Recently, some western academics held a Zoom call to discuss the Ukraine war with representatives from minority groups in the Russian Federation, including the Tyvan, Buryat, Sakha, Kalmyk, Yakut and Chechen peoples.
You may be baffled by some of these names. After all, the only group that appears semi-regularly in western headlines are the Chechens, due to their own war; the others are usually ignored as they live in poor, remote places like Siberia (Tyvan and Buryat), Arctic Circle (Sakha) or Volga (Kalmyk).
But having immersed myself in Kalmyk, Sakha and Buryat studies when I was an anthropologist, I think what is happening with these groups deserves more attention. Most notably, the Ukraine war has left some minority peoples angry. As one participant on the call explained, views of Russia are “more radical compared to the old conformities and silences. They are talking about colonialism and imperialism, ethnic and racial discrimination.”