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**<div>US President</div>**
**<div>Joseph R. Biden Jr.</div>**
**<div>The White House</div>**
**<div>1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW</div>**
**<div>Washington, DC 20500</div>**


&emsp;&emsp;Dear Mr. President,

&emsp;&emsp;For 63 years the presidents of the United States have been proclaiming an annual Captive Nations Week, which testifies to the commitment by the United States to protect the fundamental rights, freedoms, values, and principles proclaimed by the UN – liberty, democracy, the right of nations to self-preservation, development, and self-determination.

&emsp;&emsp;The year 2022 has shown that it is not yet time to abandon the ideas of fighting for the freedom and liberation of peoples from colonial dependence and the power of repressive regimes.

&emsp;&emsp;Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine to destroy the state and the people that have already been fighting against Russian aggression and occupation for eight years. The Kremlin is making great efforts to reoccupy Ukraine and take away freedom from the people who declared independence 4 times in the 20th century (1918, 1939, 1941, 1991) and supported their desire to form an independent state by making huge sacrifices in their lives. Today, the Ukrainian nation is fighting for the preservation of its national state and free development, a right which is denied by the current Russian government, which has established a full-fledged reactionary fascist regime in its own country.

&emsp;&emsp;The Ukrainians, who themselves escaped from the embrace of the Soviet empire in 1991, are well aware of the dangers of returning to the past. They have before their eyes a tragic example in the form of the silent soldiers of the captive non-Russian peoples fighting in the Russian army whom the Putin regime mercilessly condemns to death in a war that is contrary to all international legal norms. The war unleashed by the Kremlin reminds us of the true meaning of the words “freedom” and “one’s state”. Ukrainians are fighting for their freedom and their state. The nations held captive by the Russian empire are forced to fight for the interests of the state/government hostile toward them and for the preservation of the dominance of the Russian criminal mafia elite that has usurped power. The twisted logic of the situation is that these non-Russian soldiers shed their blood to take away freedom from the Ukrainians, who, unlike their people, have been lucky enough to achieve it as a result of centuries of struggle against Russia.

&emsp;&emsp;Most of the territory of present-day Russia consists of the territories of dozens of captive nations and of hundreds of indigenous peoples which were conquered, occupied, and annexed in whole or in part: the Kazan Khanate, the Astrakhan Khanate, the lands and states of the peoples of the North Caucasus, Karelia, Erzyan Mastor, Buryat-Mongolia, the Kalmyk Khanate, the lands of the Nogais, Circassians, the peoples of Siberia and the Russian Far East. In the territories occupied by Moscow, the most common colonial policy of exploiting natural resources is carried out: hydrocarbons, ores of ferrous, non-ferrous, and rare earth metals, precious stones, many kinds of chemical elements, the soil, forests, wildlife, and other resources are exploited for hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Moscow takes all this wealth. This money is used to support the administrative and repressive apparatus of the imperial Russian state, its law enforcement agencies, its army, Russian cultural institutions, and its education system. The populations of the occupied territories receive the smallest amount from this cash flow, which is not enough even for their current needs.

&emsp;&emsp;The available statistics of those who died in the war demonstrate disproportionately high rates of casualties among representatives of the national republics comprising the Russian Federation - both in absolute terms and per capita. The loss of a significant number of young men carries a special danger for the captive nations in Russia, whose future as unique ethnic and cultural communities are already in danger of disappearing as a result of Russia's policy.

&emsp;&emsp;However, the war is not the main problem of the captive nations under Putin's state. Their national rights, provided for by international institutions (the UN, the Council of Europe) and the Constitution of the Russian Federation, are constantly violated. The state languages of the republics are being purposefully ousted from the sphere of education and from public life, in general, to be replaced by the Russian language. National and regional parties are banned. The republics are losing the powers, rights, and freedoms guaranteed to them by the Russian Constitution and federal treaties between them and Moscow. National NGOs are closed by the order of the authorities and the security and intelligence services. Activists of national movements in Russia are persecuted by the state bodies and subjected to repressions and anonymous reprisals to a much greater extent than the well-known figures of the main Russian opposition.

&emsp;&emsp;The majority of citizens of non-Russian nationalities in Russia are discriminated against, restricted in their civil rights, and subjected to systematic insults. Russia, as a result of the policy of the Putin regime, has ceased to be a Federation, turning into a centralized state, where almost all issues of regional and local life are resolved in faraway Moscow. Decision-making competence on most issues, including the internal development of any region, including national ones, as well as the “preservation” and “development” of captive nations and indigenous people, belongs to the so-called federal center. All rights to regulate, dispose and manage the legislative and regulatory sphere, budgetary funds, use of land, subsoil, and basic natural resources belong to the Russian authorities, and not to the regions.

