In Vilnius, on 31 January, the Museum of Occupations and the Struggle for Freedom opened the exhibition “Putin’s Real Prisoners. Political Prisoners of Enslaved Nations”. This exhibition is of great importance in the context of the current ideological war of the empire on the blood and bones of enslaved nations. It is dedicated to Putin’s real prisoners – representatives of the small people of the Russian Federation, against whom the empire is carrying out systematic ethnocide. Today, there are about 7,000 such prisoners, mainly the assets of the indigenous ethnic groups oppressed by Russia. Only freedom and decolonization of Russia can ensure victory over absolute evil.
The exhibition, organized by the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations (ABN), has already gained international recognition, having travelled to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Brussels, Ottawa, Riga, Helsinki and Tallinn. It is dedicated to political prisoners from various regions of Russia, including Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, the Caucasus, Yakutia and Buryatia, Crimean Tatars and ethnic Ukrainians.
The idea for the exhibition arose in response to the scandalous prisoner exchange between Russia and the free world, to spread the truth about all of Putin’s political prisoners and influence public opinion. It includes 10 personal stories of these prisoners, illustrating the breadth and depth of repression. The main idea of the exhibition is to draw attention to the need to decolonize the Russian Federation and support the liberation movements of enslaved nations living under the Russian regime.
Vilnius became the next stop on the exhibition’s world tour. It will be available for viewing for three weeks, starting on January 31 at the Museum of Occupation and Freedom Struggle.
Arunas Bubnis, director of the Centre for Genocide and Resistance Studies of Lithuanians in Vilnius, emphasized the historical context of the reception of political refugees from Russia in Lithuania during the opening ceremony. He noted, “Lithuania has received political refugees from the Principality of Moscow since the 15th century. Those fleeing the oprichnina found refuge here. In the 17th century, during Nikon’s reforms in Muscovy, those who disagreed with this reform, the so-called Old Believers, were brutally persecuted by the tsarist authorities and even the Orthodox Church. Many thousands of people also fled from persecution to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to the territory of the modern Republic of Lithuania. These are ancient traditions. ”
Bubnis also expressed his opinion about the modern Russian Federation, which embodies “the worst aspects of the Tsarist and Soviet empires .” He emphasized that “today’s Russian Federation has collected the worst features of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. ”
The Director of the Centre noted the scale of repression, which affects not only political dissidents but also those who advocate for ecology or the preservation of cultural traditions:
“And we see that this terror and persecution concern not only political dissidents who put forward some political demands for civil rights. But this terror covers even non-political figures who are for ecology, for example, in Bashkiria for the preservation of nature, so that this industry does not destroy everything sacred to the Bashkir people. Or we even see that Ukrainians in the Russian Federation are persecuted for being Ukrainians. It is like during the Third Reich when Jews were persecuted for being Jews. It is already similar to the Nazi regime. It is not for nothing that there are 7,000 political prisoners in Russia today. I am glad that the exhibition “Putin’s Real Prisoners. Political Prisoners of Enslaved Peoples”, which was initiated and presented by the Anti-Imperial Bloc of Nations, came to visit us. I think we know very little about these cases, what is happening in Russia, what persecution is being carried out and according to what criteria, not only people who are against the war and intervention in Ukraine. You can go to prison for any reason if you said something in a private conversation on the phone and the FSB overheard it. You can be put in prison for such a private conversation. That’s the situation. I think that Russia will gain true freedom only when all subjects in the Russian Federation, all peoples and nationalities will gain the right to free self-determination. Only in this case will Russia from an empire become a democratic and true Federation for those peoples who want to remain in this Federation. Thank you for the exhibition, and we think that we really need it and that many Lithuanian citizens and foreign tourists will visit it,” Bubnis noted.
Oleg Vitvitsky, a representative of the ABN, emphasized the importance of Lithuanian-Ukrainian ties in the fight against imperial encroachments. He noted: “Active figures and participants of the ABN in the format of the anti-Bolshevik bloc of nations during the Cold War after the end of World War II were our Lithuanian friends and partners. We appreciate this very much, we are investigating it, and we will definitely provide information so that Lithuanian society knows that our joint struggle has been going on for many decades, even centuries. ”
Then O. Vitvitsky invited the head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (Banderites) and the president of the ABN, Oleh Medunytsya, to speak, who reported important news: “Yesterday, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted an important document. It concerns the fact that in relation to Russia, the countries that are members of the Council of Europe must apply the declaration on granting independence to occupied countries or colonized peoples. And the Council of Europe adopted this declaration because in Russia, human rights are being massively violated in the territories it has conquered. ”
O. Medunytsya also emphasized the importance of the exhibition in the context of informing civilized countries about the fate of political prisoners: “Today, it has already been said that in Russia, as in the Soviet Union, there are a lot of political prisoners, there are more of them than there were at the end of the existence of the USSR. Our exhibition is about drawing the attention of politicians, journalists, and the public in civilized countries like Lithuania to the fate of these people. There are 10 of them here, but there are thousands of them! We are sure that if these people are released, if the nations represented by these people gain freedom and become independent, then the global danger on the European continent will disappear. And our people and nations will be able to live peacefully for a long time. Thank you for your support!”
