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· 7 min read

Updated 2/9/2023

Davur Dordzhiev: I'd rather be "with the outcasts and rebels"

Davur Dordzhiev

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, 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

· 4 min read

Free Nations League activists went on protests in the USA and Lithuania to draw international attention to involuntary servitude of captive peoples in the Russian Federation.

“We decided to hold grass root actions. It is important for us to spread our ideas not only online, but also to bring like-minded people to the streets, first here - in exile. We will also seek support among people in democratic countries, primarily among representatives of civil society,” explains the organizer of the action in Philadelphia, Kalmyk Albert Sharapov.

Next to Albert is Buryat journalist Rajana Dugar-DePonte. She came to the rally carrying the flag of Buryatia. “It is important for me that the voice of the Buryats, here in exile, and at home in Buryatia, is heard not only in the context of anti-war actions. After all, the aggression against Ukraine is a consequence of Russia's policy of imperialism. Therefore, the Buryats will stop dying in the interests of others not when this particular war ends, but when our country - Buryatia - becomes independent. The same applies to Kalmyks, Erzya, and representatives of other peoples, whose lands the Russian Federation manages as colonies whose people are just one of the resources.”

Erzya activist Vitaly Romashkin (pictured with the Erzya flag) came to support the action from Cleveland: “Tens of thousands of representatives of our peoples live in the United States. We need to create national diasporas and unite here in America and around the world in order to participate together in actions organized by the Free Nations League! Our mutual cooperation is a very effective way to provide moral support to our peoples, who are now under the colonial oppression of the Evil Empire and inspire them to fight for their rights, the key of which is the right to self-determination, the right to create their own independent states! It is time to wake up from the lethargic sleep of oblivion of our own ethnic identity until we are completely dissolved in the gray imperial mass and disappear! We are many and we are strong, the truth is on our side and justice will prevail!”

Captive Nations Action in Philadelphia

In Lithuania, Ingrian activist Mike Ingram and Bashkir politician Ruslan Gabbasov attended the protest. “We will repeat again and again that the only possible formula for peace in Eurasia is the decolonization of Russia and the creation of new independent states,” says Mike, who is holding the flag of Ingria.

Ruslan is holding a poster in English: "Let's destroy the evil empire." “Lithuanians come up, ask who we are and what we are trying to achieve, they support us. It is important for us to convey our ideas - we are for the collapse of this empire and for the gaining of freedom by our countries, our peoples. It is important that our voice be heard - that is why we are here. I am addressing both representatives of the diasporas of our peoples, as well as to other caring Lithuanians. Come to the next action on the Cathedral Square of the Lithuanian capital - February 25th. There will be more of us!” Ruslan concludes.

Captive Nations Action in Vilnuis

· 5 min read

November 24, 2022

Chair of the Munich Security Conference

Christoph Heusgen

Dear Mr. Heusgen!

We take this opportunity to assure you of our highest consideration.

The Free Nations League, uniting Tatars, Bashkirs, Buryats, Yakuts, Kalmyks, Chechens, Erzyans, Mokshans, Cossacks and Ingrians in their fight for the right to self-determination, is addressing you.

Today we are deprived thereof, because our republics and regions were transformed into colonies of centralized empire. Our peoples are not allowed to study in their native language. Our national organizations and parties are banned and dissolved. Our politicians are imprisoned, killed, maimed or forced to emigrate. Moscow is plundering the republics, rapaciously exploiting their rich subsoil, leaving ruins and ecological disaster zones. Our peoples became subjects to covert genocide, since Moscow is mobilizing a disproportionate number of representatives of the autochthonous population to continue the barbaric war in Ukraine.

However, even in these conditions, our peoples demonstrate their subjectness not only by means of political statements, but also by means of direct actions, preventing mobilization for another aggressive colonial war waged by Russia upon Ukraine.

Despite the fact that ethnic non-Russians make up a significant part of the population of the Russian Federation, and the national republics occupy the vast territory of a pseudo-federation, our voice is ignored and systematically muffled.

From your Twitter account, we learned that representatives of Russian opposition groups in exile are planning to attend the upcoming MSC2022 meeting. We applaud the Conference's decision not to invite officials from the Kremlin and to give voice to those who publicly condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and do not support this unjust colonial war.