&emsp;&emsp;In vast areas, the captive nations and indigenous peoples have been displaced, reduced to a pitiful minority, or simply annihilated. In these territories, the local population has been assimilated and/or replaced by Russians and representatives of other Slavic peoples (e.g. in the Finno-Ugric North, in Kuban, in the lands of the Don Cossacks, the Volga region, Siberia, the Russian Far North, the Baikal region, the Russian Far East). All this did not happen naturally, but as a result of the purposeful policy of the predominantly Russian state in its various forms – the Moscow principality, Muscovy, the Russian Empire, the USSR, and the Russian Federation.

&emsp;&emsp;Each captive nation living on its ancestral lands within the Russian Federation has constantly lost and continues to lose its population, territory, language, cultural characteristics, self-government, natural resources, security, etc. As we watch the flourishing of the national cultures, the economies, and the democracies in the freed republics of the former Soviet Union, we must conclude that only true sovereignty can save a people from assimilation and extinction.

&emsp;&emsp;Sharing the values of modern democracy,

&emsp;&emsp;feeling a sense of belonging to the goals of the Captive Nations Week,

&emsp;&emsp;wishing a worthy future for our descendants,

&emsp;&emsp;We, the representatives of the national movements of the nations held captive by the Russian Federation, appeal to you with the following requests:

To support the nations held captive by the Russian Federation in exercising their right to self-determination;

To condemn the Kremlin's policy of assimilation and acculturation of the non-Russian peoples in Russia;

To demand that the Putin regime stop persecuting ethnic activists and immediately release all political prisoners;

To recognize the natural resources in the homeland of the nations held captive by Russia as their national treasure;

To condemn the use of non-Russian peoples by the Russian empire in a war that is foreign to them;

To impose sanctions against Russian officials who violate the rights of the non-Russian peoples in Russia;

To introduce into the text of the law Public Law 86-90 Captive Nations Week Resolution the names of the nations held captive by Russia, a list of which we are ready to present separately;

To consider the possibility of organizing and holding an International Tribunal for Communism.

***<div class="text-center">Freedom for Nations! Freedom for Individuals!</div>***

Please accept, our highest regards!

The representatives of the national movements:

Bashkir – Ruslan Gabbasov,

Buryat – Dorzho Dugarov, Rajana Dugar-DePonte,

Cossack – Vyacheslav Demin,

Kalmyk – Vladimir Dovdanov, Batyr Boromangnaev, Erentsen Dolyaev, Albert Sharapov

Nogai – Edige Bekmurzaev,

Tatar – Rafis Kashapov, 

Erzya – Syres Bolyaen, Vitaly Romashkin, Genio Markon.

To introduce into the text of the law Public Law 86-90 Captive Nations Week Resolution the names of the nations held captive by Russia, a list of which we are ready to present separately

Free Nations League sends letter to President Joe Biden

Last weekend, the Free Nations League held rallies and pickets in Europe and the United States. The organization, which unites representatives of the national and regionalist movements of the nations held captive by the Russian Federation, has brought supporters of the independence of the national republics and separate Russian territories to the streets.

***"Rallies and pickets are only a part of the events with which we join the Captive Nations Week, officially established in 1959 by US President Dwight Eisenhower. According to the special resolution drawn up by the Ukrainian scientist Lev Dobryansky, there was established annual holding of a cycle of events  in the third week of July, devoted to the peoples under the oppression of communist Russia. Later, the focus of the Captive Nations Week shifted towards human rights issues. However, this year, announcing the Captive Nations Week, the US President for the first time mentioned Russia — he put it first among all repressive regimes,"*** explains **Ruslan Gabbasov**, a member of the FNL and head of the Bashkir National Political Center.

The easternmost city where the League action took place was the Estonian Tartu, where there is a cell of political emigrants of Finno-Ugric origin. The representative of the people of Erzya, **Aris-Anton Smirnov**, came to the city's main square with his friends, among whom was **Alexey Ivanov**, wanted by the Russian police. A criminal case was opened against Ivanov because he called as "fascists" the police officers who approached him during the anti-war picket on February 24 and demanded to introduce himself. Alexey is also known for communicating with representatives of the government in the Komi language. During one of the detainments the young men asked for translation of the protocol into Komi language, but the Russian security forces refused to invite an interpreter. In response, the activist refused to sign the protocol. In March of this year, Ivanov asked for asylum in Estonia.

A significant part of FNL activists are political emigrants of the new wave, activists of national movements who left the Russian Federation already in 2022. However, there are those who emigrated earlier, such as the Tatar activist **Rafis Kashapov**, who spent a three-year term in a Russian prison for his political views, in particular, for condemning the annexation of Crimea. Rafis's brother **Nafis Kashapov** is also a political emigrant. Both brothers, members of the "Free Idel-Ural" movement, held actions in Great Britain and the Czech Republic.

