While the Tatar nation is distancing itself from Moscow’s assimilation policy, at the same time this policy of Russian chauvinism is dealing with the Tatars!
Russia is no longer a party to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the Russian Foreign Ministry published the corresponding statement on 14 August 2024. Its effect was terminated on 1 August 1, 2024. On 10 October 2023, Russia withdrew from the Convention, declaring as the official reason its non-compliance with the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic States and Ukraine and the impossibility of monitoring cases of violation of the rights of national minorities at the international level due to the limitation of Russia’s powers in the Council of Europe. It was also noted that the denunciation of the Convention would not reduce constitutional guarantees of the rights of national minorities living in Russia. But is this really so?!
The only restraining factor in the Moscow Kremlin’s use of direct mass violence against various nations of Russia was the observation by international institutions of its actions within the country. Since, to preserve its moral image as a “democratic country”, Russia was forced to imitate the observance of the people’s rights (national minorities). Now, when the true misanthropic essence of Russia has been revealed to the entire world and is despised by many civilized countries, it does not need to pretend to be what it is not and to be a member of various international Conventions, which, de facto, were not observed by the Russian empire of evil before.
The “formal” federation is interested in the position of Russians in other independent and sovereign states, while the Russian government has long ago decided on the position of non-Russian nationalities in Russia and their future! Kremlin policy has made great efforts to erase the distinctive features of national minorities, the ethnocultural shift of the identity of different nations towards “Russian” identity, demonstrating this fact as a voluntary nature and choice of the peoples themselves. But in reality, this is achieved by marginalizing the political significance of native languages and identity, and most importantly, by imposing the opinion of the superiority of the Russian culture and language in Russia.
In Russia, all the signs of intolerance are the basis for “discrimination”. In Russia, there is no place for the history of the region, in which there would be no history of the “older brothers”, even though an attempt to overcome amnesia through online education can run into a ban on books, blocking of Wikipedia, Telegram, YouTube, criminal prosecution for reposts and much more. Not to mention the lack of social and state order for the history of disappearing nations. Meanwhile, the Russian language in Russia is supported by all state institutions and billions of dollars in its development.
This withdrawal of Russia from the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in the context of its harsh, military and repressive policy, where the Russian language becomes an instrument of geopolitical confrontation, and the problems of the nations of Russia are easily overlooked, can lead to a forced (violent) nature: military annexation, partial extermination (genocide), forced displacement, legislative activity aimed at suppressing certain cultural and linguistic phenomena. Now we can forget about the projects of specialized state programmes and legislative initiatives aimed at supporting national minorities, still under Russian occupation.
In this harsh reality of the Moscow Kremlin’s policy of assimilating non-Russian nations in Russia, there is an urgent need to loudly “shout” about the problems, and not to hush them up for the sake of one’s personal interests!
Sincerely,
Rafis Kashapov is the Prime Minister of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in exile;
Aida Abdrakhmanova – Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile for National and Religious Issues;
Nafis Kashapov – Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile for Sports;
Zufar Zainullin – Ambassador of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile to the Republic of Latvia;
Kamil Sukaev – representative of the Free Idel-Ural movement, USA, New York;
Rais Mukhutdinov – Ambassador of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile to the Republic of Turkey;
Farit Zakiev – Chairman of the All-Tatar Public Center (ATPC), Türkiye, Antalya.
Правительство Независимого Татарстана
