 In 1857, Dmitry Milyutin first published the idea of mass expulsions of Circassian natives.Miliutin argued that the goal was not to simply move them so that their land could be settled by productive farmers, but rather that "eliminating the Circassians was to be an end in itself—to cleanse the land of hostile elements".The decision was made at a meeting in Vladikazkaz in October 1860.