Kashapov's associates — Tatar emigrants in the Netherlands (**Dinar Minkaev** and **Dinar Sagdeev**), Sweden, Montenegro (**Nafisa Gubaidullina**), Turkey and the USA also took part in protest actions. A Tatar activist **Irshat Khaby**, together with an associate with an Erzya flag, held a picket at the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in New York. There is a poster at Irshat's feet with the inscription in the colors of Tatarstan "Tatars are not slaves! Tatarstan is not Russia!"

***"I learned about the Free Nations League from my Tatar friends. In this organization there are both Turks and Finno-Ugrics, both Muslims and Buddhists. Ingermanlander regionalists with nationalist Cossacks. All of us are united by the desire to get freedom and leave the Russian Federation. Personally, I believe that now our Tatar people have a historical chance. It is necessary to use it. Our salvation is in independence!"*** — says Irshat, while passers-by look at the activists' posters and flags.

In the USA, in addition to New York, pickets also took place in Philadelphia and Cleveland. The organizer of the action in Cleveland is Erzya activist **Vitaly Romashkin**. A tall young man holds in his hands a white-red-black flag —  the banner of the Erzyan national movement. Vitaly explains: ***"I invited my American and Ukrainian friends to the event. They know that I am neither a "good Russian" nor a "bad Russian". I'm not Russian at all! I am Erzya by nationality, and I have a clear understanding that the rapid reduction of the number of Erzya, the aggressive policy of assimilation of my people, as well as other captive nations, is something that Russia is proud of and that Russian society considers a great success. They cannot be proud of Russian medicine and social welfare, but they are proud of assimilation. I have no desire to save Russian culture, as well as Russia in general. This prison of nations must be destroyed, and the Erzya Nation must get Independence."***

The action in Philadelphia was organized by a Buryat **Radjana Dugar-DePonte**, Kalmyks **Albert Sharapov** and **Dordzhi Mandzhiev**. A group of activists with national flags gathered in the square in front of the art museum — a traditional place for political rallies in the city.

Albert talks about the evolution of his political views: ***"I became a supporter of the Independence of Kalmykia while still being a patriot of Russia. I considered Russia a friendly country to Kalmykia. Therefore, I did not see any problem in separating, because this would bring only advantages to Kalmykia. But my countrymen convinced me that the Russians would come in tanks and kill us all. After that, I naturally ceased to be a patriot of Russia, and after a while I ceased to consider myself a Russian and a citizen of Russia. In 2014, during the Maidan, I wished Ukrainians victory over pro-Russian groups, entry into the EU and NATO. If this happened and Ukrainians began to live better, then people in Kalmykia would see this as an example for themselves. Of course, Putin could not allow this. This is why he began aggression against Ukraine. But what he did in February 2022, I do not find any logical explanation. Pure madness. I am against Kalmykia remaining in Russia after Putin, our people will not survive the next bout of insanity of the Russian people."***

Cossack activist **Vyacheslav Demin** also held a single picket in Spokane, Washington. In 1984, he was imprisoned for anti-Soviet activities, after which he was sent to exile in Kazakhstan. He was released during Gorbachev's perestroika in 1987, among a large group of amnestied political prisoners. Vyacheslav fights for recognition of the Cossacks as a separate people by the international community, and is a supporter of the idea of   the independence of Cossacks - the state of the Cossacks, which is mentioned in the resolution of the US Congress in 1959.

Actions were also held in Germany, where **Ilshat Kinzyabaev**, representative of the Bashkir National Political Center, organized a picket in the center of Frankfurt am Main. A group of Ukrainian emigrants joined him.

Another action was held in Vilnius. In the Lithuanian capital, the associates of the deputy chairman of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk people, **Vladimir Dovdanov**, who while being still in Kalmykia signed an appeal in support of Ukrainians at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, as well as the representatives of Ingermanland regionalists **Mike Ingram**, came to the Cathedral Square in the Lithuanian capital. **Marat Shakurov** of the Bashkir National Political Center spoke at the rally.

A picket against Russia's war and imperial policy was also held in Turkey. In one of the squares in Antalya, the Tatar national activist **Farit Zakiev** held an action of the Free Nations League. As in Germany and Lithuania, activists from Belarus and Ukraine came to support the restoration of the independence of the occupied countries.

In total, the Free Nations League was able to mobilize its supporters in Estonia, Sweden, Lithuania, Germany, the Netherlands, Montenegro, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Turkey, and the United States. The geography and involvement of participants from the latest wave of political emigration indicate a growing interest in the ideas of independence among national and regionalist movements within the Russian Federation.

