One of the main markers that characterises the period of stagnation, and later the agony of any empire, is the rise of the theme of “friendship of nations.” This was particularly the case in the Soviet Union, when, on the eve of the collapse of the Bolshevik hegemony, the peoples were “friends” more closely and intensely than ever before.
In the “best” imperial traditions, 2026 in Russia has been declared the “year of unity of nations,” united by “support for one’s own nation and love for one’s homeland.” Such a decision is a rather alarming signal for the enslaved nations, who are already on the verge of critical assimilation or even complete physical extermination. Now the Putin regime has decided to finally “unite” and “bring them together”.
There is a need to find an alternative to this imperial threat. It will certainly not be proclaimed by the Kremlin’s heralds or Putin’s henchmen in the so-called republics of the so-called federation.
This can only be done by representatives of the national liberation movements of enslaved nations, who, in contrast to the “unity” imposed by the imperial centre, have the right to proclaim a year of free peoples. Perhaps not even a year, but a decade, because the struggle to overcome imperial oppression and gain freedom will certainly continue for a long time.
In making such a formal or informal decision, it is necessary to rely on the fundamental historical basis of the national liberation struggle, which encompasses both heroic, victorious, and, unfortunately, tragic pages of the history of the freedom-loving peoples of the North Caucasus, the Idel-Urals, and other temporarily occupied regions.
If we take into account the ups and downs of both the past and the present, there is practically no free day in the calendar year that does not include some significant event from this struggle. If we add to this list important dates from the liberation struggle of the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Georgian, or other nations that were under the oppression of the Bolshevik empire, then a real “Chronicle of free nations” is formed, in which each day includes one or even several events of the anti-imperial struggle of the enslaved nations.
Sometimes, such dates combine different eras and historical figures, but they share key common features: the defence of the native land, the heroic struggle for freedom, and opposition to the hated Moscow occupier. From the pages of such a chronicle or calendar, with a demand to complete the cause of national liberation, the leaders of the liberation struggle of the peoples of the Caucasus Imam Shamil and Sheikh Mansur, the hero of the Bashkir national movement Salavat Yulaev, the enlightener of the Sakha people Semen Novgorodov, the Erzya national heroine Elena Arzamaska, the leader of the Tatar national movement Gayaz Ishaki, the first president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Dzhokhar Dudayev, the leader of the liberation struggle of Belarusians Kastus Kalinovsky, the President of the ABN Yaroslav Stetsko, the prominent Udmurt scientist Albert Razin, the organisers of the protests in Baymak, the leaders of the Ukhta uprising, the heroic defenders of Kazan, turn to their descendants.
Just one telling example. 15 October 1552 is the most tragic date in the history of the Tatar people, because it was on 15 October, after a 41-day assault, that the troops of the bloody Moscow Tsar Ivan the Terrible stormed the capital of the Kazan Khanate, unleashing mass terror. Kazan was destroyed and plundered. Men were executed, and women and children were taken captive by the invaders.
The crimes of the Muscovites were reminiscent not only of the events in the Hetman capital of Baturyn in 1708, but also of the genocide in Bucha, Gostomel, and Izyum. Half a millennium later, nothing has changed: Muscovy was and remains, launching “shaheeds” and “oreshniks,” the greatest terrorist threat to Ukraine, all enslaved nations, and the entire civilised world.
The fall of Kazan had a significant impact on the fate of not only the Tatar people. Bashkirs, Chuvashs, Votyaks, and Cheremys also rose up to fight against their oppressors. At the same time, this event, due to its scale, actually opened the countdown of Moscow’s imperial history, which continues to this day.
If we return to the calendar chronology, then, for example, this same date – 15 October – has its tragic mark in Ukrainian history, and the perpetrators of the crime of 15 October 1959 are the same Moscow murderers. After all, it was on this day, on orders from the Kremlin, that the Leader of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, Stepan Bandera, was treacherously murdered.
There are, unfortunately, many such bloody “coincidences” in history. And they will constantly appear until the day when the terrible Moscow “prison of nations” finally collapses.
For this to happen, extraordinary efforts must be made. First of all, the heroic Ukrainian Defence Forces of Ukraine have been fighting for this for a year now. For this purpose, systematic work is being carried out to support the national liberation movements of enslaved nations, which, in this year, the year of free peoples, in Ukraine, should reach the state level, thanks to the adoption of relevant legislation and the involvement of comprehensive state mechanisms in the process.
Ukraine, in addition to Western allies, who are not always reliable and consistent, must make an attempt to gain allies behind enemy lines. Tatar, Bashkir, Chuvash, Chechen, Kalmyk or Karelian partisans, leaders of national liberation movements, who, although mostly abroad, maintain contact with their nations and can, at the right moment, influence the processes inside the enemy’s homeland.
Under the liberation slogan “Freedom for Nations ! Freedom to the Individual!” we must implement the idea of the Year of free nations who are ready to fight for freedom and independence. At the same time, we must convey this idea to our international partners, emphasising to them that every day, both in the past and in modern realities, Moscow carries out terror not only against the Ukrainian nation, but also against the Chechens, Ingush, Udmurts, Erzyans, Yakuts, Tuvans, Buryats, using them as “imperial cannon fodder” in the crucible of war, throwing them in prison for disobedience, persecuting them on ethnic and religious grounds. This is the real “unity of the peoples of Russia”, and not the decorative festivals of “songs and dances” that the Kremlin propagandists are planning.
So, at the beginning of the new year, the year of free nations, we extrapolate to the leaders and activists of national liberation movements the main signpost, set out at the time by the co-creator and first Leader of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, Colonel Yevhen Konovalets: “In the great world drama of our days, we have a choice: either to be creators or victims of history.”
