The kremlin Is Stepping Up Repression Against Indigenous Peoples Under the Guise of “Multinational State” Rhetoric

The kremlin is consistently increasing pressure on russia’s small indigenous peoples, combining repression, control over international discourse, and disproportionate involvement in the war against Ukraine.

In December last year, russian siloviki detained at least 17 representatives of indigenous peoples from the republics of altai and sakha, tomsk, murmansk, and kemerovo regions, as well as the krasnoyarsk territory. All of them had been involved for years in defending the rights of their communities in the north of russia, siberia, and the far east. Previously, these activists spoke at the UN Environmental Forum, where they publicly discussed environmental degradation, the loss of opportunities for traditional industries, and the actual extinction of their peoples. These statements contrast sharply with the kremlin’s official rhetoric about a “multinational state” in which the languages, cultures, and traditions of more than 190 peoples are supposedly preserved.

To promote its controlling position, moscow has turned the “Association of Indigenous Small Peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Far East of the rf” into a completely loyal structure. From 2013 to 2025, it was headed by member of the state duma grigory ledkov, and later – by senator aleksei sitnikov. At international forums, delegates from this organization broadcast exclusively the kremlin-approved version of “harmonious coexistence”, while publicly supporting the war against Ukraine. This position contradicts the opinion of 172 human rights organizations working with small peoples of the rf and belonging to the international movement “Forum of free states of post-russia”, which the supreme court of the rf recognized as “terrorist” and banned.

In parallel to the repression of activists, the physical destruction of indigenous peoples is taking place through war. Before the full-scale invasion, 1.29 million people lived in khabarovsk region, 21,129 of whom were representatives of indigenous peoples, including the nanai, negidal, nivkh, and orochi. During mobilization, for every 10,000 people, 34 ethnic russians and 95 representatives of indigenous peoples were sent to the front – a disproportion that only increases the risk of their disappearance.