During the Russian conquest of the Caucasus region in the 19th century, the Circassian people faced genocide and ethnic cleansing as 90% of their population was killed, forcibly relocated, or exiled from their homeland. Russian military leaders made explicit plans to drive the Circassians from the region and destroy or relocate the surviving populations. Over 1 million Circassian people vanished as a result of the brutal policies of ethnic cleansing and forced deportation carried out by the Russian forces.