In this regard, we ask you to give the opportunity to speak at the forum to the representatives of the Free Nations League. We sincerely hope that the conversation about the future of the Russian territories provides an opportunity to hear our opinion – the opinion of millions of representatives of indigenous peoples and residents of the regions. We would like to believe that MSC2022 understands there is a place not only for dialogue with Russians, but also for dialogue with Tatars, Bashkirs, Buryats, Yakuts, Kalmyks, Chechens, Erzyans, Mokshans, Cossacks, Ingrians and other peoples.

We ask you not to oppose our peoples to ethnic Russians, moving us away from contacts with the European Parliament, and replacing dialogue with the peoples in the Russian Federation with a dialogue with several Moscow politicians. The Free Nations League does not recognize any so-called "transitional governments" or other self-proclaimed structures of the Russian opposition.

We are counting on your balanced and wise position.

Sincerely,

The appeal was signed by representatives of national movements:

Bashkir

Ruslan Gabbasov, head of the Bashkir National Political Center (BNPC)

Ilshat Kinzyabaev, member of the Bashkir National Political Center

Buryat

Dorzho Dugarov, representative of the Buryat democratic movement "Buryad-Mongol Erkheten" in the European Union

Radjana Dugar-DePonte, representative of the Buryat democratic movement "Buryad-Mongol Erkheten" in the USA

Cossack

Vyacheslav Demin, elder of the Cossack National Liberation Movement

Ingrian

Mike Ingram, Leader of Ingrian Renaissance Association.

Oirat-Kalmyk

Arslang Sandzhiev, Chairman of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People

Erentsen Dolyaev, Deputy Chairman of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People

Batyr Boromangnaev, Deputy Chairman of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People

Vladimir Dovdanov, Deputy Chairman of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People

Albert Sharapov, Member of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People

Daavr Dorzhin, Member of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People

Moksha

Chovhanon Donisi, Head of the Committee of the Moksha nation representatives (in exile)

Tatar

Rafis Kashapov, Vice Prime Minister of the government of independent Tatarstan in exile, one of the co-founders of the Free Idel-Ural movement

Farit Zakiyev, Chairman of the All-Tatar Public Center

Nafis Kashapov, Vice Prime Minister of the government of independent Tatarstan in exile

Irshat Khabi, a political emigrant

Chechen

Khamzat Grozny, political émigré in France from the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

Erzya

Bolyaen Syres, chief elder of the Erzya people

Vitaly Romashkin, member of the Council of Elders

Ozhomason Kirdya

Yakut

Raisa Zubareva, co-founder of the Free Yakutia Foundation

· 3 min read

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

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!

· 5 min read

November 14, 2022

European Parliament President

Roberta Metsola

Dear Madam President!

We take this opportunity to assure you of our highest consideration.

The Free Nations League, uniting Tatars, Bashkirs, Buryats, Yakuts, Kalmyks, Chechens, Erzyans, Mokshans, Cossacks and Ingrians in their fight for the right to self-determination, is addressing you.

Today we are deprived thereof, because our republics and regions were transformed into colonies of centralized empire. Our peoples are not allowed to study in their native language. Our national organizations and parties are banned and dissolved. Our politicians are imprisoned, killed, maimed or forced to emigrate. Moscow is plundering the republics, rapaciously exploiting their rich subsoil, leaving ruins and ecological disaster zones. Our peoples became subjects to covert genocide, since Moscow is mobilizing a disproportionate number of representatives of the autochthonous population to continue the barbaric war in Ukraine.

However, even in these conditions, our peoples demonstrate their subjectness not only by means of political statements, but also by means of direct actions, preventing mobilization for another aggressive colonial war waged by Russia upon Ukraine.

Despite the fact that ethnic non-Russians make up a significant part of the population of the Russian Federation, and the national republics occupy the vast territory of a pseudo-federation, our voice is ignored and systematically muffled.

Moreover, we notice that the Russian opposition politicians in exile speak publicly on behalf of all the territories and all the peoples of the Russian Federation, for which they do not have a legitimate mandate.

With this in mind, we, the members of the Free Nations League, declare:

  1. Any negotiations regarding the territories that are now under the rule of Moscow must take place with our participation – Tatars, Bashkirs, Buryats, Yakuts, Kalmyks, Chechens, Erzyans, Mokshans, Cossacks, as well as representatives of other peoples and regionalist movements.

  2. Russian opposition politicians in exile can represent themselves, but none of the national movements, not a single national representative body has given them a mandate to represent our interests.

