Mirror morning

fedorlashkov

~ Children's Toy - Сockerel.

Place of origin: Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia

Culture: Early medieval culture of the Adygo-Alanian tribes

Date: A.D. 8th-9th century

Place of origin: North-western Caucasus, Karachayevo-Cherkessk Republic; Archaeological site: Moshchevaya Balka Burial Mound

Medium: Leather, thread, silk.

Baduk river, Karachay-Cherkessia Photo: Evgeniy Ditkovskiy

West Caucasian tur Capra caucasica

Observed by itallmas, CC BY

Karachay bride in traditional dress

Source: https://pinterest.com/pin/1144336586559872773/

Traditionalism vs. Assimilation Among Indigenous Peoples of Siberia.

As is the case for many indigenous groups around the world, native peoples of Siberia struggle to fit into the modern global village while retaining their ethnic identity and cultural distinctiveness. Since the end of World War II, the indigenous peoples of Siberia have had a special legal status which allows for certain “affirmative action”-like quotas and benefits. However, the main aim of these policies was to integrate ethnic minorities into the all-Soviet people and to inculcate the “new Soviet man” mentality. Compulsory boarding schools, where children from different ethnic groups were brought together from the age of seven in a collectivist environment, often served as the hotbed of such Sovietization. The effect on native culture was disastrous. But, as James Forsyth in his A History of the Peoples of Siberia points out, “Russification began even before this, in kindergartens, where most nurses and teachers were Russian speakers. Even where some of them were natives, however, there were cases when children or the nurses themselves were reprimanded for using their native language” (here the parallels with Native North American languages are obvious). In the Soviet Union, it was believed that minority languages and cultures would die out under communism, and that “nationalism can only be bourgeois”. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, a number of new laws have been adopted whose goal is to preserve ethnic distinctiveness of indigenous peoples. But can the tables be turned?

So the mob was looking for israeli's at an airport. HM. They were demanding "jews" in general and not only israelis. HM. Almost like jewish people would NOT be welcomed with open arms if they left israel in droves. HM. Almost like "every jewish person just needs to leave, you will be fine" isn't a viable solution.

Yeah it seems there was a plane from Tel Aviv and a rumor flew around that it was full of Israeli refugees so a mob showed up to Lynch them.

video of the mob shows them pretty clearly saying "Jews" "give us the Jews!" "where are the Jews?!" "kill the Jews" etc, they rampaged through the airport "looking for the Jews" ripped the place apart it'll be closed till next week because of the damage, the Russian national guard landed military helicopters on the runway to break them up. They went to local hotels and run around the halls screaming for Jews

any ways the plane was not full of Israelis, in fact it doesn't seem like it had any Israelis. It was full of.... sick children and their families returning from Israel where they were getting advanced medical care. There's video of them on a bus begging and trying to tell the mob they weren't Jews and please don't hurt us.

It seems there were a few Jews or Israelis or both at the airport unclear if they were the flight crew or just locals or what, but they were locked up in a safe room in the airport while the riot went on, thankfully no one was murdered

it seems this kind of thing is happening all over the Russian controlled Caucuses, a Jewish cultural center in Kabardino-Balkaria was burned out and defaced with "death to the Yahudam." in Karachay-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria there have been protests demanding the authorities expel Jews or hand over the names of Jews so they can be hunted down

“The building of the new #Jewish cultural center was set on fire in #Nalchik (Kabardino-Balkariya, #Russia). According to local residents, someone threw burning tires into the  building under construction. Also on the wall appeared the inscription “death to the Yahudam.” Yahud means Jew in Arabic.

Yesterday, in the neighboring republic to Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, a rally was held calling for the expulsion of Jews from the region”

🇷🇺 Карачаево-Черкесия , Россия .

- Походы к прекрасным горным Имертинским озерам по Кавказскому заповеднику.

🌿🌿🌿

🇷🇺Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia

- Video from a hike to the beautiful mountain Imerta lakes in the Caucasus Reserve.

Who is the musician Arslanbek Sultanbekov?

He was born in the town of Erkin-Halk of the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia, which is within the borders of the former Soviet Union. He completed high school in 1983. Until 1985, he did his military service in the Arkhangelsk province.

من هو الموسيقار أرسلانبيك سلطانبيكوف؟

ولد في بلدة إركين هالك بجمهورية قراتشاي شركيسيا الواقعة داخل حدود الاتحاد السوفيتي السابق. أكمل دراسته الثانوية عام 1983. حتى عام 1985 ، أدى خدمته العسكرية في مقاطعة أرخانجيلسك.

