Twice a minority: Kosovo Circassians in the Russian Federation

This book tells thestory of 64 Circassian families who during the Kosovo conflictin 1989/99 migrated from the Field of Blackbirds to the Republic ofAdygheya in the Russian North Caucasus, their historical “homeland”. It focuseson the identification process among the Kosovo Circassians before andafter this migration. In her approach, Marieta Schneider challengesthe nationalist assumptions of a non-conflicting relationship betweenidentity, ethnicity and culture and demonstrates the impact of theminority status on the identity formation of thisethnic community. By comparing national and minority politics both inex-Yugoslavia and in the USSR/Russian Federation, the author highlightsthe role linguistic, religious, cultural and social “boundaries”played in this process. The book provides new insights for thosewho study minority politics and identification processes in the Balkans, in theSoviet Union and in the post-Soviet realm.