Russia Future Watch – II. Decolonization for Security: Ukraine’s Strategic Policy Toward Indigenous Peoples Colonized by Russia

Decolonization for Security: Ukraine’s Strategic Policy Toward Indigenous Peoples Colonized by Russia, by Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Deputy Chair, Temporary Special Commission on the Development of State Policy Toward the Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Federation, Ukrainian Parliament,  is the second article in a series of analyses as part of “Promethean Liberation: Russia’s Emerging National and Regional Movements,” a new project from Jamestown Senior Fellow Janusz Bugajski.

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Executive Summary:

• Russia’s full-scale invasion against Ukraine has revealed that the Russian Federation is not a true federation but an empire sustained by repression, colonization, and the systemic denial of national self-determination.
• Dozens of native peoples representing indigenous nations with their own languages, history, culture, and political background and aspirations live within Russia. Their identities and rights have been comprehensively suppressed.
• These nations are not Russians. They are Tatars, Chechens, Circassians, Ingush, Buryats, Kalmyks, and many others. Their fight for self-identification is not new, and today it intersects with Ukraine’s own existential struggle.
• In response to this long-term challenge, in 2023, the Ukrainian parliament established the Temporary Special Commission on the Development of State Policy Toward the Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Federation (TSC).
• The commission’s mission is to develop the legal, political, and international strategy for Ukraine to collaborate with national liberation movements within the Russian Federation and to establish these partnerships as a cornerstone of Ukraine’s long-term security and foreign policy.

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The Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 marked the beginning of the largest war in Europe since World War II. It was also a turning point in how the international community perceived the nature of the Russian state. No longer could Russia be viewed as merely a geopolitical adversary, but as a modern form of empire that was built on centuries of colonial expansion, violent assimilation, and the suppression of indigenous peoples.

For Ukraine, the war with Russia is existential. It is a war for sovereignty, democracy, history, and survival. It is also a war that cannot be won only on the battlefield. Ukraine’s victory will not be complete if Kyiv does not engage in dismantling Russia’s imperial infrastructure. This is the same infrastructure that has enabled generations of human rights violations within its borders and far beyond them. The question of Russia’s internal colonies and indigenous nations is not an additional concern, but is central to the issue. Ukraine’s long-term security depends not only on military and diplomatic victories, but also on building a strategic approach to its future neighbors. Many of these neighbors—for instance, Tatarstan, Ichkeria, Bashkortostan, Circassia, Sakha—are currently locked inside the large Russian prison of nations. The Russian regime limits them from establishing their autonomy, and they are silenced through repression and militarization.[1] Ukraine must be prepared to engage with these peoples as potential allies and eventual sovereign actors.

Ukraine’s Forward-Looking Strategy

Following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) endeavored to establish a strategic dialogue with representatives of indigenous peoples, including leaders from Ichkeria, Ingushetia, Circassia, and Tatarstan. Before 2023, there existed no coherent Ukrainian state policy toward the indigenous and colonized nations within Russia. Recognizing this policy absence, in August 2023, the Verkhovna Rada established the Temporary Special Commission on the Development of State Policy Toward the Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Federation.[2] It was created on August 24, Ukraine’s Independence Day. This commission was tasked with developing a framework for diplomatic, legislative, and strategic engagement with national movements inside Russia. It developed the legal, political, and international strategy for Ukraine to collaborate with national liberation movements and to position these partnerships as a cornerstone of Ukraine’s long-term security and foreign policy.

From its inception, the commission has pursued this mandate through sustained dialogue with the representatives of indigenous peoples, coordinating its activities with international institutions, and preparing legislation to enshrine Ukraine’s support for decolonization as a formal component of state policy. The commission has also worked to amplify these voices in European and international forums, aiming to correct the strategic blind spot that allowed the West to overlook the nature of the Soviet and Russian imperial project during the post-Cold War transition.

The Commission has thus far undertaken the following initiatives:

1. Organizing roundtables and online meetings involving representatives of indigenous people to create a political framework for collaboration;
2. Promoting the recognition of historic injustices, including Ukraine’s formal recognition of the Circassian genocide by the Russian Empire in the 19th century;
3. Drafting and registering the landmark bill “On the Fundamentals of Ukraine’s State Policy Toward the National Movements of the Colonial Peoples of the Russian Federation,” which 82 members of parliament from different parties signed;
4. Advancing international advocacy through the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and other relevant bodies to place the issue of decolonization on the global agenda.

Ukraine is not alone in this struggle. Other European players are aware of the importance of recognizing Russia’s internal colonialism and the illegitimacy of its imperial structure. Some of them are ready to support the movement. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly resolution of June 29, 2024,[3] underlined the need for urgent decolonization. So did the PACE Resolution 2540 of April 2024,[4] which highlighted the disproportionate losses of conscripts from Russia’s ethnic minorities in the war against Ukraine. The work of Ukraine’s Special Commission is not only a matter for Ukrainian security but constitutes a necessary step toward justice, peace, and democratic transformation in the entire post-Russia imperial space.