***"Thanks to our series of events held throughout the Captive Nations Week, we managed to establish new contacts both with our emigrants and with Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians, Estonians and representatives of other nations. The most important thing is that the number of contacts with our compatriots who remain in the territory of the Russian Federation has increased. Our actions will not be limited to pickets in emigration. We will prepare our allies for a forceful confrontation with the Kremlin regime,"*** concluded Vladimir Dovdanov, one of the co-founders of the Free Nations League.

Free Nations League held rallies in Europe and the United States. The organization, which unites representatives of the national and regionalist movements of the nations held captive by Moscow

"Salvation in independence": Nations held captive by Moscow rallies in 11 cities around the world

How developed is the liberation movement of indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation? What should be the help of the civilized world to these movements?

As someone who actively participates in the liberation movement and observes the development of it from the inside, I can answer these questions.

When we talk about our peoples we prefer to use the term "captive nations" or "nations held captive by the Russian Federation". It is important for us to send a message to other countries, to the democratic countries in Europe, Asia, to the USA and Canada, that we are not Russians. Every captive nation has a history of fighting for independence in the 20th century.

![Freedom to Captive Nations banner](/images/posts/philadelphia_rally.jpg)

The war in Ukraine does open an opportunity for our nations to secede from Russia, create our own independent democratic states and become a place where our peoples can live peacefully and flourish. Such opportunities have happened before in history. When Russian Empire collapsed, we did mistake when we believed communists and fell into slavery for many decades. You know, Ukraine was also among these deceived and captive nations. When the Soviet Union collapsed, our freedom again was taken away. With genocidal war against freedom-loving Chechen people, Russia demonstrated to other peoples what they could expect if they pursued freedom. This time, we don't want to make a mistake and miss the chance. For this, our nations established the Free Nations League - an organization whose main goal is creating independent national states in place of the Russian Federation and preventing the revival of the Russian fascist state.

We believe helping us, the captive nations, the entire world would benefit.

Non-Russian peoples want to be seen and heard. Please start talking to nations held captive by the Russian Federation. They'll appreciate you addressing them directly, accept your support and start acting. With your moral help captive nations can dismantle Russia from the inside and step on the path of historical transformation as it's been done by other nations after the Berlin Wall was torn down. New countries will make the world richer. People will discover new places with unique nature, cuisine and culture.

When the civilized world has discussions with so-called "good Russians", it needs to understand that these Moscow politicians, liberals with imperialist mindset, are funded by Russian oligarchs. They can replace Putin, but they can't change Russia, because their interest is only to save their wealth and keep plundering colonies. Russia is doomed to suppress non-Russian peoples and become an empire again and again.

Let's break this vicious circle!





We believe helping us, the captive nations, the entire world would benefit.

Russia is doomed to suppress non-Russian peoples and become an empire again and again


Hello Dear Readers! 

Dear readers, my name is Davur, and I am an Oirat. On behalf of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk people, [I spoke at the conference on Imperial Russia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFl7tjiXC7o), organized by the "European Conservatives and Reformers" faction in the European Parliament in association with the Forum of Free Peoples of Post-Russia. On the sidelines were journalists from the ‘glad handing’ media of the “all-Russian agenda”, who, with gloomy faces, were observed scribbling furiously on their laptops. Last Friday, almost simultaneously, several materials were published about the conference (in Novaya Gazeta Europe, Meduza, TV Rain (Dozhd’), and so on), the general tone of which was reduced to disparaging the speakers and the agenda of Russia's disintegration. In several of them, dubious phrases were used, for example, the Bashkort Ruslan Gabbasov was called "an elderly balding man with glasses" in a report by Ilya Azar, who is, likewise, an elderly balding man with glasses. The most sincere member of the Navalny Team, Vladimir Milov, who does not mislead the audience and says everything that is spinning in his head (which are not the most complimentary nor humane thoughts), published a long segment in which he states that Russia cannot fall apart. For me, this manner of coverage of ‘The Imperial Russia’ forum and the entire discourse of criticism aimed at the regionalist movement testify to several fundamental theses that guide the so-called "Good Russians".

#### Thesis number 1. They do believe in Russia "from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok".​

The Soviet anthem stated that the peoples, subjugated by the Tsars, Bolsheviks and Communists *“have welded forever to stand"* by Great Russia. Politicians and public figures of the *“all-Russian agenda”* (for brevity, we use the term *“all-Russians”*) consider the entire space of the Russian Federation to be ethnically homogeneous (*“Russians live everywhere”*), an economically whole territory and which is not subject to disintegration. In their perception, Russia is a single entity, and the people living in Bryansk, Petrozavodsk, Elista and Kyzyl are all one people. How this differs from the concept of late Putinism regarding Ukraine and Belarus is not clear. In addition, the Good Russians of Moscow and St. Petersburg are sure that only they, with their wisdom and inflexibility, as well as their readiness to use repression, save us, non-Russians, or else *omnium contra omnes* (all against all). Since they declare we are incapable of making amends or of constituting our own states, I can declare this line of thought political primordialism.

