23:50, 28 February 2020

Circassian woman from Syria asks President Putin to grant her Russian citizenship

Shaziya Nukh. Photo by Lyudmila Maratova for the "Caucasian Knot"

Shaziya Nukh, an 88-year-old repatriate, who arrived in Nalchik from Syria, appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to grant her Russian citizenship. Knowledge of one of the Russian languages, advanced age, and health state of the repatriate should become determining factors to grant her Russian citizenship under accelerated procedures, believes a human rights defender.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Circassian repatriates complained about the need to undergo a lot of the bureaucratic procedures while applying for Russian citizenship. In 2019, only six families took part in the state programme for the resettlement of Circassian compatriots to their homeland.

Seven years ago, Shaziya Nukh came to Kabardino-Balkaria, where her ancestors came from "while fleeing the war in Syria." The woman suffers from a number of diseases and needs constant medical treatment, while she has no relatives left who would help her.

The woman speaks her native Circassian language well.

Syrian compatriots who do not speak Russian have the right to obtain Russian citizenship, along with those repatriates who have learned it, believes Muhamed Khafitse, the head of the public organization "Adyge Khase". He supported the appeal field by Shaziya Nukh.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 28, 2020 at 08:50 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Lyudmila Maratova

Source: CK correspondent