Circassian Majlis

Majlis literally means "council" in Arabic. The Majlis consisted of the leaders of the three tribal confederations, with the intention to defend the western part of Circassia[1] and to liberate the occupied eastern Circassia from the Russian Empire and their Zaporozhian Cossacks troops during the Russian-Circassian War,[2] in addition to sending delegates abroad to gain support for the Circassian plight internationally.

The Majlis was established in the capital city[3] of Ş̂açə (Sochi) on June 25, 1860. Qerandiqo Berzeg was appointed as the head of the assembly. The first resolution of the Majlis was to officially unite the whole Circassia and declare the Republic, and the remaining resolutions were military reforms, to unify military command, and to organize attacks on the Russian military outposts on the coast.

The Majlis sent delegations to the Ottoman Empire and the United Kingdom to gain support from both countries, arguing that they are being massacred and they would be forced into exile soon. However, before any result was achieved, in 1862, as a result of the fall of Sochi, the Majlis was dissolved and almost all of its leaders eliminated, and the resistance moved to the Caucasus mountains, especially around Qbaada ("fortified ravine"). The area fell two years later, all the armed insurgents were massacred by the Russian army, which announced its victory on 21 May 1864.

• Ethnic Cleansing of Circassians

• Richmond, Walter. The Circassian Genocide, Rutgers University Press, 2013. ISBN 9780813560694