The Voices of Indigenous Nations Should be Heard

Recognizing that justice for colonized nations must extend beyond bilateral relations, the Special Commission aims to ensure that indigenous voices are heard at the highest international level. Using the tools of parliamentary diplomacy and advocacy initiatives, commission members initiated concrete steps to embed decolonization into the international agenda, using the most prominent diplomatic platforms. Delegations from the Verkhovna Rada, including Commission members, have met several times with representatives of PACE, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and members of national parliaments across Europe, as well as those of Ireland and Canada. These meetings were beneficial in advancing resolutions that address the condition of indigenous peoples currently under Russian rule.

A vivid example of this occurred with the June 29, 2024, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly resolution. This resolution recognized the colonial structure of the Russian Federation and condemned its policies of forced Russification, disproportionate military conscription, and cultural suppression.[5] The February 2024 European Parliament resolution,[6] the April 2024 PACE Resolution 2540,[7] and the OSCE’s statement defined decolonization as a prerequisite for lasting peace. The chair of the commission, Maria Mezentseva-Fedorenko, is one of the leaders in strengthening this position. At the April 2024 PACE session in Strasbourg, she successfully proposed amendments to Resolution 2540.[8] The amendments were related to the systemic targeting of Russia’s indigenous populations and emphasized their right to self-determination. One amendment cited the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, arguing that Russia’s practices constitute a deliberate campaign to erase cultural and ethnic diversity.

As deputy chair of the commission, this author also supported this agenda through bilateral meetings, including those with the Ingush Independence Committee, led by Ansar Garkho. He presented draft legislation on Ukraine’s future cooperation with indigenous national movements and received structured feedback during a policy roundtable organized by the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the Stepan Bandera National Revival Center, and the Koretsky Institute of State and Law. These efforts were not only theoretical. They generated legislative movement, diplomatic acknowledgment, and growing consensus in Europe that the subjugation of indigenous peoples within the Russian Federation constituted a geopolitical crisis that demands a structured response. This problem was familiar to Ukraine before the disintegration of the Soviet Union, when Ukrainians wanted to be heard, but most of the world saw Russia as a major international player.

Legislative Strategy and Policy Foundations

The Ukrainian Parliament has made several important strategic moves regarding indigenous nations within Russia. One of the first steps was completed in October 2022, when the parliament adopted a resolution recognizing the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria as temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation.[9] Many representatives of Ichkeria fought against the Russian regime during the Russian-Ichkerian wars, and thousands of them fight for Ukrainian freedom in the current war. The Chechens have formed several military units, including the Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion and the Sheikh Mansur Battalion. They consist of veterans from previous wars with Russia and volunteers drawn from over 300,000 Chechen exiles in Europe seeking Chechnya’s liberation from Russia.[10]

The Temporary Special Commission on the Development of State Policy Toward the Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Federation rejected the illusion that Russia could be a legitimate representative of the indigenous peoples living within its borders. It underlined Moscow’s brutal human rights violations, the forced militarization of these nations, the systematic destruction of native languages and cultures, and the denial of access to natural resources. The commission treated these violations not as structural elements of the Russian imperial project, but as Moscow’s key to breaking resistance and a policy that had been pursued during previous centuries with different nations.

One of the biggest human rights violations is the forced military mobilization in Russia. It is mostly directed at the indigenous people. Thousands of Buryats, Chechens, Tatars, and other young people have been pushed to kill Ukrainians, but were eliminated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine as legitimate targets and occupants. By pushing or paying young people to go on the frontline and die, the Kremlin diminishes the real protest potential that they could display in their republics and regions.[11] In 2024, it was learned that the Russian regime could destroy the whole nation of Kereks when the last representative of the Kereks was eliminated on the frontline.[12]

Legislatively, Kyiv’s understanding of Russian colonial policy was officially codified in Ukraine’s first comprehensive draft law, “On the Fundamentals of Ukraine’s State Policy Toward the National Movements of the Colonial Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Federation.” The bill was officially registered on July 15, 2024, as Draft Law No. 11402. Eighty-two Members of Parliament signed it, representing every major faction, as well as several independent deputies.[13] This underlined how this policy carries the consensus of the Ukrainian Parliament and is a complex document that could be useful for all democratic states. This law defines the goal of Ukraine’s policy as supporting the realization of political, economic, and cultural rights for Russia’s colonized nations through peaceful decolonization, and it establishes two strategic objectives. First, it supports institutional development, capacity-building, and international recognition of national movements, facilitating their transformation into sovereign players. Second, it assists in building democratic institutions, including free elections, and gaining full sovereignty based on the UN principles of self-determination and human rights.

The legislation also mandates reforms in Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, and national security bodies, ensuring policy coherence across state structures. Amendments to the existing laws are embedded in the draft to operationalize Ukraine’s support for decolonization. An advocacy program was also launched to engage members of parliament, civil society groups, and the wider public. The main goal is to institutionalize support for this framework as a national consensus. A crucial shift was subsequently achieved. Decolonization was no longer framed as merely a reactive response to Russia’s war, but was instead embedded as a cornerstone of Ukraine’s vision for regional peace and democratic transformation.

