Happy 70th birthday to the respected elder Valery Khatazhukov!
Ди нэхъыжьыфI Хьэтэжьыкъуэ Валерэ илъэс 70 зэрырикъуамкӏэ дохъуэхъу!
On June 9, 2026, Valery Nazirovich Khatazhukov – a highly respected elder of the Circassian national movement and one of the most prominent human rights defenders in Circassia – celebrated his 70th birthday!
Valery Khatazhukov is a man who grew alongside the late 20th-century Circassian movement, leaving a profound mark on its development. He did not approach the issues of human rights and national memory from the outside; he has been at the very heart of this process from the beginning.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as national movements were rising across the Soviet Union, “Ashemez” – a Circassian student and youth association – was established in Kabarda. Khatazhukov was among those who helped this movement take shape and mature. “Ashemez” brought together active young people who sought to speak about Circassian history, language, and culture publicly – through meetings, discussions, and the first public rallies – rather than keeping these conversations confined to private kitchens. For many young Circassians, this was their first school of civic activism, and Khatazhukov was always by their side – as an older mentor, an organizer, and someone capable of translating raw emotion into political meaning.
Concurrently, the idea of uniting Circassians beyond a single republic began to emerge, aiming to connect communities worldwide – in Russia, Turkey, Jordan, and Europe. This led to the creation of the International Circassian Association (ICA). Khatazhukov participated in these early discussions and organizational processes. He helped articulate that the association should not merely be a “compatriots’ club” but a structured entity through which Circassians could speak as one nation sharing a common history and facing common challenges. In those years, linking scattered diasporas with their historic homeland into a single cultural and political network was an exceptionally bold vision.
Crucially, even then, he insisted that the national movement must not become a closed, ethnocentric project. For him, the Circassian cause was always linked to a broader agenda: democracy, human rights, respect for the individual, and the rejection of a colonial approach to the North Caucasus. In this sense, his involvement in establishing the International Circassian Association was not only about the “Circassian world” itself, but about the very language that this world uses to communicate with wider society.
His subsequent path followed a clear and natural progression: from youth initiatives and “Ashemez” to a major national movement, and from co-founding the International Circassian Association to realizing that without the systematic defense of human rights, any national revival would eventually hit a wall of fear and repression. Consequently, over time, Khatazhukov became the figure we know today: one of the leading human rights defenders in historical Circassia, speaking out against torture and fabricated cases with the same conviction he once brought to advocating for the remembrance of the Circassian genocide and connection with the diaspora.
In simple terms, his path can be described as follows: he began as one of those who gathered the first “new wave” of Circassian youth in “Ashemez,” then helped build bridges among Circassians worldwide through the International Circassian Association, and today protects specific individuals from specific injustices. Throughout all these roles, he remains the same person – one who believes that the dignity of a nation begins with the dignity of each individual.
Today, Valery Khatazhukov is one of the most respected and prominent elders, a source of pride and a role model for many Circassians both at home and in the diaspora.
From the bottom of our hearts, we wish him many years of life, robust health, and continued success in his important work for the benefit of our people.