Hey! Can you please explain why it's wrong to use Caucasian to mean white? I tried to google it but all I found were explanations of how we started using it.

yeah, sure!

so the word "caucasian" comes from the caucasus, which is a mountainous region between the black and caspian seas bordering turkey and iran in the south. the territories situated in that region are: the countries of azerbaijan, georgia, armenia, and the territories which were colonized and are still occupied by russia to this day, which are adygea, dagestan, ingushetia, kabardino-balkaria, karachay-cherkessia, north ossetia - alania, and chechnya. the ethnic groups native to those regions are: azerbaijanis, georgians, armenians*, abkhazians, cherkess/circassians, avars, dargins/dargwa, kumyks, lezgins/leks, laks, nogais, rutuls, ingush, kabardians, balkars, karachays, ossetians/alans, and chechens.**

*azerbaijanis, georgians, and armenians have certain ethnic subgroups but i believe they have all historically been joint by their respective ethnic group for a long time and do not separate themselves from each other outside of having small differences in traditions - if someone knows differently, please do correct me

**sorry if i forgot someone and do let me know if i did

now, here are some examples of what people of some of those ethnic groups look like:

chechen activist tumso abdurakhmanov, ossetian comedian ariana lolaeva, half-georgian singer valery meladze

just looking at these people, you can probably already take a guess at why it is at the very least silly to point at blonde becky born in ohio and call her caucasian. but there is also a reason why i took the time to list every single ethnic group that lives in the caucasus region (apart from trying to generally educate you) - i listed them because these groups are objectively the only ones, who can be called caucasians. moreover, not only are actual caucasians in a weird spot in terms of whether they can even be called white or not (as i said, it is a relatively small mountainous region that borders iran, and i believe no one would call iranians white), but even if you do consider them white, there is an enormous variety of other ethnic groups under the white label AND the majority of white americans' ancestors are NOT caucasians.

apart from the fact that using caucasian as a synonym to white is kind of nonsensical, it is also just unnecessary. there is no context in which the usage of the word caucasian provides any additional information - you can always replace it with the word white and the meaning would remain the same. (btw, as a linguist, this is actually a little hint from the language itself that something isn't right with the way you are using the word - no two words can be fully synonymous in a language, there is always some subtle difference in meaning, but with the way americans use caucasian and white - there is none).

finally, and to my mind most importantly, by using caucasian in the way that americans use it, you are stripping actual caucasians of the ability to talk about their identity in english, THE international language of the world. this is already offensive enough, but considering the colonization of the caucasus by the russian empire throughout the 19th century, the horrors and genocides performed by russians in the region, and the continuous oppression of caucasians in russia today, you are effectively silencing a whole bunch of ethnic groups on their past and the things their ancestors suffered, and helping russia erase that part of history from the general knowledge of the public by co-opting the word you don't need that is so central to the identities of these ethnic groups.

A series of anti-Semitic incidents across the North Caucasus has drawn condemnation from the North Caucasus Coordinating Center for Muslims, while Dagestan Governor Sergey Melikov attributed the actions to “false information” spread by “outside provocateurs.”

On October 28, in Khasavyurt, Dagestan, locals demonstrated outside the Flamingo hotel, following the spread of online rumors suggesting that Israeli refugees were staying there and that the hotel was “full of Jews.” The Telegram channel ChP Dagestan reported that a group gathered outside the hotel several hours after a video showing a person with a supposedly “Israeli appearance” near the premises circulated online. The crowd demanded that hotel guests come to the windows, and, when they did not comply, the group started throwing stones at the building.

According to the news site Caucasian Knot, police officers who arrived at the scene allowed several of the demonstrators to enter the hotel so they could verify that there were no Israeli citizens inside. Subsequently, the crowd dispersed. A sign hung on the hotel entrance after the demonstration reads: “Entrance is strictly prohibited for foreign citizens of ISRAEL (JEWS)!!! (AND THEY AREN’T STAYING HERE!!!!!)”

On the same day, unsanctioned anti-Israeli rallies took place in Makhachkala’s Lenin Square and in Cherkessk, the capital of Karachay-Cherkessia. Demonstrators in Cherkessk demanded “Israeli refugees not be allowed to enter the region” and ethnic Jews be expelled from the area. A government representative, who came out to talk to the demonstrators, said there were no grounds for expulsion.

The following morning, October 29, unknown individuals set fire to an under-construction Jewish cultural center in Nalchik. The assailants threw burning tires onto the property and wrote the phrase “death to Jews” on the wall.

Commenting on the incidents in Khasavyurt and Makhachkala, Dagestan Governor Sergey Melikov blamed outside misinformation, “spread by enemies of Russia,” and said that the people involved were “hotheads” who “allowed themselves to be manipulated” but also noted that “the incident in no way reflects well on [the perpetrators].” He called on Dagestanis “to counter any attempts to divide society.” “Today, our prayers are with the people of Palestine,” Melikov also stated.