#### Thesis number 2. They stigmatize us because they can't find a way to debate our agenda.

The rhetoric of the materials mentioned above is aggressive, targets personality and looks, and is not about arguing with the agenda. It should be noted that not all activists and national movements have adopted the idea of secession from Russia. For example, a representative of the Itelmens who was present at the forum called for protecting the indigenous way of life of his people, which is being encroached upon by the brazen business practices of the Moscow metropole and which violates all possible environmental standards. Nevertheless, all-Russians are trying to erase our differences and create an image of us that is depersonalized and, subsequently, convenient for stigmatization and obstruction; how this differs from the propaganda cliché of "Russophobe" or "Russian-cutter" is again not clear. The only funny thing is that there is, in fact, no answer regarding the national question on the agenda of the all-Russians themselves (Navalny Team, Mikhail Khodorkovsky etc.). Everything should be decided by "parliamentary rule". True, so far no one has given an answer as to how to ensure that the rights of the same Itelmens are respected in the all-Russian parliament. I can assume that the right of veto for them in the format of the European Council, where France and Germany are forced to conduct extensive negotiations with Poland, Lithuania and other states, is out of the question for all-Russians.

#### Thesis number 3. They dream of returning to February 23, 2022.

No matter how you slice it, it's true. I thought about this during my conversation with Akhmed Zakayev, the leader of Ichkeria. The terrible magic of numbers that is, given February 23 is also the date of the Genocide of the Chechens and Ingush. In a good way, in the Russian discourse of late Putinism, the all-Russians were satisfied with many things. Siberia and the Far East were under effective Moscow control, the Chechen fighters for freedom were either killed or expelled, and “liberal bureaucrats”still remained in the Putin system. At that time, they were seen as a plausible starting point for the much talked about “rift between elites”. The President of Russia was praised for the efficient reforms of the first years of his reign (taxation, land use regulation), and respected for the fight against "separatism". Allegedly, in the eyes of all-Russians it is enough to dismiss Putin, carry out several detentions and seizures of assets, and start to build the Great and Free Russia. Moreover, in all honesty, not every one of those who are considered to be Russian liberal democrats firmly and correctly answers the question "who owns Crimea?". There will definitely be preconditions like "well, people did vote there" or "if we give it away, it will cause resentment among the Russians." But on February 23, 2022, one could calmly perceive the temporarily occupied territories as Russian, one could talk about "another referendum" and even "the impossibility of returning it back to Ukraine." In other words, the all-Russians have no understanding that the past will no longer exist. The Russian project was given many chances both by European and US governments. I remember the time when "from Lisbon to Vladivostok", Pan-European projects arose. Russia received all-around support for their economy, visa-free travel and other things of global economic integration were widely discussed. The most terrible thing for all-Russians, perhaps, is that they cannot prove their right to have one more chance to modernize, democratize and preserve Russia as a geopolitical reality. The most daring all-Russians are accusing the "collective West" that it is they who are to blame for the rise of Putinism. How this differs from Russian state propaganda and its accusations about the "collective West" is, again, not clear.

So the best tactic for all of us, I think, is to reasonably ignore their insults. We should focus on the following: (1) make our own agenda more appropriate to new realities; (2) establish ties with foreign nations and develop our own political representation on an international level; and, finally, (3) create an image of the future for our peoples and nations. After all, in 1984, hardly anyone in the Soviet republics perceived liberation movements and their leaders as anything other than outcasts and rebels. They were either killed or locked behind bars in KGB camps. And then these men and women, being in the minority, defeated Russian Soviet imperialism. If disintegration of Russia is "beneficial to Putin and the Kremlin," as the Good Russians say, then I'd rather be "with the outcasts and rebels", who strive for liberty for their nations.

***Davur Dordzhiev, Member of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People***

If disintegration of Russia is 'beneficial to Putin and the Kremlin,' as the Good Russians say, then I'd rather be 'with the outcasts and rebels', who strive for liberty for their nations.

They Dream of Returning to February 23, 2022

With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, a new impetus was given to national regional movements advocating separation from Moscow. Over the past year, six forums of the peoples of post-Russia have already taken place, new associations have been formed, and several militia groups of representatives of the Caucasian peoples are fighting on the side of Kyiv. At the same time, a number of analysts speak of a quite probable scenario for the collapse of Russia in the event of a turning point in the course of the war.

About the national movement in Kalmykia, the theses of the Kremlin propaganda, last year's wave of emigration and why the collapse of the empire is needed by the Russian correspondent Kavkaz.Realii spoke with Professor Maria Ochir-Goryaeva, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the German Archaeological Institute and Honored Scientist of Kalmykia.

