Leaders of Russian national movements: about democracy, future and repression

Independent Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Kalmykia – what can they be? Who will they look up to – the West, China, the Islamic world? Will they choose tolerance and same-sex marriage or loyalty to tradition and polygamy? What awaits the national minorities remaining on their territory, including Russians? How do national activists see the political structure and economic basis of the states they dream of? The war in Ukraine provoked the rise of national liberation movements in the republics of the Russian Federation. Due to tightening legislation and repression, the most prominent activists had to go abroad. One way or another, in discussions of the future of the nations of Russia, the topic of creating separate states arises. The leaders of the national movements of Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and Kalmykia, who left Russia talked with Yulia Faizrakhmanova about how they see the future of their republics. Here is a transcript of the conversation without cuts and interference in the speech of the characters.