In 2023, The Moscow Times published a column by the Indigenous rights advocates Pavel Sulyandziga and Dmitry Berezhkov titled “What Does Decolonization Mean for Russia’s Indigenous Peoples?” 

Though the article argues that the Russian state and society must acknowledge the historical fact of colonization and seek more equitable relations between Indigenous peoples and the political center, it also argues that there could be negative consequences if these peoples achieved independence. The authors took my homeland, the republic of Sakha (Yakutia), as an example, asking what guarantee there is that the republic would be led by enlightened, liberal, pro-Western nationalists rather than people like its current leader.

It may seem strange to take issue with an article published three years ago. But as a representative of the Sakha people and someone who has devoted his political life to the struggle for the republic’s sovereignty, I cannot leave such an assertion unanswered. 

The ideas put forward by Sulyandziga and Berezhkov are constantly repeated by representatives of the so-called good Russians who oppose Moscow’s predatory colonial policies, but refuse at every turn to recognize the root of the problems facing every single region of Russia.

The argument that independence for the national republics will inevitably lead to dictatorships can be heard at conferences held by Russian émigrés, in expert reports on the future of Russia after Putin and in conversations among Western diplomats.

Even in 2026, leaders of the liberal opposition publicly question the very idea of decolonization, demonstrating that they are still not listening to Indigenous voices. When Indigenous activists themselves express such doubts, they sound particularly convincing and are therefore particularly harmful.

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The opening paragraphs of the article actually pleased me: Russia’s colonial past is spelled out explicitly and the authors acknowledge Indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination. But then comes a reversal in tone: independence turns out to be too risky and the peoples of Russia turn out to be unprepared for........

© The Moscow Times