British Broadcasting Corporation 8/11/99) The day the Karchay-Cherkess Supreme Court upheld the May elections, declaring Gen. Semenov head of government, a group of about 100 protestors blocked the entrance to the government building, and attacked Semenov's jeep. Lenin Square, opposite the government building, was crowded with about 4,000 of Derev's supporters, while an estimated 3,000 supporters of both Derev and Semenov gathered behind the government building from the northern side, where clashes occurred. The opposing sides were separated by police, but the Cherkessk law-enforcement agencies adopted no measures to lift the siege or ensure Semenov's safety. (British Broadcasting Corporation 8/27/99) Supporters of mayor of Cherkessk Stanislav Derev, while holding a rally in the center of the Karachay-Cherkess capital, announced the formation of a government of autonomous Cherkessia. About 60 supporters of Derev, all of them members of the republic government, announced their withdrawal from the republic's government. The move was declared illegal by the Russian Justice Ministry. (British Broadcasting Corporation 8/31/99 &9/1/99) |
Sep 1999 | Seventeen supporters of General Semenov were hospitalized after a brawl with Derev supporters broke out at an intersection. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/3/99) During peace negotiations between Derev and Semenov in Moscow, each side offered solutions, but reached no common ground. The Russians suggested that Semenov be named president, and that a Cherkess be appointed prime minister Derev's representatives suggested that Moscow appoint an ethnic Russian head of government for four years, or until the Russian Supreme Court ruled in their favor on constitutional issues. Semenov's representatives did not publicly state their plan, although they emphasized that Semenov had legally won and any further appointments by Moscow would be in violation of their rights. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/4/99 & 9/5/99) Six people were hospitalized with gunshot wounds after clashes between Derev supporters and Semenov supporters (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/6/99) An organizational committee of Slavs, Russians and Cossacks of Karachay-Cherkessia meeting in Cherkessk adopted a resolution calling for the prevention of any division of the republic and for the results of the election to be recognized as legal. In addition the Russians in the republic asked that the size of the population to be used as a basis in the formation of the structures of authority in the republic (the Russian-speaking population accounts for 43 per cent of the total). (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/7/99) Two cafes owned by Karachays in Cherkesst were set on fire. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/7/99) The homes of three men were attacked with bombs or fire. Each of the men was a member of a committee that prepared a rally by Russians and Cossacks living in the republic to protest against its possible division. They had gone ahead with the rally the day before, despite a ban on rallies. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/9/99) On September 14, a ceremony took place in Ust-Dzheguta to swear into office the new head of Karachay -Cherkessia, Vladimir Semenov. Members of the republic's government and the People's Assembly were present at the ceremony, and also leaders and activists of public political and national cultural organizations and representatives of religious confessions. Taking the oath, Semenov swore to respect and protect human and citizens' rights and freedoms and to guard the [territorial] integrity of Karachay-Cherkessia within the composition of the Russian Federation. At Semenov's request, the festivities were low-key. Four Cherkess legislative deputies sent a telegram to Moscow protesting the 'unlawful inauguration'. Russia had still not yet recalled its 'temporary' head of government. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/15/99) Supporters of Stanislav Derev closed the road running from Cherkessk to Stavropol, blocking the passage of traffic. Those taking part in the action demanded the removal of Vladimir Semenov from the post of head of Karachay-Cherkessia. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/16/99) Cherkess and Abaza deputies refused to participate in the session of the people's assembly of Karachay-Cherkessia - only 43 deputies of the Karachay, Russian and some other nationalities made the quorum. Instead, the Cherkess and Abaza deputies and members of the republic's government attended the third united congress of the deputies of all levels and ethnic socio- political movements of the Russian Cossacks, Cherkesses, Abazaz and other peoples of Karachay-Cherkessia. The congress proclaimed the creation of a Cherkess autonomous entity within Stavropol Territory and began to set up a new government for the entity. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/17/99) Russia's federal authorities set up a special commission to resolve the conflict in Karachay- Cherkessia. The commission included representatives of the presidential administration, the government and both houses of parliament. The decision to create the commission was made after presidential chief of staff Aleksandr Voloshin's met with the leaders of Karachay- Cherkessia's Russian and Nogay communities. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/23/99) Representatives of the Abazin and Cherkess peoples protesting against the results of the Karachay-Cherkess executive elections sealed off the building of the Karachay-Cherkessia state TV and radio broadcasting company. The demonstrators said the company's coverage of developments in Karachay-Cherkessia was biased.(British Broadcasting Corporation 9/24/99) The Karachay-Cherkess parliament and cabinet drafted a formal appeal to the Russian Federal Government, blaming an alleged extremist wing of the International Cherkess Association led by Boris Akbashev, which supports Stanislav Derev, for "blatant physical, moral and psychological terror" of Russians, Karachay, Nogay and Abazin and Cherkess who oppose interethnic strife and attempts to split the republic. They asked the Russians for practical support for efforts against political terrorism, towards social and political stability, and for unity and territorial integrity of Karachay -Cherkessia and the entire Russian south. The Russian Interior Minister refused the appeal, stating that there were already 2,000 Russian troops in the republic and blaming the problems on political mismanagement within the republican government. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/25/99) After blocking access to the government building in Cherkessk for six days, 3,000- 4,000 Cherkess protestors ended their demonstration when the government finally threatened to arrest the demonstrators. The government had maintained the protest was illegal and organized for several days. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/26/99) Two armed Abkhazians were detained along the Georgian-Karachay-Cherkessia border, amid reports that a similar incident .had occurred three weeks before. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/26/99) A parliament of the Cherkess autonomy was formed on 28th September by ethnic Abazin and Cherkess deputies who split from the Karachay -Cherkessia People's Assembly. Zaudin Khunov, who has resigned as a deputy speaker of the People's Assembly, was elected as head of the new parliament. (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/30/99) |
