We remember 1552 – the year of enslavement of the Idel-Ural Muscovy, Turkic and Finno-Ugric nations!

In January, news appeared in the media about the reconstruction of a temple monument to soldiers who died during the capture of Kazan for the amount of 150 million rubles. Not a small amount for a 20-metre monument to the occupiers of the Kazan Khanate. Precisely for the occupiers and nothing else! A person with a weapon in his hands who comes to kill another nation and take away the territory of this nation is called an occupier, not a warrior.

Initially, the very idea of ​​​​building this monument in Kazan carries the immorality quite inherent in the imperials. So to speak, to completely break the spirit of the enslaved nations and show them their place. This is a “spit on the soul” not only of the Tatars but also of the Bashkorts, Cheremis, Nogais, Mari, Erzya, Moksha, and Udmurts, who, like real warriors, defended their lands from Moscow occupiers and bloodthirsty invaders in 1552. In this regard, the logic of Muscovy is quite understandable. But the unquestioning obligingness in everything to the “kings” in Moscow of the collaborating proteges of Tatarstan arouses the indignation of the Tatar people.

For more than three decades, the Tatars have been fighting in the legal field with the governors of Muscovy in Tatarstan and with Moscow itself for the sake of restoring historical justice, which consists in building a monument to fallen soldiers during the defence of the Kazan Khanate in 1552. But the collaborating authorities of Tatarstan, in addition to placing obstacles to all initiatives and actions of the national Tatar movement, and more precisely to the All-Tatar Public Centre, were unable to offer anything. The political agenda of both Moscow and the collaborating authorities of Tatarstan was aimed only at closing, destroying and suspending national movements in Tatarstan and our open rhetoric on the issue of raising the rights of the Tatar people.

We are very grateful to the social movements and memories of the events of the early twentieth century, as the subject of historical research into the events in Tatarstan when the Tatar opposition, socio-political associations VTOC, Milli Majlis of the Tatar people, the Ittifaq party, STM Azatlyk, Popular Front, “Shura of Aksakals”, society – “Idel-Ural”, TPF “Altyn Urda”, NDP “Vatan”, Committee “Sovereignty”, “Association of Tatar Teachers”, “Ak Kalfak” openly and firmly came out with a united front and took the initiative to seek official status for the “Day of Remembrance and Sorrow of the Tatar People”, open schools and gymnasiums for Tatar children, and Tatar institutions for young people, which tirelessly defended the rights of the Tatars.

The memory of history, of the heroism of our ancestors, did not allow our people to break under almost half a century of Muscovite occupation and did not break the will for independence! We call on Tatars all over the world not to forget the date of the sorrow of the Tatar people – October 15, 1552! Because a people without history, without memory, has no future!