Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise
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Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise

Many other people would like to stand next to us, shoulder to shoulder, to say No to the Russian Empire. But the empire frightens and fetters people with fear

Maria Ochir
Maria OchirMay 31, 2023

Martin Luther, the initiator of the Reformation in the Catholic religion, once said so. We, too, can say, “We stand here because we cannot do otherwise!”. Many other people would like to stand next to us, shoulder to shoulder, to say No to the Russian Empire. But the empire frightens people and fetters them with fear: for life, for property, for sources of funding.

Russia's war to seize Ukraine

The war of Russia against Ukraine is the war of the empire for the transformation of the sovereign Ukrainian state into a Russian colony. For us, the peoples of the national republics: Ichkeria, Ingushetia, Oirat-Kalmykia, Sakha-Yakutia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, all of us still in the internal colonies of the Russian Empire, it is especially clear that the Ukrainians’ heroic resistance is a struggle for freedom from the empire, for the right to live as they themselves want, and not as Moscow orders them to.

Since February 24, 2022, so many innocent Ukrainians have died: civilians and soldiers, so many cities and towns have been destroyed. And all this, only because the Russian Empire wanted to seize and make Ukraine its obedient colony. This Empire must be destroyed! The time for empire is over!

How did the Russian Empire appear?

Until 1547, Moscow was small in territory and insignificant politically. It was called the Grand Duchy of Moscow. After the forcible annexation of Novgorod Republic in 1478 and the lands in the north, it became known as the Tsardom of Russia. The Tsardom of Russia began to be called an empire in 1721, when Tsar Peter I assumed the title of Emperor of All Russia.

In 1552, the troops of Ivan the Terrible took the capital city of the Kazan Khanate and 4 years later the Astrakhan Khanate was conquered. So the Russian Empire has expanded its territories to the east to Idel River, which they renamed into the Volga, and still call it “the Great Russian River”, although seven different nations live on the banks of the Idel: Chuvashs, Mari El, Tatars, Udmurts, Bashkorts, Oirat-Kalmyks, Kazakhs.

In 17th-19th centuries, the territories of Siberia and the Far East, Central Asia and the North Caucasus were captured. Throughout history the empire led the conquest by fire and sword and enslavement of people.

All nations put up a fierce resistance. For example, the Russian-Buryat wars lasted for 137 years. The Bashkorts raised numerous uprisings for several centuries. The empire waged a war for the conquest of the North Caucasus for more than 100 years. Only 3% of the population of Circassians remained after the war.

How many non-Russians are in Russia?

For politicians and the world community, Russia continues to be associated only with ethnic Russians, Orthodox Christians, and white Europeans. While about 40 million people live in 21 national republics with the status of subjects of the federation, and in 4 autonomous national districts. Among the peoples there are representatives of all world religions: Buddhists, Muslims, Christians. Their native languages are Turkic, Mongolian Finno-Ugric, and Caucasian. Each of the national republics has a head of the republic, a government consisting of ministries and departments, its own parliament, its own coat of arms, flag and anthem. The borders of the national republics are recognized by law. Thus, the republics have all the signs of statehood. But this is all on paper, de jure, but in fact de facto, all national republics are colonies. Under Article 1 of the UN Charter, colonized peoples have the right to self-determination. The territories of the republics and autonomous regions make up 75% of the total area of the Russian Empire, where more than 80% of natural resources are extracted. That is why the colonies are beneficial to Moscow, but is Moscow beneficial to the colonies?

The collapse of the empire does not begin these days, it ends! Why?

The Soviet Union was much larger than today's Russia because it included 15 more unified republics. In addition, today's six Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the GDR were shackled by the chains of the Soviet empire. They were called the countries of the Eastern Bloc. In 1991, 15 union republics: Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan became sovereign states. This allowed the countries of the Eastern bloc to get out from under the iron hand of the empire. In 1994, the last Russian troops were withdrawn from East Germany. Thus transpired the beginning of the collapse of the empire.

The completion of the collapse of the empire will happen, perhaps soon, when 21 national republics and a number of regions will exercise their right to sovereignty.

Why is the collapse of the empire beneficial to the world community?

When, 30 years ago, in 1991, the collapse of the empire began and 15 union republics became sovereign states peacefully, this turned out to be beneficial for the democratic countries of Western Europe and the United States. Finally, the arms race ended with the Soviet Union, because it was gone. Reducing military spending over the past 30 years has allowed the West to use the savings for peaceful purposes, for the well-being of its citizens. Three countries - Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan voluntarily renounced the deployment of nuclear weapons on their territories in order to make the world safer.

If the national republics and regions of Russia exercise their right to sovereignty, then these new countries will be small in terms of economic potential. They will never be able to pose a military threat to the whole world, which is the aggressor country Russia with its nuclear weapons. Mining in new countries will be limited to their small needs, which will have a positive environmental effect on climate and global warming. Moreover, a number of sovereign countries, such as Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Mongolia, will finally be able to get out from under the shadow of a strong neighbor and reach the second stage of decolonization. Finally, the time will come when these countries in their foreign and domestic policies will proceed from their own interests, and not voluntarily follow the instructions of Moscow. In the meantime, they have to do this under the threat of a military invasion or a hybrid war. The entire Eurasian continent will breathe freely. The number and political weight of democratic countries will noticeably increase throughout the world.

So far, most Western politicians are still guided by the opinion of the Russian opposition elite, under the leadership of Khodorkovsky and Kasparov, as well as Navalny.

It is better to call this opposition elite the Moscow one, since it represents the interests of an exclusively privileged layer of the capital, prospering at the expense of the national republics and regions. The Moscow opposition elite is trying to promote its vision of a United, Indivisible Russia with Nuclear Weapons at the political and public levels. This position is 100% consistent with the desire of Putin and the Kremlin. Another common point, the Moscow opposition "sees no flaws in the Kremlin's national policy". This means that both Putin and Khodorkovsky want to preserve the Empire and continue to steal the resources of the colonies in order to obtain fabulous profits.

Just like Putin, the Moscow opposition elite in the person of Khodorkovsky and the Navalny Foundation frighten the whole world saying that the collapse of Russia will lead to bloodshed and violence.

But at the same time they do not realize, in fact, the worst has already happened. What could happen worse than a war in Ukraine? What could be worse than what happened in Bucha, Irpen and Kramatorsk? What could be worse than the torture and burning of soldiers in Olenivka? What could be worse than a nuclear threat to the whole world coming from a single indivisible Russia?

No Russian Empire! Glory to Ukraine!

Alga, Uralan, free peoples of Adygea, Altai Republic, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Oirat-Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Karelia, Komi Republic, Mari El, Mordovia, Sakha (Yakutia), North Ossetia - Alania, Tatarstan, Tuva, Udmurtia, Khakassia, Ichkeria, Chuvashia - Bulgaria.

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Maria Ochir

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Maria Ochir

Maria Ochir is a PhD of History, archeologist, author, corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute and a specialist on Eurasian Nomads of the Scythian era.

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