Design
Finding Sochi's Indigenous People
Russians drove the Circassians out in the 19th century. A handful have returned to trace their ancestral roots.
Sochi was once home to the Circassians, an ethnic group native to the North Caucuses. They were largely driven out by a series of brutal tsarist military campaigns in the 19th century. Russians killed an estimated half a million Circassians during their conquest of the region. The diaspora has since spead around the world.
But the Winter Olympics has brought some Circassians back to their anestral land. An international delegation visited Sochi late last year to trace their roots. But the relationship has been rocky - Russia's decision to build billions of dollars of new facilities has caused offense, with some of the most vocal detractors calling it an insult that athletes will be performing "over the bones of their ancestors."