Russia, a terrorist country ruled by war criminals"

Article by: Paul Goble

The following is an informal translation of the Declaration on Russia’s Decolonization, adopted during the Prague Forum of the Free Peoples of Russia. It describes how indigenous peoples and colonized territories are encouraged to resist the imperial center or Russia nonviolently for peaceful decolonization and independence. Regionally and nationally, the Kremlin’s terrorist dictatorship will fall. A strategy to end the Putin dictatorship is needed to dismantle imperial administration.

Link to National minorities of Russian Federation discuss its deimperialization in Prague

We, the representatives of the indigenous peoples and colonized regions of the Russian Federation, acting on the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right of peoples to self-determination as specified in the UN Charter, and the UN declaration on providing independence to colonial countries and peoples, the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, the Declaration of Sovereignty of the RSFSR on June 12, 1990, and the declarations of sovereignty by the subjects of the current Russian Federation are beginning the process of the Full and Complete De-Colonization of Russia.

This process is required for the following reasons:

The violation of the basic rights and freedoms of the indigenous peoples and colonized regions that are guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human rights;
The intensifying policy of domestic terror and repression in the Russian Federation;
The systemic imposition in the Russian Federation of imperial and discriminatory practices to maintain the colonial status of our indigenous peoples and regions and which discriminate against people on the basis of their indigenous and/or regional origin;
The use of imperial practices of ethnocide and the deprivation of our regions and indigenous peoples of their traditional lands, territories, and resources which blocks their rights to development;
The systematic and forced assimilation and actions in support of colonization and destruction of our cultures, languages, educational systems, and other most important parts of our lives;
The impossibility of self-administration by means of legally elected representatives, the systematic depriving of colonized regions and indigenous peoples of the right to take part in decisions on issues that involve our rights; and
The violation of the rights of indigenous peoples and colonized regions of the Russian Federation regarding the preservation of our territories of dangerous materials, including nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

Russian ideology: imperialism, militarism, and racism

This colonial policy and practice have been carried out over the course of centuries, as a result of which our indigenous peoples and colonized regions have become victims of historical injustice and, in some cases, forced deportation and genocide. Now, this colonial policy is being expressed in ever broader ways in the form of state terrorism and repression.

The Russian Federation today is a terrorist country that is ruled by war criminals. The number of insane wars unleashed by the leadership of the Russian Federation over the last 30 years has deprived our native peoples and colonized regions of the most important thing – the right to live because the representatives of indigenous peoples and colonized regions have been subjected to mobilization and used as “cannon fodder.”

From the start of the war of conquest against Ukraine, our peoples and regions, against their will, have been drawn into military crimes, including the genocide of the Ukrainian people being carried out by the Kremlin. As a result of this policy of the imperial center, the peoples and regions of the Russian Federation have encountered limitations imposed by sanctions, the threat of civilizational isolation, and even complete disappearance.

All of this has led to a situation in which the Russian Federation already now stands on the brink of chaos and civil war. Only the complete and controlled De-Colonization of Russia can prevent that.

Therefore, we appeal to all constructive forces both within the Russian Federation and in the emigration with a call for coordination and mutual assistance to ensure the political, economic, social, and cultural development of our peoples and regions with the goal of putting to an end all forms of discrimination, oppression, and violation of human rights.

We call on all citizens of the indigenous peoples and colonized regions to begin actions for the peaceful De-Colonization, liberation, and proclamation or restoration of the sovereignty and independence of their own countries immediately.

We call upon the peoples and governments of the countries in the UN to show us support and assistance in the achievement of our strivings in correspondence with UN Declarations and also appeal to the entire international community for help in our efforts to issue the order on the now uncontrolled process of the disintegration of a nuclear country.

Disinformation on the UN Charter as a tool of Russian imperialism

Having these goals for the practical realization of the Declaration on the De-Colonization of Russia, we

