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Russia: Scorched Earth

February 4, 2014

The Winter Olympic Games are about to kick off in Sochi. But 150 years ago the slopes where the athletes are to compete was the site of a brutal war of conquest.

https://p.dw.com/p/1B2Au
Sotschi Berge Panorama
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Mihail Mokrushin/RIA Novosti

Members of the Circassian community say that the athletes will be skiing on mass graves. Back then, Russian troops drove the hundreds of thousands of Circassians from their homeland. The Circassians who still live in Russia today are now hoping to use the games to attract attention to the fate of their ancestors. But most Circassians live abroad.

Junge Tscherkessin
Image: Wulf Köpke