#StayAtHome
We, representatives of the indigenous peoples of Russia, appeal to indigenous persons who serve in the Russian armed forces with a request not to take part in the shameful war in Ukraine that president Putin calls a “special military operation”.
It is well known that the indigenous territories of Russia, where indigenous peoples live, rank last among Russian regions in terms of quality of life, even though these lands are the source of natural resources that support the whole Russian economy.
A majority of Russia’s indigenous municipalities and ethnic republics are economically backward regions with poor populations because most of the wealth produced by these regions goes to Moscow. This money President Putin uses for implementing his imperial plans to suppress the freedom of the peoples of Russia and other countries.
The imperial chauvinism cherished by Vladimir Putin for 20 years drives you today as members of the Russian armed forces to the bloodbath in Ukraine to implement his order to crush the will of the Ukrainian people to freedom.
But only freedom makes it possible for every nation to possess their traditional lands fruitfully, preserve and develop their languages, cultures, and traditions, and be equal among other civilized peoples. Today Ukrainians show everyone how to love their native land, people, and way of life. Today, they are defending their own freedom and the freedom of the peoples of Russia, and our fate is now being decided in Ukraine.
Solders and representatives of indigenous peoples in the Russian armed forces! Today you have the opportunity to save your lives, the future of your nations, and the lives of thousands of innocent people in Ukraine. You need to stop your participation in military actions. Do not allow your commanders to send you or your colleagues to the war in Ukraine. Sabotage the orders of your superiors who demand to shoot Ukrainians and destroy Ukrainian cities.
Authorities are frightening you by punishment and prison for refusing to go to the war. But if you do not go, you won’t be killed. You will stay alive! There are already examples of refusals by militaries of the Federal National Guard Troops Service who refused to cross the border of Ukraine because this is an illegal action according to the law of the Russian Federation. Their commanders illegally dismissed them from service. That is how they suffered for not going to the war, but they returned home alive.
You don’t need to die for the palaces, yachts, and billions of Putin and his friends. You can not kill Ukrainian civilians – children, women and the elderly. Each of us has to stay a human being.
Your families and loved ones are waiting for you at home as their destiny depends on your decision.
The war is a crime!
You have to make a choice!
Please stay home and say NO to the war!
International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia
Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People
Buryat Democratic Movement
National Movement of the Northerners