The Statement by the Participants of the Chechen National Liberation Movement “United Force”

We, the participants and representatives of the Chechen national liberation movement “United Force”, strongly urge the creation of a separate platform within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to address matters concerning the independent Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI), which was occupied in 2000—a fact acknowledged by the Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine dated 18 October 2022. We also propose the creation of such a platform for all the enslaved nations of Russia who have become both victims and instruments of Russian expansionist policy.

The statements made by Vladimir Kara-Murza in the French Senate, as well as his remarks in the early days following his release from Putin’s prisons, are a blatant distortion of reality and historical truth—especially in the context of Russia’s expansionism and the nations of Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine who have fallen victim to this policy, as well as various other people suffering from Russian imperialism within Russia itself.

While living in the West, Vladimir Kara-Murza promotes rhetoric aimed at shaping media narratives that indirectly justify the Putin regime and the Russian electorate with its militaristic worldview. He persistently ignores the basic fact that the majority of Russians support Putin. In his public speeches, Kara-Murza has repeatedly claimed that the Russian people are mostly innocent of the crimes committed by Putin’s regime. He also attempts to shift responsibility for Russia’s war crimes onto Chechens and other non-Russian ethnic groups.

By asserting that Russians cannot kill Ukrainians due to supposed “psychological barriers”, while Chechens and other non-Slavic nations allegedly do so with ease, Vladimir Kara-Murza displays clear signs of racism. This statement ignores reality and is blatantly false, based on stigmatizing propaganda.

In the first two weeks of April alone, Russian missile strikes on peaceful Ukrainian cities such as Sumy, Kharkiv, and Kryvyi Rih have killed hundreds of civilians. This reality directly undermines Kara-Murza’s claims about a Russian “psychological barrier”, which he presents as a persuasive argument borrowed from a colleague.

Allow us to remind you that the Chechens are a people who have endured decades of violence, occupation, and destruction at the hands of the Russian state. We are the ones who know what it means to suffer mass killings and executions in Russian filtration camps, forced deportations, the loss of property and homes, the destruction of infrastructure, villages and cities, and the humiliation of national dignity under the puppet rule of Kadyrov imposed by Putin. We survived the massacre in Grozny in 1999–2000, when the Russian army launched massive attacks on residential areas, killing thousands of civilians, including children and the elderly. Long before the tragedies in the Ukrainian towns of Bucha and Irpin, there were mass killings of civilians in the Chechen villages of Samashki, Elistanzhi, and Novye Aldi.

It was we, the Chechens, who first warned the world of the Russian threat—that Russia would not stop with the Chechen people and would continue its aggression in other territories.

It is also important to note that although Vladimir Kara-Murza’s release was achieved through a prisoner exchange involving the assassin of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a fighter for Chechnya’s independence, he did not find it necessary to offer condolences to Khangoshvili’s family or to apologize for his role in their tragedy. This exchange denied the Khangoshvili family their fundamental right to justice and deeply offended all Chechens who have suffered under Putinism. Such negligence reflects the clear moral irresponsibility of Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Our position is clear and unwavering: Russia is the aggressor, and the responsibility for all crimes committed in Ukraine, Chechnya, and other occupied regions lies with the Russian state, its leadership, and all Russians who support it. The continued distortion of reality and concealment of responsibility for these crimes by fabricating false narratives that blame other nations for Russia’s atrocities is unacceptable.

We, the participants of the Chechen national liberation movement “United Force”, declare that considering the establishment of a platform within PACE for the democratic forces of Russia, which includes Vladimir Kara-Murza, his statements undermine the foundation of a fair dialogue on post-Putin Russia and the war crimes committed by the Russian Federation in the Republic of Moldova, the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI), Georgia, Syria, African countries, and Ukraine.

In light of the above, we consider it both logical and just to establish within PACE a separate platform for dialogue about the future of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria—occupied since 2000—and about the nations enslaved by Russia at different times throughout history. These nations must be allowed to express their own positions, speak on their own behalf, and fairly assess the current situation.

We strongly urge that Chechens and other nations who have suffered from Russian crimes be given the right to speak for themselves and not be replaced on international platforms such as PACE by Russian propagandists and stigmatizers like Vladimir Kara-Murza, who do not hesitate to direct racist accusations at victims of Putinism. We call on the international community to listen to the real voices of those who have endured occupation, the destruction of their homes, and the loss of loved ones.

The time has come for honest, open, and unbiased dialogue that will allow all oppressed nations to assert their rights and demands. Only in this way can justice and peaceful coexistence be achieved.

P.S. We ask the national liberation movements of the nations enslaved by Russia who agree with our statement on the need to create a separate platform within PACE for our nations to support it with similar declarations in their own name.

Participants of the Chechen National Liberation Movement “United Force”

Paris, 13 April 2025