  3. A dialogue “about Russia” with representatives of the Moscow elites or counter-elites, behind the back of the peoples of the North Caucasus, Idel-Ural, Siberia, as well as other Moscow colonies, will irreversibly lead to a tension and radicalization of the situation. Non-Russian ethnicities will receive a clear signal from European politicians: ‘They talk to Muscovites about our lands and our wealth, they talk behind our back’.

We ask you not to oppose our peoples to ethnic Russians, moving us away from contacts with the European Parliament, and replacing dialogue with the peoples of the Russian Federation with a dialogue with several Moscow politicians. The Free Nations League does not recognize any "transitional governments" or other self-proclaimed structures of the Russian opposition.

We are counting on your balanced and wise position.

Sincerely, The appeal was signed by representatives of national movements:

Bashkir

Ruslan Gabbasov, head of the Bashkir National Political Center (BNPC)

Ilshat Kinzyabaev, member of the Bashkir National Political Center

Buryat

Dorzho Dugarov, representative of the Buryat democratic movement "Buryad-Mongol Erkheten" in the European Union

Radjana Dugar-DePonte, representative of the Buryat democratic movement "Buryad-Mongol Erkheten" in the USA

Cossack

Vyacheslav Demin, elder of the Cossack National Liberation Movement

Ingrian

Mike Ingram, Leader of Ingrian Renaissance Association.

Oirat-Kalmyk

Arslang Sandzhiev, Chairman of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People

Erentsen Dolyaev, Deputy Chairman of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People

Batyr Boromangnaev, Deputy Chairman of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People

Vladimir Dovdanov, Deputy Chairman of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People

Albert Sharapov, Member of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People

Daavr Dorzhin, Member of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People

Moksha

Chovhanon Donisi, Head of the Committee of the Moksha nation representatives (in exile)

Tatar

Rafis Kashapov, Vice Prime Minister of the government of independent Tatarstan in exile, one of the co-founders of the Free Idel-Ural movement

Farit Zakiyev, Chairman of the All-Tatar Public Center

Nafis Kashapov, Vice Prime Minister of the government of independent Tatarstan in exile

Irshat Khabi, a political emigrant

Chechen

Khamzat Grozny, political émigré in France from the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

Erzya

Bolyaen Syres, chief elder of the Erzya people

Vitaly Romashkin, member of the Council of Elders

Ozhomason Kirdya

Yakut

Raisa Zubareva, co-founder of the Free Yakutia Foundation

· 8 min read

October 26, 2022

Source in Russian language - https://www.facebook.com/oirad.chuulhn/posts/pfbid026X9h5o3CcKdbFago9zEBrSQcRjCFtHiGAU3HffoqGP6ZtgUrwJ4qjpYMWNJttH3ol.

The Oirats have had several sovereign states in history. The last independent state of the Oirats was liquidated by decree of Catherine II on October 19, 1771. The territory of the Oirat-Kalmyks was annexed and added to the Russian Empire.

On July 2–9, 1920, the First All-Kalmyk Congress of Soviets of the Working Kalmyk People took place in the village of Chilgir, proclaiming the formation of statehood in the form of an autonomous region within the RSFSR. It was attended by delegates representing all the Kalmyk uluses of the Astrakhan and Stavropol provinces, Kalmyks living in the Don and Terek regions, in Kyrgyzstan, in the Ural region and the Orenburg province.

The Kalmyk Autonomous Region was transformed on October 20, 1935 into the Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which was abolished on December 27, 1943, and the Oirat-Kalmyk people were subjected to deportation and genocide.

On January 9, 1957, the Kalmyk Autonomous Region was re-formed as part of the Stavropol Territory, which on July 29, 1958 was transformed into the Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

On October 18, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Kalmyk ASSR adopted the Declaration “On the State Sovereignty of the Kalmyk Soviet Socialist Republic”. The Declaration solemnly proclaimed the state sovereignty of the Kalmyk SSR throughout its territory and declared its determination to create a democratic constitutional state, “based on the right of the Kalmyk people to free self-determination and taking into account the desire of the people of Kalmykia for socio-economic progress, cultural revival and a radical increase in living standards, expressing the will of the people of the republic to pursue an independent economic and social policy”.

