22:44, 2 October 2018

After Kendelen conflict, historian Kotlyarov issues a book about Kanjali Battle

A horseman. A picture by Mukhamed Khakhandukov

In Nalchik, the book "Kanjali Battle: View Through Centuries" has been released, telling about the clash of Circassians with the troops of the Crimean Khan Kaplan-Giray on the Malka River. According to the author, Victor Kotlyarov, the Kanjali Battle has a direct bearing on the present, in particular, on the unrests in the village of Kendelen.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 18, Kendelen villagers did not let the participants of the march held in memory of the 310th anniversary of the Kanjali Battle through their village, after which clashes took place. Historians called the land dispute as the reason for the conflict in Kendelen.

For Circassians, Kabardians and other Adyg-language nations, the Kanjali battle of 1708 is one of the symbols of national heroism. In their turn, the Turkic nations, including Balkars, treat it negatively and believe that there was no battle whatsoever.

According to historian Kotlyarov, the book contains memoirs of contemporaries of the battle.

In 2014, Kotlyarov received threats at a mourning rally in honour of the anniversary of the deportation of the Balkar people. He was accused of distorting the history "to please other nations."

Let us note here that some of Balkar social network users accuse Kotlyarov of "myth-making."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 2, 2018 at 03:16 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Lyudmila Maratova

Source: CK correspondent