Oleg Vitvitsky also mentioned the historical fact that Yevhen Konovalets, the founder of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, had Lithuanian citizenship during the occupation of Ukraine, which emphasizes the deep historical ties between the two nations:
“It is a historical fact that the founder of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, a well-known Ukrainian historical figure, Yevhen Konovalets, at the time when Ukraine was occupied, had Lithuanian citizenship, Lithuanian nationality, and a Lithuanian passport. It is very important that these traditions are continuous, and they are now directed at representatives of those national liberation movements of enslaved nations who found temporary protection on the territory of your state,” said Vitvitsky.
Then O. Vitvitsky invited Ruslan Gabbasov, leader of the Bashkir national liberation movement and the committee of the Bashkir national movement abroad, to speak. Gabbasov thanked the organizers for the exhibition, which introduces the world to political prisoners of indigenous peoples. He noted that the exhibition is held in an important place – the Museum of Occupations and the Struggle for Freedom, which was one of the first he visited when he arrived in Lithuania. He also expressed gratitude to the Lithuanian authorities for providing political asylum to him and his family:
“First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the Anti-Imperial Bloc of Nations, which organized such an exhibition and introduces the prisoners of indigenous peoples of the countries of Europe and the world. Significantly, this exhibition is held here, in this museum. This was the first museum I visited when I came here to Lithuania. I am also grateful, of course, to the Lithuanian authorities for providing political asylum to me and my family,” said R. Gabbasov.
He also told the stories of two Bashkir political prisoners – Ayrat Dynmukhametov and Fail Alsynov, who are part of the exhibition. Dynmukhametov, according to Gabbasov, became one of the first political prisoners of the Russian Federation and is already serving his third term for defending the rights of the Bashkir people. Alsynov, his associate, was sentenced to 4 years for speaking out against the war in Ukraine and protecting the environment:
“Here are 10 stories of political prisoners of different nations. Of them, two are Bashkirs, both of whom I know well. This is Ayrat Dinmukhametov – our outstanding ideologist. He became one of the first political prisoners of the Russian Federation. He is already serving his third term in a row for the same thing, for defending the rights and interests of the Bashkir people. Also presented here is Fail Alsinov – he is my colleague, with whom we started and created the Bashkort organization. Today it is recognized as extremist, its activities were banned on the territory of the Russian Federation. Together they defended the shikhan (mountain – ed.) Kushtau. Today he is in prison for speaking out against the war, calling on the Bashkir people not to take part in it, saying that this was an act of genocide against both Ukrainians and Bashkirs. He also fought for ecology, he was persecuted for a long time. In one of his speeches, he said something completely different from what he was ultimately sentenced for. That means, his words were translated from the Bashkir language, and distorted by corrupt linguists, and corrupt specialists distorted his words. And for these words he was convicted, he was given 4 years,” said R. Gabbasov.
Gabbasov also recalled the Baymak events, when support for Alsynov led to arrests and court sentences for many Bashkirs:
“After that, the same famous Baymak events took place a year ago, as a result of which people came out to support this national leader of ours, several thousand people. They were dispersed by force, and beaten. Now more than 80 people have been imprisoned just for coming out to support them. They have already started giving them terms. More than 10 people received terms just for being there. From 5 to 8.5 years. Women are already in prison, they have also started giving them terms. Unfortunately, today, perhaps, the largest number of prisoners is among the Bashkirs. Perhaps only the Crimean Tatars and Chechens have more prisoners,” explained R. Gabbasov.
He also spoke about personal losses, mentioning his brother, who received 5.5 years for his, Gabbasov’s, political activities:
“I also wanted to say that my brother received a sentence a year ago, he is already in his second year. He was given a 5.5-year sentence just because I am a political figure. Just because I defended the rights and interests of the Bashkir people. He is a hostage today, he suffers for it, he is sitting there in prison,” Gabbasov shared.
R. Gabbasov expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the world community focuses only on well-known Russian oppositionists, leaving political prisoners of indigenous people in the shadow:
“I am very grateful that they are talking about Alexei Navalny, talking about Kara-Murza, talking about Yashin. But they are not talking about the Yakut shaman Gabyshev, they are not talking about Ayrat Dinmukhametov, they are not talking about Fail Alsynov, and so on. Unfortunately, they are not talking about them. And we need to talk, because not only Muscovites are sitting, not only Russians are sitting. Representatives of indigenous nations are sitting because we simply want to be free. We want to be independent, free states. Just like the Lithuanians were once enslaved and became independent. They fought for a long time. The Bashkirs have also been fighting for a long time. I am sure that sooner or later we will become independent. Thank you,” he concluded.
