On the History of the North Caucasian Diaspora in Turkey

Abstract

AbstractThe preservation of the ethno-linguistic and cultural identity of the majority of the North Caucasian ethnic groups for almost one and a half centuries following their migration to Turkey and other Near Eastern countries is a unique ethno-social phenomenon. The paper discusses several aspects of the history, socio-political life, and the ethnic development of the North Caucasian migrants in the Ottoman Empire (resp. the Republic of Turkey). The author takes into account the following factors in discussing the problem: the state regimes and the legal status of the ethnic minorities in Turkey; the ethnic characteristics and the level of social, economic, and cultural development of the local population; the intensity of the contacts with the historical homeland; and the character of interrelations between the country of habitation (Turkey) and Russia/USSR.