Feedback MEP Rasa Juknevičienė and Anti-Discrimination Centre Memorial-Brussels are organising event titled: “Exploited Lands, Oppressed Peoples: Discrimination and Repression of Indigenous Peoples of Siberia, the North, and the Far East of Russia.”
The discussion will take place on Tuesday, 4 February 2025, at 17:00-18:30 in meeting room 5E3 (and online) at the European Parliament.
Russian and English translation will be available.
Please register HERE.
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There are 47 small Indigenous peoples in Russia, some numbering only a few hundred or even fewer. Many of these indigenous groups are on the verge of extinction. Activists in Siberia, the North, and the Far East face repression for defending the rights of their people. They are frequently labelled as extremists or terrorists, with even harsher persecution directed at those who oppose the war in Ukraine.
The criminal war in Ukraine is a catastrophe not only for millions of Ukrainians but also for Russia’s minorities and indigenous peoples. The disproportionate losses among these communities on the frontlines demonstrate the selective nature of mobilization in Russia and destroy vulnerable populations. Under the guise of “wartime” measures and sanctions, Russian authorities and extractive industries have lowered environmental protections standards. Mining industry destroys the habitats of indigenous peoples, disrupt their traditional way of life, decimate forests, and poison water sources.
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The event will open with a screening of the first part of the film “The Gold of Shoria” (20 minutes). This documentary highlights an environmental catastrophe in southern Siberia, where coal mining companies are causing irreparable harm to the ancestral lands of the Shor people—a small Indigenous community living in the Republic of Khakasia and Kemerovo Oblast.
The movie screening will be followed by a discussion.
Panellists:
- Vladislav Tannagashev, Shor-rights activist and politician in exile, founding member of International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia
- Mark Zdor, a native of Chukotka, a member of the International Committee of the Indigenous Peoples of Russia
- Dirk Schuebel , EEAS, Head of Russia Division
- Stephania Kulaeva, expert of ADC Memorial
- Konstantinas Andrijauskas, Associate Professor of International Relations at Vilnius University, Institute of International Relations and Political Science (online) (tbc)
