The event brought together Ukrainian and foreign politicians, scientists, and international experts. Among its participants were, in particular, leading representatives of the political structures of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI) and leaders of the Circassian diaspora from Ukraine, Turkey and the USA.
The conference consisted of two thematic panels. The first was devoted to the historical and political phenomenon of the Republic of North Caucasus Mountaineers. This state entity appeared during the collapse of the former Russian Empire and ceased to exist under the blows of the “red” and “white” Russian invaders.
During the second panel, the geopolitical significance of the North Caucasus in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war was discussed. Leading Western analysts: Frederick Starr, Paul Goble, Janusz Bugajski, David Sutter and others joined the discussion. Ukrainian and European politicians also spoke: people’s deputies of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharenko, Fedir Venislavskyi, Oleh Dunda, members of the European Parliament Rasa Yukniavicene (Lithuania) and Anna Fotyga (Poland).
Opening the conference, the deputy head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, Volodymyr Tylishchak , reminded that the events of 1917-1918, when the Mountaineer Republic was proclaimed, are a defining stage in the national histories of many peoples, in particular, Ukrainians.
Returning to the present, Tylishchak emphasized that the war that the Kremlin unleashed in Ukraine, as well as its wars with the peoples of the Caucasus from the 19th century to the present day, are colonial wars. After all, the goal of Russia was and is the same as that of all colonial empires – the subjugation and exploitation of other peoples. According to the official, the victory over Putin’s regime will become the basis for the liquidation of the Russian colonial system and the formation of new relations between independent states.
The President of the Assembly of the Peoples of the Caucasus, Ruslan Kutaev , former vice-prime minister of the ChRI government, also spoke about the need to prepare for the restoration of new independent states in the post-imperial space . In his opinion, the Caucasian peoples have never stopped fighting for freedom and will be able to agree on peaceful coexistence after the collapse of Russia.
Invited to the event, the chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Refat Chubarov , expressed confidence in the victory of Ukraine in the war, but at the same time emphasized the need to take into account the interests of the peoples enslaved by Moscow in the post-war world.
“For us, it should be equally important to present the results of this war in a form that fully corresponds to the aspirations of the enslaved peoples of Russia. We, as a state, at the stage of developing the final document that consolidates the results of the war, should be among the most persistent leaders of the idea of supporting the right of the peoples of Russia to self-determination in the form of independent states. For the Ukrainian state, in my opinion, such a position will mean an opportunity to build mechanisms that would exclude the possibility of repeated threats from Russia against our state, the Ukrainian nation, Crimea and the Crimean Tatar people in the future,” said the head of the Mejlis .
Refat Chubarov’s position was supported by the Prime Minister, ChRI Akhmed Zakayev : “If this country remains within those limits and continues to rule over peoples that are in colonial dependence, I guarantee you that in a few years it will again do the same thing that happening today Because we have seen it many times in the history of this country. We repeatedly witnessed how the imperialists, disguised as democrats or liberals, told us: “take as much sovereignty as you can .”
The head of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ichkeria recalled the heroic but lonely struggle of the Chechen people against Russian imperialism. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Chechens were the first to bear the brunt. The world closed its eyes to the tragedy in the North Caucasus, because it naively expected that Moscow would stop and calm down. Now, a high price for this mistake has to be paid by the Ukrainian people, for whose victory all the enslaved peoples of the Russian Federation are currently rooting for.
Zakayev emphasized that it is impossible to combine the empire in its modern borders with democracy. Therefore, he called on the Russian opposition to decide: whether they are for the preservation of the empire or for the construction of a free legal state.
A member of the Executive Council of the Congress of People’s Deputies of Russia Ilya Ponomarev reacted to the call of the Chechen Prime Minister . In his speech, he contrasted the so-called “good Russians”, who only engage in demagoguery, with “normal Russians”, who fight side by side with Ukrainians with weapons in hand. As an example, Ponomaryov mentioned the operation of the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Legion “Freedom of Russia” in the Belgorod region.
According to the Russian politician, all authorities of the Russian Federation are discredited and illegitimate. The Congress of People’s Deputies, which resumed its work in exile, remains the only platform that can have representative powers. The delegates of the congress decided to abolish the Russian Federation and re-establish Russia together with those peoples and territories that aspire to it. With the rest, instead, it is necessary to issue a “civilized divorce” in order to avoid conflicts, in particular, territorial ones.
Professor of the Ukrainian Catholic University Vadym Zadunaysky mentioned the role of the Circassians in the formation of the Kuban Territory at the beginning of the 20th century. The Cossack Kuban was adjacent to the Republic of the Mountaineers. Local Circassians then formed a separate faction in its parliament – the Kuban Rada; their leaders became members of the Kuban government, and Sultan Shahim Girey became the deputy chairman of the Mykola Ryabovola Council.
The positive experience of cooperation between Ukrainians and Highlanders a hundred years ago, according to the professor, is relevant even in our time of struggle against the new version of Russian imperialism.
The political heritage of the Republic of the Mountaineers of the North Caucasus was also discussed at the second panel of the conference, which was moderated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Inal Sharipov . In particular, Paul Goble , an expert on Russia and Eurasia, and Janusz Bugajski, a senior researcher at the Jamestown Foundation from the USA, emphasized the importance of unifying nations to achieve the political goal of independence.
According to American analysts, the formation of modern confederal associations, such as the former Republic of the Highlanders, will allow to avoid mutual territorial conflicts, which inhibit nations on the way to independence. In addition, 6-8 confederations in the post-Russian space have higher chances of recognition and support from the West than dozens of small states.
The leaders of the North Caucasian national movements are acting in accordance with these ideas, who agreed to raise the issue of restoring the statehood of the Union of the Peoples of the North Caucasus at the III Congress of the Peoples of the North Caucasus. This goal was also included in the final Conference Resolution . In addition, the participants of the event adopted the Address of the State Committee for the De-occupation of the Chechen Republic to the parliaments and leaders of the UN member states with a request to recognize the Chechen people as a nation fighting for its independence.
The leaders of the Crimean Tatar national movement were honored during the conference by the decision of the government of the Ukrainian National People’s Republic of Ukraine. Mustafa Dzhemilev was awarded the highest order of Ichkeria “Honour of the Nation”, and Refat Chubarov – the newly founded “Order of Friendship”.
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