However, all of the subsequent years were a time of step-by-step renunciation by the Kalmyk authorities of sovereignty and the internationally recognized right of the Oirat-Kalmyk people to self-determination — resulting from the collapse of the USSR, the formation of the Russian Federation, the election of an irresponsible adventurer as president in Kalmykia, who broke the sprouts of democracy and freedom, and the strengthening of the authoritarian regime in Russia, which finally became established with the coming to power of V. Putin. In 1994, by a voluntaristic decision of President Ilyumzhinov and his supporters, as a result of an illegitimate procedure, the pseudo-Constitution of the Republic of Kalmykia, the so-called Steppe Code, was approved, in which the Republic of Kalmykia was recorded as a subject, not a state, as defined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. After that, the entire policy of Russia towards the Republic of Kalmykia was built on the basis of this limited status.

All authorities of the Republic of Kalmykia, without exception: previous and current presidents and heads, members of the People's Khural (parliament), Governments and courts of the Republic of Kalmykia did absolutely nothing to protect all the significant and fundamental interests and rights of the Oirat-Kalmyk people, the entire multinational population and the Republic of Kalmykia! The authorities of not-free Kalmykia turned out to be weak-willed executors of the will of Moscow and helpless in defending the national interests of the people and the Republic.

In the current conditions of Putin’s dictatorship, the following is happening:

  • insane centralization and militarization of the country;
  • the Kremlin’s total attack on the cultures and languages of the non-Russian peoples conquered by Russia, and on their authorities and statehood in the form of national republics within the Russian Federation;
  • the revival of the Russian Empire;
  • recreating and using the institutions and practices of the Nazi regime, Latin American and African military dictatorships of the 20th century;
  • regular and cynical violation of generally recognized norms of international law;
  • commission of international crimes and criminal offenses of an international character;
  • a complete unilateral violation by the federal government of the terms of previously signed federal treaties and the Constitution of the Russian Federation, obligations assumed by Russia in relation to the peoples and national regions of the Russian Federation, including the Oirat Kalmyk people and the Republic of Kalmykia;
  • the constant disregard for the rights of repressed citizens, including survivors of genocide and war crimes by the USSR, whose successor is the Russian Federation, so that the Russian Law on the Rehabilitation of Repressed Peoples of 1991 is not enforced.

Chauvinism, racism, xenophobia, ethnic discrimination, rampant great-power hysteria, admiration for Stalin and other monsters of the past are flourishing in the country; the territory not being restored that was illegally torn from Republic of Kalmyia during the period of deportation of the Oirat-Kalmyk people, the tearing away and annexation of territories of the Republic of Kalmykia continues in favor of neighboring regions of Russia; the Russian Federation is pursuing a colonial financial and economic policy that directly impedes the economic development of Kalmykia, as a result of which there is a massive outflow from the Republic and a decrease in the number of the Oirat-Kalmyk population, during all the years following the return of the people from deportation, Kalmykia occupies the last place in USSR and Russia in terms of the provision of the population with drinking water, which contains clear signs of genocide by Moscow, the opinion and interests of the people of Kalmykia are completely discounted and ignored, the appointment of the leaders of the Republic by the Kremlin uses undemocratic, falsified elections, the Republic is deprived of many of its own governmental authorities, whose powers were unilaterally assigned by Moscow, the activities of national organizations are suppressed, the terror of the federal authorities against civil and national activists does not stop...

In these absolutely unbearable circumstances, it becomes extremely clear that with further stay in Russia, Russification, assimilation, and degradation will continue, which threatens the very existence of the Oirat-Kalmyk people.

Based on the foregoing, realizing its historical responsibility, the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk people, as the only legitimate representative body of the Oirat-Kalmyk people, declares the need for the complete liberation of the Oirat-Kalmyk people from colonial dependence on Russia, declares its determination to seek the secession of the Republic of Kalmykia from the Russian Federation, the proclamation and creation of a sovereign independent state.

The Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People believes that the creation of an independent state of the Republic of Kalmykia is the most important and the only condition for preserving the native language, culture, traditions, writing, national education, knowledge, various forms of activity, as well as the very existence and development of the Oirat-Kalmyk people.

The Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People appeals to all representatives of the Oirat-Kalmyk people, wherever they live, to the entire multinational population of the Republic of Kalmykia — to support this Declaration in every possible way and be ready for the practical implementation of the stated goal, to try to make their own contribution to the formation, strengthening and development of the future free, independent and prosperous Republic of Kalmykia!

The Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People appeals to all states of the world, governments and parliaments with a call to recognize the need to liberate the Oirat-Kalmyk people from the colonial oppression of the Russian Empire and their legitimate right to self-determination and the creation of an independent state.

Let justice prevail!

Members of the Oirat-Kalmyk People’s Congress:

Arslang Sandzhiev,

Batyr Boromangnaev,

Vladimir Dovdanov,

Erentsen Dolyaev,

Albert Sharapov

and others.

· 8 min read

Kalmyks and Buryats in Philly

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.

· 2 min read

My name is Albert. I am an activist of Free Nations League.

Free Nations League is a non-profit organization that unites activists of the national movements of nations held captive by Russia. Our ultimate goal is the independence of our countries. To achieve this goal, we consider it necessary to find friends and allies in democratic countries who will support and recognize our countries such as Kalmykia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Buryat-Mongolia, Cossackia, Erzyan Mastor, Ingria, Republics of North Caucasus, Tuva, Sakha as captive ones in Russia.

We have just sent a letter to President Biden in which we asked him to consider addition of our nations to captive nations list. This will signal to people in our countries who struggle for the freedom that The United States know and support them.

We are planning to send letters to every US senator and congressman asking to support us and put a resolution on vote to add our nations to captive nations list.

Also the same work is being planned to do in the European countries.

We have just started!

Freedom for Nations! Freedom for Individuals!

Please consider to join and suppport us.

· 3 min read

On July 17, the Free Nations League (FNL), which united representatives of nations held captive by the Kremlin, appealed to US President Joe Biden. In their open letter, activists of national movements ask for support for their peoples in exercising their right to self-determination.

"By our appeal, we join the Captive Nations Week, which has been held annually in the United States since the adoption of the Resolution by Congress in 1959. Due to President Biden's visit to the Middle East, and likely in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the traditional presidential briefing on the White House lawn to open Captive Nations Week has not taken place. However, we decided to come to Washington anyway, because it is important to state our position and deprive Moscow of its monopoly, which claims to speak undividedly on behalf of our nations. We do not see the future of our peoples as part of Russia and do not want to be responsible for the war crimes of the Kremlin," says Vitaly Romashkin, a representative of the Finno-Ugric people, Erzya.

Vitaly came to Washington together with his colleagues in the Free Nations League - the Buryat Rajana Dugar-DePonte and the Tatar Irshat Khabi. They hold the Erzya national flag, as well as the flags of Buryatia and Tatarstan.

Biden is asked to support the nations held captive by Moscow

"Being Buryat, I am hurted to realize that the Kremlin uses the Buryat guys to achieve its criminal goals - to seize new territories and expand the borders of the empire. Actually, the war is all that Moscow is able to offer the guys from the Buryat villages. To die like cannon fodder in another Russian conquest war. I do not wish such a future for Buryatia and my people. Therefore, today we are here not only to condemn the military aggression against Ukraine, but also to seek support among the American public. We, the non-Russian nations living in the Russian Federation, are in fact hostages of Moscow and this regime. We were left with a choice: either fight or go to jail if we do not support Russian aggression," explains Buryat activist Rajana Dugar-DePonte.

A tatar political emigrant Irshat Khabi shares the League's plans for the next week:

"On July 20, we will hold an online press conference with members of other national movements that are members of the League (Tatars, Bashkirs, Buryats, Ingrians, Cossacks, Kalmyks, Erzyans) will talk about the goals and objectives of the League, and answer journalists' questions. Already on July 23, we will go to rallies in different countries of the world, where we will declare our right to self-determination - a right that was taken from us forcefully. Rallies, in particular, will be in the United States - in New York, Philadelphia and Cleveland. Today we are in the same position as Ukraine, Estonia, Lithuania or Latvia 40 years ago. We will strive for decolonization, and in this struggle we need the support of developed democracies."

The Free Nations League is a broad anti-imperial front of the Bashkir, Buryat, Ingrian, Cossack, Kalmyk, Tatar and Erzya national movements, openly declaring the goal of creating new national states and secession from the Russian Federation.

· 8 min read

US President
Joseph R. Biden Jr.
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sharing the values of modern democracy,

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

wishing a worthy future for our descendants,

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.

Freedom for Nations! Freedom for Individuals!

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.

Letter to President Joe Biden