07:00, 28 March 2009

Today, Kabardino-Balkaria marks Revival Day of Balkar Nation

Today, Kabardino-Balkaria will host celebratory events in honour of the Revival Day of Balkar Nation. All the Culture Houses in Balkar villages will hold celebratory concerts and other festivities.

The exhibition of Balkar and Karachai painters, opened in the Kabardino-Balkarian Museum of Fine Arts, is also dedicated to the Revival Day of Balkar Nation.

"The history of mankind knows many tragic events in the fate of every particular nation. The Karachai and Balkar nations are no exeptions," said Elizabeth Zhantudueva, Museum Directress, at the exhibition opening. "We must remember it not only for telling stories about sufferings of our fathers, mothers and grandfathers to our children, but also for taking lessons from the history, in order not to admit this sort of tragedies in the future."

March 28 was proclaimed to be the Revival Day of Balkar Nation in 1994 - on the 50th anniversary of Stalin's deportation of Balkars to Middle Asia. On March 28, 1957, the Decree was passed on return of Balkars to their historical homeland after 13 years of violent exile.

A number of Balkar leaders - members of the Board of Elders of the Balkar Nation - refuse to recognize the Revival Day, asserting that "celebrating is nice when everything is fine", which is far from being the case with the life of Balkars, in their opinion.

Author: Louisa Orazaeva

Source: CK correspondent