Activists face 20 years in Russia on terrorism charges for speaking at UN forums.
The arrests mark an escalation in what human rights groups call a dual campaign: political repression and targeted use of minorities as "cannon fodder" in Ukraine.
The crackdown swept through the Altai and Sakha republics, as well as Tomsk, Murmansk, Kemerovo oblasts, and Krasnoyarsk Krai. All those detained had spoken at UN forums about environmental degradation and threats to their peoples' survival.
The FIS said Moscow is combining repression, control over international discourse, and disproportionate war mobilization against indigenous peoples.
From climate activist to "terrorist" in weeks
Among those detained was Daria Egereva, a Selkup rights defender who co-chairs an NGO advocating for indigenous communities in UN climate processes. Russian authorities arrested her on 17 December, weeks after she attended COP30 in Brazil, on charges of participating in a "terrorist organization."
"If we don't protect women, we don't have a future," Egereva said at the climate conference in November. She now faces 10 to 20 years in the Russian prison system.
The International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia condemned the arrests as "a deliberate misuse of anti-extremism and counter-terrorism legislation aimed at suppressing peaceful human rights work."
The charges stem from alleged association with the Aborigen Forum network, which Russian authorities designated "extremist" in July 2024 and "terrorist" in December 2024—despite the network's exclusively peaceful advocacy through UN mechanisms.
"If we don't protect women, we don't have a future," Egereva said at the climate conference in November. She now faces 10 to 20 years in the Russian prison system.
Mobilized at nearly three times the rate
Ukrainian intelligence highlighted stark disparities in the military conscription system. In Khabarovsk Krai, home to the Nanai, Negidal, Nivkh, and Oroch peoples, mobilization data reveal that for every 10,000 residents, 34 ethnic Russians were sent to fight in Ukraine compared to 95 indigenous people—nearly three times the rate.
"Under the slogans of multinationality, the Kremlin is effectively depriving indigenous peoples of the right to exist—both culturally and physically," human rights defenders told RBC-Ukraine.
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The pattern extends beyond Khabarovsk. According to Amnesty International, regions with significant indigenous populations—including Yakutia, Buryatia, and Dagestan—have been disproportionately affected by the draft since 2022.
The Kremlin's ever-expanding enemies list
The crackdown has swept far beyond individual activists. Russia's Supreme Court designated the Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum—an umbrella for 172 human rights organizations working with indigenous peoples—as a "terrorist" organization and banned it entirely.
Meanwhile, Moscow has converted the official Association of Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Far East into what Ukrainian intelligence describes as "a fully loyal structure." From 2013 to 2025, it was headed by State Duma deputy Grigory Ledkov, followed by Senator Alexei Sitnikov.
"Delegates of this organization at international platforms convey exclusively the Kremlin-approved version of 'harmonious coexistence,' while publicly supporting the war against Ukraine," the FIS noted.
The crackdown has swept far beyond individual activists. Russia's Supreme Court designated the Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum—an umbrella for 172 human rights organizations working with indigenous peoples—as a "terrorist" organization and banned it entirely.
The disconnect between rhetoric and reality is stark. Just weeks before the December arrests, Vladimir Putin decreed 30 April as "Russia's Indigenous Minorities Day" and declared 2026 the "Year of Peoples of Russia Unity."