> In 1999, she won the competition and became a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and as a guest researcher continued her scientific research within the walls of the Eurasian Branch of the German Archaeological Institute. The first of four scientific monographs was published in German. Every year, the archaeologist returned to her homeland, conducting excavations in her native Kalmykia.

**Today in Russia it is customary to speak negatively about the support that Western non-profit organizations and scientific foundations provided in the 1990s to Russian scientists and the field of education in general. Like, through grants and training programs, they planted their values. Tell us about your experience and what such programs have given to Russian science.**

The rhetoric of Russian propaganda in general, and in this matter in particular, can only be called xenophobic. In the 1990s, when many state employees, including employees of the Russian Academy of Sciences, had not been paid  for months, grants allocated by Western foundations literally saved them. In addition to the material side, they demonstrated the significance of these specialists and their research. Only thanks to that support of Western and, later, Russian foundations, a number of scientists, including myself, remained in science.

As for "planting" one's own values, this is a distorted understanding of the purpose of such structures. Each foundation has its own goals and values; if they are scientific, then they remain so, regarding the fact that the West is imposing its own values. For example, I have been living in Berlin for 24 years and I know that here they don’t “implant” anything on anyone, but give them the opportunity to think and choose for themselves. Reality shows that people like freedom of speech and the opportunity to choose, it works: everyone is eager to live in democratic countries, and not in Iran, Afghanistan or Russia, from where they leave at the first opportunity.
Planting is carried out not by Western funds, but by the imperial approach of Moscow. The same Putin and his supporters who are unable to adapt to the ever-changing world and are trying by brute force to change the whole world to fit themselves, to fit it to their outdated stereotypes.

**Unfortunately, such inertia in thinking is demonstrated not only by the top of the country, but also by many Russians, including those who disagree with Putin.**

Agree. The wave of migrants from Russia, regardless of nationality, is no different from the population that remained there, in Russia. Just like there, only a small percentage of them are active. They organize protests and various events. At the same time, many of them are very afraid for themselves, so they put masks on their faces and hide their names. The rest are either simply indifferent or support Putin. Many have moved simply to maintain their level of well-being and continue to travel around the world. Of course, these are mostly Muscovites with a good income. That is, migrants here fully reflect society in Russia.

Two things disappoint me about migrants from Russia. First, few of them follow the news from the front and worry about the Ukrainians. Feelings of shame and guilt seem to be unfamiliar to them. So it turns out that in their conversations there is no topic of this at all. When I say something about the bombings or the front, they immediately say, we do not follow this and turn the conversation to something else.

![Maria Ochir. Anti-war rally in Berlin](/images/posts/maria_berlin.jpg)
<p class="text-sm">Maria Ochir-Goryaeva (left) at an anti-war rally in Berlin</p>

Secondly, this is xenophobia. Walking through the streets of Berlin, I have already heard more than once from Russian-speaking people who are indignant, and why the Germans tolerate that Muslims walk around in their headscarves, etc. . Another fact, my friends asked me to help them find an apartment in Berlin, but only in the area where they don’t live, as they said “blacks”, meaning the local residents of Arabs and Turks. They said even if it would be several hundred euros more expensive. As an Asian, this shocked me.
 
Therefore, unfortunately, many here do not assimilate the moral values of democracy and tolerance. They are simply transporting Russia with all its stereotypes and ideology to Berlin. Russians, with rare exceptions, are unable to understand the logic and value of democracy. Otherwise, neither Putin, nor these decades of trampling on freedoms in Russia, nor a terrible war would have happened.

**At the same time, Putin and his entourage say that the West is trying to rewrite and distort history.**

Frankly, I think it's too much honor to comment on propaganda. From the school curriculum, everyone knows that in the early Middle Ages there was a state of Kievan Rus, the center of which was the city of Kyiv, that is, the territory of modern Ukraine. Then, three or four centuries later, the Muscovite Principality was formed, gathering land around Moscow. This name was the most accurate and reflects the essence of both the territory and its population. Theoretically, it could be called Muscovite Rus'. After the conquest of the peoples in the north and east, south and west, it would be more correct to call this formation the Muscovite Empire. This state has its own history and traditions, like any other. The cities of the Golden Ring alone are worth something. There is no need to neglect so much, not to value your Moscow-Russian identity, your own statehood. We must study, preserve and be proud of the rich history of Muscovy.

Until a certain time, the Muscovites did not seek to ascribe Kievan Rus to their history. This happened later after Peter I declared himself emperor. Then there was a temptation to occupy not only the territory, but also the past of a foreign state.

Most of the space of modern Russia - lands forcibly attached to the Moscow principality and kingdom: the Volga region, Siberia, the Far East, the North Caucasus, they have nothing to do with Kievan Rus. These are the empire's colonies. So it is the inhabitants of the Kremlin who are engaged in the distortion of history for the sake of political ambitions and propaganda.

