Native people of Sochi

• Indigenous people Sochi

Sochi, where soon will host the Winter Olympics, is in the same region, where 150 years ago as a result of brutal military campaigns of the imperial Russian army was driven out a whole people. The descendants of the survivors call it genocide and demanding justice. Currently, the Circassian diaspora is one of the main organizers of the campaign to boycott the 2014 Games.

Who had come to this region today nothing reminds you of the Circassians. More than 90% of their offspring live abroad. The remaining 10% - in Russia, outside the historical homeland. Reuters photographer Thomas Peter spent a lot of time documenting the life of the Circassian community of the city of Sochi. Few pictures today and we'll see.

Thagapsh (adyg Thagapsh.) - village in the Lazarev district of Sochi, located 15 km from the coast of the Black Sea. Thagapsh is one of the few remaining settlements in Sochi, which is mainly composed of ethnic Circassians.

Traditional dances in the cultural center of the village Large Kichmay, October 15, 2013. It is located in the Lazarev district of Sochi, 7 km from the Black Sea coast. Population - a little over 500 people.

"As with every small nation, the biggest threat to us - the loss of the language, and then the culture. We left a little too small. We want the government has allocated money, it might help to preserve their language. "

The village Thagapsh, October 26, 2013.

Museum in the Lazarev district of Sochi:

This is Thagapsh village in the Lazarev district of Sochi:

Bread and salt for the Circassians, who came to the school in the Big Kichmae:

A local man with his cow in the village Thagapsh:

The stone-monument in memory of the former village, destroyed during the Caucasian War of the XIX century:

in the village Paseka Thagapsh in the Lazarev district of Sochi. The owner says that honey Circassians was the main national product:

Waterfall in Big Kichmae:

A memorial plaque in the village Thagapsh on which the names of family members can be seen who died in different years:

Locals in national dress:

Paintings by local artists in the museum in the Lazarev district of Sochi:

Circassian villager writer Chachuh Madine, 26 October 2013:

October 15, 2013:

One of the houses in the village Thagapsh:

Lada and Circassian symbol. Three arrows pointing up - a sign of peace:

Local resident Thagapsh village. He says that his ancestors settled in this plain in the mountains in 1872:

Subsistence farming. Thagapsh village in the Lazarev district of Sochi:

House in the village Thagapsh:

Aul Thagapsh - one of the few remaining settlements in Sochi, where Circassians live:

Circassian men in traditional robes. Sochi, October 15, 2013.