19:15, 24 February 2018

Akkin Chechens want to commemorate deportation victims on February 23

A memorial to people killed in political repression under Stalin in the village of Yaryk-Su. Photo from Imampasha Chergizbiev's personal archive for the "Caucasian Knot"

On February 23, local Chechens and residents of nearby villages of Chechnya visited a mourning event in the village of Yaryk-Su in the Novolak District of Dagestan. They have confirmed their intention to pay tribute to the memory of the deportation victims on the historical date, rather than on the date set up by the authorities of Chechnya.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has been informed by Imampasha Chergizbiev, a member of the Dagestani Council of Elders, that about 1500 people gathered near the Stone of Sorrow on February 23.

"As expected, the people held a Muslim mourning ceremony. Then our elders who remembered that cold February day of 1944 delivered their speeches. They said that the unity of the people helped to survive them," Imampasha Chergizbiev said.

One of the Akkin Chechens has noted that the people always mark the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow namely on February 23.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Tatyana Gantimurova

Source: CK correspondent