"Congress of Karachay People" asks Russian MFA to prevent renaming of South Ossetia

On February 16, the "Congress of Karachay People" made an open appeal to the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Russian Federation in connection with the intention of the leaders of South Ossetia to adopt for the country the official name of "Alania".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the referendum on renaming of South Ossetia to the State of Alania is scheduled for April 9, 2017.

In his appeal, Kada Khalkechev, Chairman of the "Congress of Karachay People", and Kazim Khubiev, Chairman of the Supreme Council Congress, has claimed that "the plan provokes a reasoned concern, since the indicated name for the country fundamentally contradicts the actual facts of history of peoples and regions of Russia."

"Alania was the first state in Northern Caucasus, and it included the territories of a whole number of current regions, including Chechnya, Ingushetia, North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, the Stavropol Territory, and a part of the Krasnodar Territory," states the appeal posted on the page in the social network "VKontakte" of the "Congress of Karachay People".

Thus, according to the authors of the appeal, "the historical Alania is a country that was the home to ancestors of many indigenous peoples of Northern Caucasus."

"Therefore, the unauthorized and unilateral naming of 'Alania' should be considered as a formal claim to the historical heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation, with the possible in the future claims for corresponding territories of our country," notes the appeal.

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