The North Caucasus Coordinating Center for Muslims has condemned the anti-Semitic actions. They expressed their support for Palestine but emphasized that “Muslims of the North Caucasus cannot be on the side of hatred and intolerance towards other peoples and religions.” They added that “there is no place for anti-Semitism in the region.”

Dagestan’s Jewish community has not ruled out the possibility that it will need to evacuate from the region. “The situation is very difficult in Dagestan. People from the [Jewish] community are afraid, they’re calling, and I don’t know what advice to give them,” said Ovadia Osakov, a representative of Russia’s Chief Rabbinate in the republic. In addition, he said, he doesn’t know where people would evacuate to, as “Russia isn’t a refuge: Russia has also had pogroms.”

The Karachay-Cherkessia, Сaucasus mountains

Karachay-Cherkessia Republic

Russia’s economy is falling apart and “time is working against Russia” and its president, Vladimir Putin, a top German official said Thursday.

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck made the remarks the same day Russian officials revealed that five more generals had been fired.

Since invading Ukraine more than three months ago, Russia has secured modest gains in its battle for control of the eastern Donbas region. Income from energy sales to Europe has played a major role in funding Russia's war, and Habeck acknowledged that Russia has been aided by historically high energy prices and Europe's inability to completely halt purchases.

"We can only be ashamed that we haven’t yet managed to reduce this dependence more significantly,” said Habeck, who is also Germany's economy minister. But he added that "Putin is still getting money, but he can hardly spend it” because of Western sanctions.

"Time is not working for Russia. It is working against Russia, it is working against the Russian economy," he said. "No one wants to invest in Russia any more.”

Major developments:

►European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says it's in the European Union's strategic interest but also “our moral duty” to make it possible for Ukraine to join the 30-nation bloc.

►A memorial was held in the Russian region of Karachay-Cherkessia for retired Russian Gen. Kanamat Botashov, 63, a legendary pilot shot down in Ukraine. Local authorities said he "died heroically while performing his military duty."

►Ukraine's soccer team won at Scotland, setting up a fixture against Wales for a spot in the World Cup tournament that begins Nov. 21 in Qatar.

►Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said Thursday that he expects Denmark to join the European Union’s common defense on July 1. In a referendum on Wednesday, two-thirds of voters opted to abandon a 30-year-old waiver that kept the NATO member from full participation.

►Britain says it will send sophisticated medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine. The U.S. and Germany made similar pledges this week.

Insight into Kabardian (/kəˈbɑːrdiən/)

What is the language called in English and the language itself? - In English, it’s called Kabardian or Adyghe. In the language itself, it’s called Къэбэрдей (Qəbərtay) or Адыгэбзэ (Adıgabzə). It may also be called Qabardejbza, Circassian, or Cherkessia. - The two main dialects of this language are Kabardian and Besleney. Linguists often refer to the Kabardian dialect as East Circassian and the Besleney dialect as West Circassian.  - The Kabardian language and the Adyghe language are very closely intertwined. Although the name in the language itself can be called either in Kabardian, there are significant phonological, typograpical, and cultural differences that should not be conflated. 

Where is the language spoken? - The language is mostly spoken in Russia in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, roughly where Russia touches Georgia. It’s also spoken in Turkey, Jordan, and Syria due to diaspora.

How many people speak the language? - Kabardian has roughly 650,000 as of 2010 (Endangered Language Alliance).

Which language family does it belong to? What are some of its relative languages? - It’s classified as Northwest Caucasian > Circassian > Kabardian. It’s closest relative language is Adyghe.

What writing system does the language use?  - Kabardian is written in the cyrillic script.  - Sample text from Omniglot: ЦIыху псори щхьэхуиту, я щIыхьымрэ я хуэфащэхэмрэкIэ зэхуэдэу къалъхур. Акъылрэ зэхэщIыкI гъуазэрэ яIэщи, зыр зым зэкъуэш зэхащІэ яку дэлъу зэхущытын хуейхэщ. - How to identify the language: A characteristic to look for is dipthongs with “I” as the second character. Though it’s not an exact science, it’ll help you estimate in which group the language you’re looking at is. 

What kind of grammatical features does the language have? - Kabardian is an SOV langauge with ergative-absolutive alignment. It has no grammatical gender, 2 numbers, 3 persons, 5 voices (nominative, causative, factitive, and involuntative), and 4 cases (still under debate). It has definiteness, transitivity, reflexivity, and postpositions in place of prepositions, as well as a small number of particles and conjunctions. It’s also well known for it’s consonant clusters.

What does the language sound like?

What do you personally find interesting about the language? - Once again the dialect debate has me interested. However, I was also intrigued by the use of ergative-absolutive alignment; I haven’t seen that for a long time, and this was a nice refresher! Also, languages from the caucases always intrigue me for some reason.