Statement of the Council of the Tatars of the World on the Protection of the Rights and Dignity of Peoples and Against Chauvinism in the Russian Federation

On the Protection of the Rights and Dignity of Peoples and Against Chauvinism in the Russian Federation

The Council of the Tatars of the World expresses deep alarm and categorical indignation at the growing wave of chauvinism and xenophobia in Russia's informational, public, and political space, as well as attacks on Tatarstan and prominent figures of the Tatar national movement.

Our concerns are confirmed by a chain of interconnected and alarming events:

1. Attacks on a constructive proposal. The civilized initiative by Chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan, Farid Mukhametshin, to organize the study of native languages for labor migrants was met not with constructive discussion but with a barrage of aggression, distortions, and outright arrogance from a number of Moscow politicians and propagandists. This proposal was presented as almost a threat. A wave of hatred and threats against Tatarstan has risen. This demonstrates profound disrespect not only for migrants but also for the Tatar people, their language, and their legitimate right to be masters in their own land.

2. Harassment of the national intelligentsia. Simultaneously, we are witnessing continuous and blatant persecution of the respected Tatar writer, publicist, and defender of our people's rights, Fauzia Bairamova. Criticism of her views has long since turned into systematic harassment aimed at silencing one of the most prominent voices defending the cultural and spiritual identity of the Tatars. This is a direct blow against the freedom of speech and thought of the national intelligentsia.

3. The bloody consequence of inciting hatred. All this does not happen in a vacuum. The poisonous seeds of chauvinism, sown in the media space through Moscow's official position on the national question, are bearing terrible fruit. The murder of a Tajik schoolboy in the Odintsovo district of the Moscow Region cannot be dismissed as an "everyday conflict." Undoubtedly, it is a direct consequence of an atmosphere of national and religious intolerance, which is being deliberately stirred up in society. When degrading assessments of entire peoples are voiced from high platforms and in the media, when their languages and cultures are declared "unnecessary" or "dangerous," it empowers those ready to move from words to crimes.

The Council of the Tatars of the World warns: flirting with nationalist rhetoric, imperial ambitions, indulging chauvinism, and attempts to build a "Russian World" on the humiliation of other peoples is playing with fire. The history of the 20th century clearly shows where a policy that places one people above others leads.

We demand:

· The immediate cessation of the harassment campaign against writer and public figure Fauzia Bairamova and respect for her right to a civic position;

· An end to the vilification of any initiatives aimed at supporting the languages and cultures of the indigenous peoples of Russia, including the Tatar people;

· Public and unambiguous condemnation at the highest state level of chauvinistic rhetoric that leads to hate crimes;

· A full, objective investigation into the murder of the 10-year-old boy Kobiljon Aliyev in a school in the Moscow Region, classifying it as a crime motivated by ethnic hatred, and the punishment of all those responsible.

19.12.2025