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Today, In Krasnodar, we dedicated a monument to the Cossacks and Caucasian mountaineers who fought in and were heroes in the First World War. Exactly 102 years ago, on 28 July 1914, Russia entered the conflict on the side of the Entente. From the Kuban and the North Caucasus, over 100,000 Cossack and Caucasian volunteers went off to the war and about 30,000 of them died. Two local Kuban homeboy sculptors, Valery Pchelin and Alan Kornaev, fabricated the monument to the war-heroes. It depicts a Cossack and a Caucasian Muslim in traditional national costume, standing side by side, hand in hand. The sculpture symbolises the friendship and mutual support of all the peoples of the Caucasus, even in the face of deadly threats. Governor of Kuban Krai Veniamin Kondratyev, Head of Adygea Aslan Tkhakushinov, chairman of the Kuban Legislative Assembly Vladimir Beketov, Chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia Aleksandr Ivanov, Ataman of the Kuban Cossack Host Nikolai Doluda, along with other public figures and Cossacks attended the ceremony. Governor Kondratyev said:
This monument is a symbol of our nation, multinational, but united. In our history, one can see many things, but never cowardice and betrayal. In the First World War, Cossacks and mountaineers fought together, slept under the same tents, and ate from the same pot. We must keep alive this memory of this and of their heroic deeds. We shouldn’t allow anyone to drive wedge between the peoples of the Caucasus.
In the First World War, Cossacks and Caucasian Muslims formed a special combat unit… the Caucasian Native Volunteer Mounted Division. Its officers and men were famous for their battlefield heroism. They earned over 30,000 orders and medals, including 4,000 Crosses of St George, one of the highest awards of the Russian Empire. Ataman Doluda said:
After the war, we unjustly forgot the podvig* of the Cossacks and the mountaineers in the First World War. Today, we partly correct the situation. The Caucasian Mounted Division had the nickname the “Wild Division”… it terrified the enemy. At the same time, it was an example of the heroism of the Russian army. I’m sure that our children and grandchildren will come to this monument.
At the end of the ceremony, the Cossack honour guard paraded, and all participants laid flowers at the monument.
- Podvig: Should NEVER be “Englished”… one of the most powerful words in the Russian language. There are literally no English equivalents strong enough. Podvig has overtones of “epic”, “heroic”, “bravery”, “self-sacrifice”, “victory”, “effort”, and “triumph”. It’s best to leave it as is, and admit that English lacks the necessary material to give meaning to this word.
28 July 2016
Yuri Gen
Rossiskaya Gazeta
https://rg.ru/2016/07/28/reg-ufo/v-krasnodare-pamiatnik-geroiam-pervoj-mirovoj.html
Voices from Russia 
The Composure of the Russian Ummah
Tags: Innocence of Muslims, Islam, Islam in Russia, Islamism, Muhammad, Muslim, Muslim world, North Caucasus, political commentary, politics, poster, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, Russia, Russian, Russian Muslims, Tatarstan, Ummah, Ummahsphere
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The Russian Council of Muftis appealed to Russian Muslims to not give in to provocations and show the true character of Islam. They called on the faithful not to pour out their anger at the film Innocence of Muslims and to show honour, patience, and compassion. This film insults Muslims; it’s triggered a wave of disturbances in many countries and has become one of the key topics discussed by the Russian authorities in the past few days. They assessed the film as a potential threat to public peace and order. The Genprokuratura intends to ban the distribution of the film. In an interview with VOR, Mufti Albir Krganov, the First Deputy Head of the Central Spiritual Department of Muslims in Russia, believes that the display of the film in Russia would hardly trigger riots, saying, “Prophet Muhammad said that those who cause disorder are like unto those who wake a snake. Consequently, we shouldn’t give into vulgar provocations and should respond in accordance with the law. Insulting the feelings of the faithful is extremely blasphemous; only the corrupt do it, those with no discernment or conscience. The law should severely punish such people, in order to maintain peace and composure in society”.
However, some believe that maintaining the peace is nothing but serving the Russian authorities’ interests. Geidar Dzhemal, Chairman of the Russian Islamic Committee said, “Why should we give in? What specifically are we giving up? Why shouldn’t we express our indignation? The Council of Muftis is simply a special service of the presidential administration; it’s only concerned about the interests of the authorities, not the interests of ordinary Muslims. Expressing our indignation is good for Muslims, whilst showing no response is in the interests of authorities”.
Meanwhile, Damir-Khazrat Gizatullin, First Deputy Chairman of the Spiritual Department of Muslims in European Russia, believes that true Muslims shouldn’t draw attention to such provocations and should direct their energy to spiritual development and creative work, saying, “We see that regional heads of those regions with a large Muslim population, along the Volga, in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, as well as the North Caucasus, support the campaign for banning this provocative film. During Friday prayers, and, even now through this radio broadcast, we call on Muslims not to give into provocations, but to work, build up our families, protect our state, become educated, and make the Hajj and return home safely”. In his blog, Damir-Khazrat said that composure doesn’t mean indifference or cowardice. Moreover, Russia has sufficient moral and judicial resources to counter such threats.
20 September 2012
Grigori Milenin
Voice of Russia World Service
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_09_20/Russian-Muslims-Calmness/