Oleg Vitvitskyi noted after Gabbasov’s speech: “According to the information we have, today is brother Ruslan’s birthday. This is such a coincidence that it is very emotionally difficult to survive here. We are now in a free country at a free presentation. And a hostage of the Putin regime is celebrating his birthday in the imperial Moscow prison walls . ”
Next, Vitvitsky invited Vladimir Dovdanov, a representative of the Oirat-Kalmyk people, who also found refuge in Lithuania, to speak. Dovdanov spoke about his path to the opposition and the struggle for the independence of the Oirat-Kalmyk people:
“I represent the Western Mongolian ethnic group. In Russia, we are called Kalmyks, but we are actually Oirats, now we are called the Oirat-Kalmyk people. We have been part of Russia for about 400 years. We used to occupy a huge territory. Now they have annexed 90% of this territory and driven us into a reservation on the shores of the Caspian Sea. We have the only desert in Europe today. Although, I was told that there is one in Ukraine on the territory of the Kherson region. I had such a path… I was an official, but I joined the opposition. I was a member of “Yabloko”, because we did not have a national party. There were only federal ones, and Yabloko was allowed, so I joined it. I met our Altan Ochirov about 5 years ago, he joined our Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk people. When the unjust criminal war in Ukraine began, we were forced to leave, because we were one of the first in our oppressed republics to write an appeal to the youth and in general to the citizens of Russia, the citizens of Kalmykia, not to go to this war. They began to persecute us, and my family and I left on the recommendation of our friends from Ukraine. We didn’t even know where to go. But we left for Turkey with adventures, of course. The empire didn’t want to let us go, but we left. And we ended up in Lithuania. On 20 April it will be 3 years that we have been here, and I am very grateful to the Lithuanian and Ukrainian people for their help in evacuating our family,” Dovdanov said.
Dovdanov also mentioned his associate Altan Ochirov, who is currently serving a sentence for his activities:
“We had a website called “Free Ulus”. Altan started writing notes. He mainly reposted. About large-scale crimes in Bucha, in other places, about the destruction of cities, the erasure of cities, and the infrastructure of Ukraine in general, and he was arrested. And it was done in such a harsh manner by the FSB special forces. And he was given 5.5 years. He is now in prison. At first, he was in prison with us, there are several zones in Kalmykia, including those sentenced on probation. And he was in prison with us at first, then he was transferred to the Volgograd region. He is not the only one like that. His relatives are afraid, they don’t tell us anything,” Dovdanov noted.
He also shared plans for the further struggle for independence, mentioning the preparation of documents for international recognition of the right to self-determination:
“We continue our struggle, our Congress, which includes several organizations and which fight for the independence of our people from the Russian world. In any case, we must move on. It was announced here that the idea of self-determination should be supported by the parliaments of all democratic states. Therefore, we prepared all the documents there so that we would be recognized first by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Then we intend to submit them to the parliaments of the Baltic countries, Poland and the European Parliament. Of course, and other countries. We also wanted to submit and plan to submit documents on the right to self-determination to the US Congress and other countries. South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and so on. I don’t know whether we will succeed or not, but in any case, we will try,” Dovdanov said.
He also expressed his willingness to actively participate in the liberation struggle, even outside of Russia:
“Moreover, if Ukraine recognizes us, that we have the full right to self-determination, then we are ready even before the future collapse of the empire to form our national units on the territory of Ukraine in order to, when this collapse occurs, transfer the war to the territory of Russia in order to liberate our republic because without our formations nothing will work. We know perfectly well which armed groups will oppose us, who fought in Ukraine and returned. They now make up the backbone of the police, the Russian Guard, the FSB, and so on. We also need to put up some real force against them. We are working on this right now. And I think that with the help of Ukraine, Lithuania, and other countries, we will succeed in this whole matter. I thank the Lithuanian people, both the government and the people for allowing us, personally my family, to be in Lithuania. I thank Ukraine for fighting not only for its existence, freedom and independence but also for us. “Because I was in Kyiv, I saw the mood of the people, I simply know that these people cannot be broken. I talked to many: a saleswoman, soldiers from the front, one who was wounded, and others. When you talk to them, you feel this spirit of the people, an indestructible will for freedom and independence,” he concluded.
At the end of the ceremony, the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Struggles presented the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations with a collection of academic articles dedicated to such topics as the struggle for the independence of Ukraine, the Holodomor, which occurred three times in Ukraine, and other educational articles provided to the Republic of Lithuania by academics from various universities and institutions of Ukraine. This gesture was symbolic, emphasizing solidarity and support for the struggle for freedom.
Oleg Vitvitsky also expressed gratitude for the donated illustrated album dedicated to the struggle of the Lithuanian Forest Brothers: “It is a great honor for us to receive this album about the Lithuanian Forest Brothers, about the Lithuanian partisans, about the history of the struggle, which, just like in Ukraine, was very intense against a common enemy. And, although a lot of time has passed, the common enemy still remains today, and the traditions of the Ukrainian and Lithuanian partisans are very important for our soldiers.”