Oct 1999 | In an interview, Vladimir Semenov, head of Karachay -Cherkessia, explained that he was selecting his government, which would include Vasiliy Neshchadimov, [an ethnic Russian] general director of the Stavropoltruboprovodstroy organization, as head of the cabinet (elsewhere translated as prime minister), and four deputies: a Karachay, a Cherkess, an Abazin and a Nogay. He also threatened to take steps against members of the republican parliament who had not taken their seats, most notably those who were participating in the breakaway Cherkess parliament. (British Broadcasting Corporation 10/6/99) The formal approval of the prime minister, deputy prime minister and other ministers nominated by the head of the republic, by the People's Assembly of Karachay-Cherkessia was aborted when the legislature did not achieve a quorum. The opening of the session was boycotted by Abazin, Cherkess and some Russian deputies, who insisted they would uphold to the end their demand for the reversal of the Karachay-Cherkess Supreme Court's ruling recognizing Vladimir Semenov as having been lawfully elected head of the republic at the elections held on 16th May. The prime minister and Karachay and Abazin deputies were confirmed during an extraordinary session the following day, while the Nogay and Cherkess posts remained vacant. (British Broadcasting Corporation 10/12/99 &10/13/99) Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree to set up a stabilization commission for Karachay-Cherkessia to normalize the Republic's socio-economic situation. The president instructed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to form the commission and approve its members within five days. (British Broadcasting Corporation 10/16/99) The Russian Federation Council refused to confirm Vladimir Semenov's powers until the Russian Supreme Court delivered a final verdict on his election. (British Broadcasting Corporation 10/19/99) The head of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Vladimir Semenov, signed a decree banning rallies, street marches, demonstrations and pickets. The ban was to be in effect until the political situation in Karachay-Cherkessia stabilized. Its aim was to protect citizens' safety, preserve the integrity of Karachay-Cherkessia and prevent any violations of the rights and liberties of its inhabitants A Moscow newspaper decried the decree as a violation of the Russian Federation Constitution. (British Broadcasting Corporation 10/19/99 & 10/20/99) The Russian Supreme Court confirmed the decision of the Supreme Court of Karachay- Cherkessia, recognizing the validity of the 16th May elections. Between 4,500 and 18,000 people protested the decision in the Cherkessk town square the following day, saying that the Supreme Court did not give the matter ample consideration. (British Broadcasting Corporation 10/22/99 & 10/23/99) After meeting with both Semenov and Derev, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, reached a compromise in which Derev promised to end the protests in exchange for a referendum on Semenov's rule to be held on October 22, 2000. (British Broadcasting Corporation 10/23/99) |
Nov 1999 | The Russian Federation Council voted by an overwhelming majority to confirm the powers of the head of the Karachay -Cherkess Republic, Vladimir Semenov, as a member of the upper house of parliament. The Russian Supreme Court had ruled that Semenov's election as head of Karachay -Cherkessia was lawful. (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/11/99) The Cherkessk city government authorized a rally by Cherkess and Abazin people in support of an autonomous Cherkess republic. The rally was to be held a week in advance of a visit by the Russian delegation charged with stabilizing ethnic relations in the republic. (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/14/99) Abazins and Cherkess rallied in Adyge-Khabl in Karachay-Cherkessia to protest a rumor that the head of the republic dismissed the head of the Adyge-Khabl District administration - an ethnic Cherkess - and replaced him with a representative of the Nogay people. The participants demanded that Semenov resign because he had fraudulently won the May elections. Semenov's office claimed that he had not removed the officer, while those at the rally claimed that he had signed, but then withdrawn, a decree to that effect. (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/18/99) The last subunits of the special-purpose militia sent to Karachay-Cherkessia in the wake of the May elections left the republic on November 21st, once Russian officials were satisfied that the situation had stabilized. (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/22/99) |
Dec 1999 | The Republican Parliament worked out an agreement on the formation of a consultive counsel, made up of three members each from the Russian, Karachay, Cherkess, Abazin and Nogay peoples, which was to help form the government after the December 18 parliamentary elections. Despite initially agreeing to the compromise, protestors in Cherkessk returned to the government building the following day to picket, saying that they would leave the square only after seeing real results from the activity of the consultative council. (British Broadcasting Corporation 12/6/99) Over sixty percent of eligible voters turned out for the December 18 Karachay-Cherkessia parliamentary elections, and elected Abazins, Karachays, Nogays, Russians and Cherkesses to be among the 73 deputies. (British Broadcasting Corporation 12/20/99) |
Jan 2000 | Eleven Cherkess and Abazin deputies walked out of the People's Assembly in protest after a Nogay was elected chairman. The deputies had hoped that the Russian federal commission would enforce its suggestion that the Russian prime minister be replaced by a Cherkess - preferably Stanislav Derev - since the elected head of government was still Semenov, a Karachay. They had also wanted a Russian to be the chairman. (British Broadcasting Corporation 1/6/00) |
Mar 2000 | Several lawmakers of Abazin and Cherkess origin refused to take part in the opening of a parliament session on the budget in Karachay-Cherkessia. The MPs who staged the walkout said that the budget had no prospects because Abazins and Cherkesses would soon secede from the region. The remaining delegates had the power to pass the budget, and denounced the secessionist drive. (British Broadcasting Corporation 3/10/00) The Cherkessk town court overturned the Cherkessk town administration's decision to authorize a secessionist rally in the central square. Approximately 2,000 people attended the rally anyway. (British Broadcasting Corporation 3/13/00 & 3/14/00) |