(CNN) -- "They tried to forget us, as if we never even lived there," says Circassian architect Abdullah Makhmudovic Berisov. Now 67 years old, Berisov speaks about the pain he feels when thinking of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, and how the opening ceremony failed to mention the history of the Circassian people who once called Sochi their capital. Berisov is not alone. Circassian artist Sheomir Guchepshoko, 32, says far from being a source of pride, the Sochi Olympics are a tragic reminder of what was lost during the Russian-Circassian war that ended in 1864. "It was our land," he says, "but during the opening of the Olympic Games, they said it was a Greek land, and then after that it was Russian land. They didn't say anything about the Circassian part of Russian history. And it really hurt."
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Focus on Sochi has awakened a push to recognize Circassian genocide, historian says
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Circassian history wasn't mentioned in Olympic opening ceremony, one Circassian says
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Activists say Russian security forces have used intimidation to try to silence them
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Leader of a Circassian council in Maykop says Circassians are not enemies of Russia
In the 19th century, @placeholder coveted their land -- which is south and east of Russia proper -- and brutally defeated them, decimating entire tribes, he says.
In Maykop, the Circassian language is spoken on the street and shares a place next to @placeholder on historic landmarks.