**In 2022, representatives of national movements from different republics condemned the war and emphasized that this conflict was not in the interests of the country's small peoples. There were sporadic demonstrations in Kalmykia, but there was no mass protest here. Was this reaction expected?**

Attitudes towards the war in Kalmykia, according to my data, are similar to the average Russian sample. Why should it be otherwise? If the empire has been pursuing a policy of Russification and unification for centuries, leveling national differences? There are critically thinking people in every republic, as well as regions, territories, but they are few. And almost all of them, especially actively in 2022, left the country.

It is clear that if the Oirats in the distant past had reached the shores of the Atlantic and stayed here, they would probably have been part of a democratic Europe. But since our ancestors founded their Khanate of Torgud on the banks of the Idzhil-Idel-Edel-Volga River, they shared the fate of the other peoples of the evil empire.

One can talk for a long time about the pros and cons of the arrival of the Oirats in Europe, the foundation of their khanate, the departure to Dzungaria, the peasant colonization of the lands of the khanate, the civil war ... But history, as you know, does not tolerate the subjunctive mood. And the Kalmyks have to live in those conditions, and, therefore, to be a cross section of the society in which they live today.

**In general, how realistic are the hopes for the independence of Kalmykia today. What will it depend on? Are the Kalmyks themselves ready for this?**

Independence is not only real, it is long overdue. This is a necessity. Leveling processes are always taking place within the framework of large states, therefore all regions of Russia, not only the republics, but also the territories, regions, must become independent, and then function like the European Union. This means that everyone has their own state, orders and administration, but in common issues - for example, environmental protection, future projects, such as artificial intelligence - to act together. And it's not about the size and number of the population. Montenegro, for example, in terms of territory is 5 times smaller than Kalmykia, a third of the territory is occupied by mountains, the population is 600-odd thousand, and neither Serbs nor Montenegrins make up the majority of the population. Since 2006 they have become a sovereign state, in 2008 they joined the EU.

And this is important for all the peoples in Russia, including Russians. After all, the interests and problems of Russians living in Siberia or the Far East are clearly different from the interests and problems of Muscovites. Moscow is currently ripping off all regions, not just national republics. Therefore, the Kremlin has so much money to wage a large-scale war and seize foreign lands, such as Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Crimea, Donbass. And if the money of the regions remained in the regions, then Moscow would not have such huge resources, and people in the Russian outback would live much better. All sectors of society suffer from this centralized system. The same regional governors who are 100% dependent on Moscow, this also humiliates them. They turn out to be puppets in the hands of the Kremlin.

As for the national republics, they are constitutionally considered subjects of the federation, but in reality they are colonies. Moscow not only robs them, just like the regions, but also pursues an openly colonial policy. For example, it redraws the borders, selecting the best lands. For example, the lands of the Buryats were divided into three administrative regions. Two districts were taken away from Kalmykia and the Astrakhan region was created from them. As a result, Kalmykia lost the entire coast of the lower reaches of the Idzhil-Volga River, only one village has access to the river. And industrial facilities are built anywhere, but not in the national republics. Accordingly, the economy of the republics is not developed, there are no jobs, specialists are leaving, the population is overburdened. I will give a few examples from those that I encountered as an archaeologist leading rescue excavations. In 2008, it was planned to build a gas processing plant in the village. Artesian. All research and development work was carried out: ecologists, biologists, signalmen and archaeologists conducted a survey and prepared all the documents. The project was closed. And a couple of years later they built it in the Astrakhan region. The project for the construction of the Iki-Burulsky water conduit from the Levokumsky reservoir was imposed from Moscow in order to increase the republic's dependence from outside and force the Stavropol Territory to pay for water. Although it was easier for the republic to stretch a branch from its village of Tsagan-aman and pump water for free from the river. Idzhil-Volga. For those big ones spent on the Levokumsky water conduit, it was even possible to develop a deep-well extraction of fresh water from a huge underground reservoir in the village of Gojur, located in the very center of the republic. The Tengiz-Novorossiysk oil pipeline is the longest in Kalmykia, but the Krasnodar Territory receives the rent money. And that's millions of dollars a year. People from the government complained that they could not change the terms of the contract, they went, went to Moscow, but they were adamant there. How can it be called? Robbery in broad daylight. The list goes on...

The population of Kalmykia, as well as the entire population of Russia, does not understand that Moscow is robbing them. Therefore, as elsewhere, there are different opinions. Not everyone sees the economic side, but, true, everyone sees that total Russification leads to the loss of language, identity, and traditional culture. Everyone sees this. I have never met a Kalmyk, either in Kalmykia or abroad, who did not want to develop his own Kalmyk.

I remember that in 1991, not all the population of Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other republics were for independence, and now all these peoples have appreciated their sovereignty, and Ukrainians are giving their lives to live without the dictates of Moscow. So it is not necessary that all polls in the republic were of the same opinion.

