A conference entitled “The First North Caucasus Conference: Ethno-Cultural Problems of Circassians” was hosted by the Center for East European Studies University of Warsaw between 7-9 November 2022. The Circassian Cultural Center in Georgia and the Institute of Caucasology of Ivane Javakhishvili University in Tbilisi were co-organizers. The director of the Center for Circassian Studies (CSS), Dr Zeynel Abidin Besleney, was also present as an observer.

The conference was attended by researchers, who were working on Circassian-related subjects, and activists from various Circassian organisations in Turkey, the US, Jordan and Circassia. The panel talks on the last day of the conference were followed by a round table discussion attended solely by Circassian activists to debate the developments in the Circassian republics in the Caucasus with regards to Russia’s continuing invasion of Eastern Ukraine since February 2022. This was one of the first gatherings where the direct and indirect impact of the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Circassians was discussed publicly. The lack of support for Russia’s invasion and resistance to general mobilisation for the Russian Army among the Circassian communities not only in the homeland but also in the diaspora was emphasized.