In December, the 14th “Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum” was held in Vienna. It was attended by, among others, European politicians and representatives of North Caucasian movements advocating secession from the Russian Federation. Initiatives for national liberation in 2024 faced active opposition from the Russian state: the Supreme Court declared the forum “terrorist”, and earlier the Ministry of Justice banned a non-existent “anti-Russian separatist movement”.
55 anti-colonial initiatives were banned in July for “undermining Russia's multinational unity and territorial integrity”. Among them were five Nogai national movements, four Circassian, three Chechen, three Cossack structures of Kuban and Don, two Dagestani and one Ingush organization, as well as two pan-Caucasian initiatives - the Caucasian Union and the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples.
The attention of Russian security agencies is attracted by the public activity of national movements directed inward. In April, leaders of a number of Circassian diaspora organizations abroad issued an appeal in support of Ukraine, in which they called on Circassians living in Russia not to participate in the war. The leader of the Circassian Congress, Kase Kik, who signed the appeal, reported a couple of months later that law enforcers visited his parents and inspected them - their phones were taken away.
“Pressure on relatives and friends persists. But it has not affected our activities - on the contrary, we have redoubled our efforts. The purpose of any such illegal pressure on the relatives of politicians and activists is to blackmail them to stop their activities. We will not react and give in to blackmail,” Kik explains.
Source: Kavkaz Reali
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