**In your opinion, why did the population of the republics, not only Kalmykia, but also others, so easily renounce the institutions of sovereignty and even independence obtained in the early 1990s?**

Easily retreated - you said it well! And what about two terrible wars against independent Chechnya? Kalmykia is close to Chechnya, we have not yet forgotten how not only people fled from the war to us, but even wolves and feral dogs. Seeing and hearing this, who would expose their people to such a risk? And how did they twist Tatarstan's arms? President Mintemir Shaimiev Putin and the KGB officer were not allowed out of his office for four days until they signed everything they needed. And here, in Kalmykia, back in Soviet times, what happened to Gorodovikov? (Basan Gorodovikov - Soviet military leader and statesman, in 1961-1978 the first secretary of the Kalmyk Regional Committee of the CPSU, under him Kalmykia achieved significant success - Note Ed.) He, an old general, a hero of the USSR, was taken out of the congress meeting room by the arms of the KGB officers The CPSU was immediately removed from his post, because he dared to hint at the return of the two selected regions. That is why after him, until 1990, only envoys from Moscow were the first person in the republic.

During archaeological expeditions, I traveled all over Kalmykia, the most remote settlements, my heart bleeds to see in what conditions and how ordinary people live in my homeland. The desire for independence among the conscious part of our people has never faded away.

Returning to your question, the curtailment of the independence of the subjects took place against the backdrop of two Chechen wars, all this happened very close. Moscow forcibly and harshly revived the imperial approach, any protest was severely suppressed. Nobody wanted a second deportation, to end up in Siberia again, so the Kalmyks actually had no choice.

**Practically in all socio-economic ratings, Kalmykia occupies the last places among Russian regions. So it was under Ilyumzhinov, and under Orlov, and under Khasikov. In your opinion, why did none of the heads of the republic manage to achieve a breakthrough in its development? Could they do it?**

Because colonial policy has never stopped, it is by definition impossible to make a breakthrough under such conditions. A colony is a colony, and construction, infrastructure, and the social sphere in it will be worse than in the metropolis. On its territory, only resources and specialists are being pumped out, total Russification is being carried out in all areas - from the language to the rewritten history. This is also imperial policy, when peoples are not allowed to study their own past, imposing only that interpretation of it that is beneficial to Moscow.

By the way, the regional elites are also well aware of this. Governors and heads of republics are forced to go to Moscow to bow, begging for money, which they themselves send in the form of taxes to the federal center. So the question of disintegration is ripe not only below, in the minds of the activists of national movements, but also among the local elites. It is also necessary for the Russian outback to understand that Moscow takes advantage of their political naivety and forces them to live in unworthy poverty. The consequences of the war with Ukraine may just be the match that will ignite this inevitable process.

![Maria Ochir. Anti-war rally in Berlin](/images/posts/maria_kalmykia.jpg)
<p class="text-sm">Maria Ochir-Goryaeva (left) at the archaeological site of a Bronze Age settlement with colleagues from the Protection of Monuments Center from Schleswig Holstein (Germany). 2012</p>

**There is an opinion that Russian society massively supports this war. In your opinion, as a person from the outside - is it so? What should and can be done to open the eyes of the supporters of the aggressive policy of the Kremlin?**

Of course, they provide massive support – people need to survive somehow, this is a top priority. Everything is decided by the state system and what values it promotes. During the Third Reich, the Germans massively supported the war. But when the system changed, the same people became democratic and repeat like a mantra "Nazis will never be repeated forever and ever." The same change can happen to Russian society, for this it is necessary that the system change. And the people in the masses easily change their minds and habits. I'll give you an example. For 8 years I have been excavating on the border of Kalmykia and the Rostov region, and dug two fortresses from the era of the Khazar Khaganate. They lived for months in a small village, where the entire population is Russian. Local men were taken to the excavations. And they don't just swear there, they practically talk obscenities. But I forbade them all to swear at the excavation site and make jokes on gender topics, otherwise I will kick them out of the excavation site without a daily salary. And they worked for me for months, all day long and did not swear. I'll say more. In this village, they are all nationalists to one degree or another, in the sense that they do not like Kalmyks. But since I treated them with respect and paid my salary every evening, they treated me and all the employees very cordially, although we were all Kalmyks. That is, the people are everywhere, even Russian, even German, they are masters of survival. So I don't think it's necessary to convince them verbally. The conditions will change, the people themselves will figure out how beneficial it is for them. There is no need to condemn the people, we must love them and create conditions for a decent life, regardless of nationality.





Independence is not only real, it is long overdue. This is a necessity. This is important for all the peoples in Russia, including Russians.

Independence

Independence is a necessity: a historian from Kalmykia about the future of the republic

They Dream of Returning to February 23, 2022

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