APPEAL OF THE TATAR GLOBE COUNCIL REGARDING THE ELECTIONS TO THE STATE DUMA OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Dear compatriots, wherever you may be — in Tatarstan, in other regions of the Russian Federation, or outside its borders!
The Tatar Council addresses you on the occasion of the event called the election of deputies to the State Duma, which is being held from September 18 to September 20, 2026.
We must say directly and honestly: these are not real elections; they are conducted in the form of an imitation. They have nothing in common with the free expression of the will of the people. Under conditions of censorship during wartime, repression against people who do not share the official views, banning independent mass media, and complete control over society, the results of the vote have been predetermined in advance. There is not a single party that represents our interests. Everything has been purged, everything has been cleared out!
Participation in this spectacle is not a civic duty, but the legitimization of an anti-people regime that tramples on the rights of the non-Russian peoples of the Russian Federation. Why should you not go to the elections? By going to the polling station, you thereby put your signature under the Kremlin's policy. Your vote will be used to show the world that the people support the war and dictatorship. This is how political practice works. The Kremlin skillfully uses these methods.
We call for a boycott of these pseudo-elections.
We know that many people working in the public sector — teachers, doctors, cultural workers, museum employees, and those working in the field of social services — are being forced to go to the elections. If you have no possibility to refuse and are forced to go to the polling station, do not vote for anyone. Spoil the ballot — put two marks, cross out the entire ballot, or make any other mark that makes your expression of will invalid.
Spoiling the ballot is a lawful and conscious form of protest. In this way, you will not give your vote to any party or to any candidate. Your ballot cannot be used to support the regime. This is also an open and strong political act. Moreover, it is safe.
The Tatar Council calls on all Tatars who have the right to vote not to participate in this farce. We will recognize neither the results of these elections nor the State Duma itself, which for many years has adopted anti-constitutional laws directed against our people.
Say a firm “NO” to the fake elections. Boycott is our position. Spoiling the ballot is the necessary, but honest, response to coercion. We do not want to become participants in the crimes of this regime.