Appeal to the national and regional elites to begin taking steps toward the founding of National Transitional Governments and Administration on their own territory or, if this is impossible, in exile, an action required because the present organs of executive power represent the interests of the imperial center and not those of the indigenous peoples and colonized regions.
Call on the parliaments of the republics and oblast dumas of the regions to come out in defense of the interests of their peoples and confirm the earlier adopted declarations about state sovereignty and immediately begin the process of inter-parliamentary consultations on the formation of a mechanism of proclaiming or restoring the state independence of our indigenous peoples and colonized regions and thereby put in train a mechanism for the peaceful secession from the Russian Federation.
Declare the convention in November-December 2022 of an International conference on the De-Colonization and Territorial Arrangement of the Post-Russian space with the participation of the member states of the UN Security Council, neighbors of the Russian Federation, and international organizations. The goal of this Conference is the securing of a peaceful, flexible and legitimate process of the decolonization of Russia, the beginning of a process of delimiting and demarcating the state borders of the new republics, the preparation and signing of agreements about friendship, and cooperation among the new states and neighboring countries, and the affirmation of the principles of legal success, including the division of the assets and debts of the Russian Federation and reparations of states which have suffered from the military aggression of the Russian Federation, Georgia, Ichkeria, Moldova and Ukraine.
We appeal to UN member states to provide the maximum assistance possible to the National Transition Governments/Administrations for the achievement of the goals of decolonization and the establishment of peace. And also to officially recognize the independence and sovereignty of the following governments of indigenous peoples and colonized regions: Ichkeria, Tatarstan, Ingria, Bashkortostan, Karelia, Buryatia, Kalmykia, the Baltic Republic (Koenigsberg, East Prussia), Komi, Cherkessia, Siberia, the Urals Republic, the Don, Tyva, Kuban, Daghestan, the Pacific Ocean Federation (Primorsky kray and Pri-Amurye), the Moscow Republic, Erzyan Mastr, Sakha, Pomorye, Chuvashia, The Chernozem, Mordvinia, the Middle Volga, Khakasia, Udmurtia, Tyumen-Ugra, Mari El, Altai, Ingushetia, and others.
We call for the beginning of the preparation of Constitutions of the Republics, which will strengthen their state independence and sovereignty and also key legislative acts directed at ensuring peace, lustration, political stability, rapid economic growth, and development. We call upon intellectuals, as well as social, cultural, economic, political, and spiritual leaders of the indigenous peoples and regions to take part actively in this process.
We call upon all representatives of the indigenous peoples and colonized regions to peaceful systemic resistance against those who oppose these developments, including strikes, demonstrations, pickets, acts of sabotage against the imperial center, and refusal to serve in the armed forces of the Russian Federation and so on. The goal of these actions must be the peaceful transition of power to democratically elected representative organs of independent states.
We call upon all military personnel and representatives of the force structures who are representatives of the indigenous peoples and the colonized regions to immediately return to their native land and secure the peaceful and democratic transition of power. And we call upon all who today are taking part in the unjust war of conquest against Ukraine to return home, including by means of surrendering to the Ukrainian army.
We are initiating the formation of national legions (Self-Defense Forces) for the defense of the sovereignty and the rights of our peoples and securing peace.
We are beginning the process of consultations about the creation of a Unified transition administration as a temporary (no more than 12 months from the time of the removal of the regime of war criminals headed by Putin from power) collegial-consultative representative organs of all colonized indigenous peoples and regions of the Russian Federation for the practical realization of the smooth and legitimate process of De-colonization. The representation of all indigenous peoples and regions in this organ will be equal with each people having an equal voice consisting of a representative chosen by the National Governments or Transitional Administration involved.

First English-language course about Crimea dispels Russian imperial narratives on peninsula’s history

That organ will have the following tasks:

The coordination of the activity on removing the colonial regime of military criminals through the creation of a unified plan of action, road maps for the elimination of imperial administration, and guidance for citizens and regions on how to promote the process of removing the Kremlin’s terrorist regime personally and in the localities;
Assistance to the National Governments/Transitional Administrations of the indigenous people and colonized regions in the carrying out democratic elections meeting international standards and with the presence of international observers not later than eight months from the moment of the fall of Putin’s imperial regime. The date of these elections must be announced not later than three months after the fall of the regime of the Russian Federation terrorist state;
Assistance in the organization of the transfer of power to democratically elected organs of power of the states of the indigenous peoples and colonized regions, especially where there won’t be established National Governments/Transitional Administrations not later than 12 months after the fall of the colonial regime and not later than three months from the announcement of the official results of elections recognized by the international community;
Maximum support by the competent international organs for taking control over nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction located on the lands of the indigenous peoples and in colonized regions, with the goal of securing the absolute de-nuclearization of our territories;
The creation of a mechanism for the peaceful resolution of territorial disputes if such arise; and
The creation of a mechanism to defend the rights and freedoms of all nationalities during the transitional period.

We call upon all citizens of the Russian Federation to actively support measures for the achievement of the goals of this Declaration on De-Colonization in order to establish peace, security, democracy, and concord among peoples.

For your freedom and ours!

Related:

You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this. We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society. A little bit goes a long way: for as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next. Become a patron or see other ways to support. Become a Patron!

“Russia, a terrorist country ruled by war criminals”: Full text of Russian decolonization conference resolution