My name is Aida Abdrakhmanova. I am Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in exile for national and religious issues and a member of the League of Free Nations.
On behalf of the Prime Minister of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in exile, Rafis Kashapov, we welcome all participants, guests, experts and journalists of the 9th Forum of Free States of Post-Russia. The question of how future history will meet the Russian Federation and how its transformation will take place is one of the key questions of geopolitics and one of the most important questions for us.
We, the nations once subjugated by Muscovy, firmly hold the opinion of deconstructing the colonial narrative of Russia and the infrastructure of the imperialist project that serves it. By this, we mean the peaceful decolonization of Russia and the restoration or creation of new independent post-Russian states.
The government of Independent Tatarstan in exile, as representatives of the people once enslaved by Muscovy, we condemn the criminal Russian war against sovereign Ukraine, we call on our Tatar nation to avoid mobilization in every possible way so as not to be complicit in this imperial war of the Moscow Kremlin. We also recognize the restoration of the internationally recognized 1991 borders of Ukraine and the payment of reparations to Ukraine.
We do not see Tatarstan in the post-war period as part of the Russian Federation, no matter how beautiful and legal, according to the promises of the “Moscow opposition,” it was. Tatarstan must be an independent state and a subject of international law since it has the entire legal framework for this. The first is the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Republic of Tatarstan dated August 30, 1990, the second is a legitimate referendum on March 21, 1992, with the participation of international observers and the media recorded by the Helsinki Commission, the third is the new Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan dated (6) November 30, 1992, declaring it a sovereign state. Moreover, Tatarstan was not part of the Russian Federation and did not sign the Federative Treaty with Russia. We see Independent Tatarstan as a free, democratic, civilized subject and participant in international law!
In Russian history, various political figures positioning themselves as Russian democratic forces have repeatedly received support from the West in an attempt to build a supposedly “democratic” state. Let’s just take the example of Lenin at the beginning of the 20th century, Yeltsin at the end of the 20th century and Putin at the beginning of the 21st century. But the issue is still not resolved! After the lapse of time, we only have millions of innocent victims of nations, forced deportations of non-Russian people, famines of people, forced assimilation and Russification of non-Russian people, terror of citizens, deception of the population, Moscow’s ongoing imperial wars in the 21st century with targeted intimidation of the use of nuclear weapons around the world. But all the same, representatives of the Moscow-liberal opposition continue to discuss and dream about a free and legal Federal Russia, and also try to impose on international political subjectivity the opinion that this is possible, while not taking into account the opinion of non-Russian people and national republics subject to Russia, who will never, under any circumstances, believe the false promises of Moscow-centric forces and will not support the continued existence of Russia as a Federation, which it has never been and will never remain a part of it voluntarily!
Until now, not a single one of the Moscow oppositionists wants to admit the fact that the colonized nations of the Idel-Urals, Siberia and the Caucasus must henceforth become independent and continue the imperial narrative of a united and indivisible Russia. Although everyone has long understood that such a large territory and multinational nation with different traditions, languages, religions and identities cannot be maintained without totalitarianism, in which they do not govern, but only control and subjugate. Is totalitarianism the basis of Western values, democracy and human rights? No! Our appeal and inspiration to international politicians is not to ignore us as representatives of national republics. Now that the true face of Russia has been revealed to the whole world and the question of the safe existence of the entire Eurasian area and Europe is raised, we propose to consolidate our efforts and ensure military security for everyone.
We want to speak out and be heard in the UN, PACE, the Council of Europe and in the Parliaments of countries. The self-determination of nations and the gaining of Independence by our Republics is the last chance to preserve our nation, our identity, and the inclusiveness of the post-Russian area, and ensure a decent life for our citizens in a democratic legal society. Russia betrayed Western values and turned towards totalitarianism and dictatorship.
The Germans taught Russian historians to work with archival documents; they also paid great attention to the study of the life and history of the indigenous people of Russia. Karl Fuchs (1776-1846), for example, is considered the first researcher of the culture and life of the Kazan Tatars. He provided the Tatars not only with medical services, but, gradually learning the Tatar language, began to study the lifestyle, customs, and history of the Kazan Tatars. Of course, his works went through strict tsarist censorship, therefore, Karl Fuchs was forced to make some curtsies towards the Russian authorities.
“The Kazan Tatars, during three hundred years of their conquest, still retain so much of their own, national culture, that they deserve the special attention of an observant ethnographer. They are proud of their origin, their moral qualities, their religion, their home life, which all constitute their distinctive character,” wrote Fuchs in 1844.
We invite the international political class to get to know us, the nations enslaved by Russia, personally, without Moscow’s mediation. And you will see that you and I have much more in common than differences.
We urge you, at this historical moment, to respond to our proposal for the joint design of a post-Russian space with many independent, democratic states.
Thank you for your attention.
Правительство Независимого Татарстана
