Circassians' appeal to Navalny surprises Adyg activists

An open letter to Alexei Navalny with gratitude for his investigation about a palace built on the historical lands of Circassians near Gelendzhik has been signed by people not known to the Circassian public, and there are doubts about its authenticity, activists Ramazan Tlemeshok and Asker Sokht note.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in January, the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF, recognized in the Russian Federation as a foreign agent, – note of the "Caucasian Knot"), released an investigation entitled "A Palace for Putin" on the construction on Cape Idokopas near Gelendzhik of the largest private house in Russia with the area exceeding 17,000 square metres.

Members of Circassian organizations from different countries thanked Alexei Navalny for making public the investigation about the palace near Gelendzhik, which was built "on the Circassians' historical lands," the "Dosh" magazine reported on its website on January 30.

On January 29, the appeal itself, entitled "An Open Letter to the Leader of the Russian Opposition Alexei Navalny," was posted on the Justice For North Caucasus Group website. A user with the nickname Eagle is indicated as an author of the post. Seventy people from Europe, the Middle East, and the United States were named as signers of the open letter to Alexei Navalny.

Ramazan Tlemeshok, the chairman of the "Adyge Khase-Circassian Parliament" public organization from Adygea, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he did not know any of the people who signed the appeal. "It seems to me that the appeal was posted by Navalny's supporters. This is the first time I hear about this user with the nickname Eagle," Ramazan Tlemeshok said.

In turn, Asker Sokht, the chairman of the "Adyge Khase" public organization in the Krasnodar Territory, who also read the text of the open letter and examined the list of signatories, considers it a fake. "I talked to members of Circassian organizations from different countries, and nobody is aware about the appeal," Asker Sokht told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 2, 2021 at 12:46 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.