From The Moscow Times
Written by Leila Latipova
As the death toll from Russia's invasion of Ukraine rises and the Kremlin's imperialism comes under greater scrutiny, activists representing Russia's native non-Slavs have redoubled their efforts to rally supporters for demands for greater autonomy.
Ruslan Gabbasov, head of the Bashkir National Political Center, told the Moscow Times: "War is the trigger for raising national awareness. ”。
A large proportion of the Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine are from the country's minority communities, many of whom are already plagued by poverty and have been targeted for official discrimination.
As the conflict drags on, ethnic activists hope that the colonialist overtones of Russia's brutal invasion have also emerged, with economic allocations of Ukrainian resources and summary executions of unarmed men, which could exacerbate discontent among non-Slavic groups and even provide political impetus to change the current structure of the Russian Federation.
Lithuania's Gabbasov, who fled Russia in 2020, said: "This will be a window of opportunity that we will use to fight for maximum rights and freedoms for our Bashkortostan Republic." We will strive to be a sovereign nation on an equal footing with other countries on the global stage. ”。
Rafis Kashapov, a veteran Tatar rights activist and co-founder of the Free Idel-Ural Movement, which seeks independence and integration of minority regions in central Russia, echoed Gabbasov's remarks.
Rafis Kashapov. idel-ural.org**
In an interview with The Moscow Times, he said: "We believe that Russia's invasion of Ukraine will lead to the collapse of the empire. ”。
Ethnic Russian activists, including Kashapov and Gabbasov, gathered earlier this month at the Free Nations of Russia Forum in Warsaw, the Polish capital, to discuss how the war in Ukraine is affecting their communities and what they can do to gain more autonomy.
Forum participant P**el Sulyandziga told The Moscow Times that Russia's future is being "actively discussed" in communities such as Buryats, Sakha and Kalmyks.
However, he is wary of the prospect of the imminent collapse of the Russian Federation, in its current form, which allows some non-Russian groups to gain a certain degree of independence in the so-called "areas of the national homeland".
"There are no necessary prerequisites for self-determination for small indigenous peoples, and we will be forced to become a minority no matter where we live," said Suliyantiega, head of the Russian Batani Indigenous Peoples Association. ”。
The different peoples of Russia do not have a common position on what kind of political change they would like to see, and their aspirations vary depending on their size, history, and prospects. For example, the political choice of Bashkortostan, Russia's most populous and resource-rich national republic, located between the Volga and the Ural Mountains, is very different from that of a minority that may be only a few hundred people.
Activist Gabasov hinted that Ukraine can become a political example for the Bashkirs.
"Our project is a political state like Ukraine, where a Jewish ** leads the country, Georgian, Chechen, Crimean Tatars fight side by side with the Ukrainian nation, and all consider Ukraine their homeland on an equal footing," he said. ”。
Ruslan Gabasov. idel-ural.org**
For many peoples, the Kremlin's war in Ukraine reminds them of the Russian Empire's conquest of their homeland, and recent policies of "Russification," including the exclusion of minority languages and local histories from school curricula.
Perhaps the clearest illustration of the unequal relationship between indigenous groups and ethnic Russians is the record number of non-Slavic Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine.
A total of 143 soldiers were killed in the Republic of Dagestan in the North Caucasus, the highest number of deaths in the region, compiled from the open source of independent **istories. In second place is the Siberian Republic of Buryatia, with 113 confirmed deaths. Only a handful of soldiers from large cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg have reportedly been killed in Ukraine.
Russia has not released official figures on the ethnic composition of Ukraine's military losses, nor has it updated the total number of deaths since March.
Gabbasov said at the Warsaw conference: "A public suicide and racial ** is happening. Today, representatives of the Ukrainian people and the indigenous peoples of Russia are sent to the scene of the war to carry out **, and genocide on both fronts has intensified. ”。Realii is a regional branch of Radio Free Europe, a U.S.-funded radio station for Liberty, reports.
While it is difficult to gauge the exact extent to which Russian non-Slavs are on the ground in support of greater independence from Moscow, there is evidence of their growing interest in learning Xi national languages and history.
P**el Sulyandziga. Jablocco. ru
Earlier this month, one participant wrote in a closed-door chat on a telegram messaging app tuned in to The Moscow Times: "Before the war, I didn't know anything about the culture I grew up in — my native language, which I never really spoke. ”。
Activists say fear means many are reluctant to voice dissent.
Asked about the mood of the Russian Far East and Siberian communities, Suyantyga said: "People are very scared. ”。
"We have received a lot of information that many people in indigenous communities, especially mothers whose children have been sent to war, are speaking out loud....[But] unfortunately, most of those family members who were not sent to the war chose to remain silent. He was granted asylum in the United States in 2017.
Minority rights advocates in Russia have been accused of "extremism" since the early 2000s, most of whom currently live abroad.
"I can't say that [after fleeing Russia] my activities were restricted," Gabbasov said. Instead, I can do more....Because I felt free to finally be able to speak my mind. ”。
Sulyantyga said that while exile limited what he could do, he remained hopeful.
"I've been doing my job because our (indigenous) people reach out to me every day," he said. Their rights are violated, and they cannot find justice. ”。
History tells us that sooner or later all empires will decline or transform. ”