17:59, 7 December 2025

Representatives of the Caucasian diaspora in Turkey have come to the defense of Tuptsokova

Participants in a petition to the Adygea authorities demanded an immediate end to the criminal prosecution of Circassian activist Larisa Tuptsokova and the pressure on those who support her. Despite the case being under investigation, Tuptsokova has been added to the Rosfinmonitoring registry of extremists and terrorists.

As reported by the " Caucasian Knot ," journalist and Circassian activist Larisa Tuptsokova reported in October that security forces had searched her parents' home in Adygea and interrogated her relatives in connection with an extremism case. Approximately 30 human rights defenders and activists from Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, and Krasnodar Krai appealed to Murat Kumpilov demanding that the criminal prosecution of Larisa Tuptsokova be dropped due to the lack of evidence of a crime. Signatories of the appeal in her defense noted Tuptsokova's significant contribution to the preservation of their native language and pointed out that the case against her could set a precedent for the prosecution of others who have collaborated with the Circassian Cultural Center in Tbilisi ( designated an extremist organization ). Security forces are calling the signatories of the appeal to the head of Adygea in defense of Tuptsokova, who live in Kabardino-Balkaria, demanding that they appear for questioning. Human rights activists called such actions illegal.

Larisa Tuptsokova is a journalist, philologist, and Circassian language teacher. In 2024, she commented for the " Caucasian Knot " on the contribution to coverage of the Circassian issue by journalist Aslan Shazzo, whose scholarly and journalistic articles had not been compiled into a single archive by the time of his death. In late September, Tuptsokova, who lives in Georgia, learned of a criminal case against her in Russia for extremism. About a month earlier, a fake website for the Circassian Cultural Center in Tbilisi, designated as extremist, appeared online, posting articles in the name of Larisa Tuptsokova.

The Kabardino-Balkaria Human Rights Center published an appeal today on its website from representatives of the North Caucasian diaspora in Turkey to the head of Adygea, Murat Kumpilov; the chairman of the republic's government, Anzaur Kerashev; the human rights commissioner for Adygea, Mikhail Shchebanets; republican senators, Murat Khapsirov and Alexander Narolin; and State Duma deputies, Vladislav Reznik and Murat Khasanov.

The authors of the appeal condemned the "illegal, arbitrary, and politically motivated prosecution launched against philologist, native language teacher, poet, and cultural figure" Larisa Tuptsokova. They noted that Tuptsokova is a recognized and respected scholar, language specialist, and intellectual who has dedicated her life to preserving Circassian culture both in the Caucasus and in the diaspora. "The criminal case brought against her has no legal basis and is an openly political action," they stated, recalling that Tuptsokova's work at the Tbilisi Circassian Cultural Center* was completely terminated in the fall of 2023—long before the Russian Supreme Court designated the center an "extremist organization" in the summer of 2024.

The authors of the appeal added that the search and psychological pressure on members of Tuptsokova's family living in Russia, and attempts to intimidate activists who signed appeals in her defense, "represent an attempt to restrict freedom of expression, cultural heritage, and the constitutional rights of the entire Circassian people."

"The criminal case fabricated against Larisa Tuptsokova must be immediately dropped. All forms of pressure, threats, and intimidation against her and her family must cease immediately. Police pressure on public leaders speaking out in her defense must cease, and legal proceedings must be initiated against the officials who carried out these actions," the petition's authors demanded.

They emphasized that the criminalization of people seeking to preserve their culture, language, and identity is yet another manifestation of repressive practices, in which the law is used without restraint and against its true purpose. "We, as a diaspora that has maintained a connection to our homeland for generations through historical and cultural solidarity and shared memory, cannot accept the fact that people serving Circassian culture are becoming targets of persecution," states the appeal, signed by 26 organizations.

On November 19, it was announced that Rosfinmonitoring had added journalist and Circassian language teacher Larisa Tuptsokova to its list of terrorists and extremists. The reason for this was a criminal case for participation in an extremist organization, the Telegram channel Circassian Media reported the same day.

As of 5:59 PM Moscow time, Tuptsokova is listed by Rosfinmonitoring under number 16194.

""Criminal prosecution under this article gives the right to add the accused to this list. In practice, there are cases where both organizations and individuals have been removed from the list following a court decision," states a video posted today on the Circassian Media YouTube channel.

The video also states that Tuptsokova has still not been able to obtain the criminal case materials.

As a reminder, in November 2023, human rights defenders and activists who spoke out in support of the Institute for Humanitarian Research were also summoned by security forces to answer questions about the spread of slander.

In November 2022, human rights activists in Kabardino-Balkaria called on the head of the republic, Kazbek Kokov, to prevent the persecution of scientists from the Institute of Humanitarian Studies of the Kabardino-Balkarian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who are attempting to reconstruct the true history and defend the native languages of the peoples of the North Caucasus. Local activists, scientists, educators, and artists, as well as the Circassian diaspora in Turkey, spoke out in defense of the institute. In response to the appeal, the republic's Ministry of Education dismissed the reports of persecution of KBIGS employees as false. In January, security forces returned items seized during searches to the scientists, but provided no explanation for the searches.

For example, Shormanov, one of the signatories of the petition in defense of the scientists, reported on December 14 that security forces demanded he appear to provide an explanation regarding his appeal to Kazbek Kokov regarding pressure on activists. When Shormanov refused, the security officer said he would be "dragged in by subpoena," according to Shormanov's appeal to the republic's prosecutor. Valery Khatazhukov, head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Human Rights Center, appealed to the republic's prosecutor to protect the activists from pressure from law enforcement agencies. The authors of the petition in defense of the scientists said they sent it to the head and government of Kabardino-Balkaria, the republic's Investigative Committee, and the prosecutor's office, but received no response. Reports of pressure from security forces were also ignored. Lawyers called the summons of the petition's signatories to appear for questioning unlawful.

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Source: https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/418877