On February 23, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada adopted Resolution No. 10344 recognizing the right of the Ingush people to create an independent sovereign national state and condemning Russia’s crimes against the Ingush.[14] Two hundred and forty-eight out of 450 deputies voted in favor. This resolution recognized the right of the Ingush people to self-determination and the creation of an independent sovereign national state; condemned the mass deportation of the Ingush in 1944, the dismemberment of the national territory of the Ingush people, the destruction of the Ingush national identity, the mass killings of the Ingush in 1992, political repressions, and other crimes committed by the Russian regime with the aim of the genocidal destruction of the Ingush nation; and supported the intention of the Ingush people to revive their territorial integrity and preserve their national identity.

Recognition of the Circassian Genocide

On January 9, the Verkhovna Rada passed Resolution No. 4206-IX, formally recognizing the genocide of the Circassian (Adyghe) people.[15] The document was supported by 232 members of parliament. This was the first legislative act in Central-Eastern Europe to acknowledge the full scope of the major crime committed during the Russo-Circassian War of 1763–1864. It was the first essential step by Ukraine in recognizing the historical background of today’s tragedy that Circassian and other nations continue to suffer under the Moscow regime. The resolution affirmed that the Russian Empire conducted a systematic extermination and ethnic cleansing of the Circassian nation. The result was the death or forced deportation of over 90 percent of the Circassian population. Those who survived had to flee into exile, mostly to the Ottoman Empire, and were subjected to famine, disease, and cultural destruction. The resolution was based on international legal cases, including the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,[16] the 1907 Hague Convention,[17] and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[18] It also relied on regional precedents such as the 1992 recognition by the Supreme Council of Kabardino-Balkaria[19] and the 2011 resolution of the Parliament of Georgia.[20]

Ukraine’s resolution called on other European states to also recognize the Circassian genocide. Members of Ukraine’s parliament also encouraged other countries to support the right of the Circassian diaspora to repatriate to their historical homeland and to pursue national self-determination. Furthermore, the resolution calls on international bodies to resist Russia’s efforts to falsify Circassian history and promote education and awareness on the issue through academic and cultural initiatives. Ukraine has undergone similar repression to Circassia, with its history and the importance of Kyiv as the capital of Kyivan Rus being falsified by officials in Moscow on multiple occasions to diminish the identity, longevity, and distinctiveness of the Ukrainian nation. This is an integral part of Russia’s current imperial policy. By passing this resolution, Ukraine demonstrated its alignment with global justice movements in terms of both moral and legal principles. Ukraine demonstrates that the country is ready to confront the legacy of Russian imperialism through action, not just rhetoric. As a shield of Europe, Ukraine has demonstrated that not only can it defend its own legacy and heritage, but also that of other nations. Despite representing different nations, all groups face the same problem from the empire.

Looking to the Future

The results of the Special Commission represent a significant shift in Ukraine’s vision for national and European security. For years, the world was focused on Russia’s status as a nuclear state, a member of the United Nations, and a geopolitically influential country. Meanwhile, the reason for the current war and the broader crisis generated by Russia is that the world failed to recognize the existence of non-Russian ethnic groups inside the empire. These peoples, however, still possess the potential for true resistance. The cases of the First Russo-Chechen War (1994–1996) and the Second Russo-Chechen War (1999–2009) demonstrated that indigenous nations are still capable of resistance and that millions of people desire freedom from Russian rule. The deeper the Russian Federation is examined, the more evident it is that the empire depends on the repression of indigenous peoples and the erasure of non-Russian national identities. This policy has been the true face of Moscow for centuries. Other nations face the same fate of destruction as the Kereks nation if the world does not help them to liberate and achieve sovereignty and statehood. The fact that many countries failed to recognize all the captive nations has had crucial negative consequences. The policy of Western states toward Russia after 1991 prioritized stability and accepted the legitimacy of the regime, ignoring the nations that Moscow illegally imprisoned. This mistake led to the renaissance of imperialism. Such a failed policy needs to be ended, as it simply encourages imperial expansion.

The work of the Special Commission demonstrates that engagement with indigenous nations is a strategy for enhancing security for Ukraine and the wider European region. These nations have long-standing traditions of opposition to Moscow and a distinctive vision of sovereignty. They are able to organize resistance, and they must become an integral part of the future effort to hasten the empire’s disintegration. For Ukraine, building and managing connections with these movements is essential for postwar regional security. If the Russian Federation dissolves, as an increasing number of analysts predict, then Ukraine must be prepared to orient itself toward the societies that exist within it.[21] This entails understanding the actors who may become new state representatives, developing institutional ties with their political movements, and supporting processes that promote democracy, human rights, and peaceful self-determination.

The recognition of the Circassian genocide is an example of how a moral step can become a tool for strategic partnership. By acknowledging past crimes, Ukraine builds trust with these nations. It demonstrates that its international policy is based not only on resistance to Russian aggression, but also on a forward-looking vision of justice. This is an integral part of Ukraine’s national strategy, positioning the country as a regional leader capable of shaping a post-imperial future.

In terms of political questions, the passage of Draft Law No. 11402 transforms this vision into a modern and structured official policy.[22] This serves as the foundation for a multisectoral approach to decolonization, encompassing actions in foreign policy, defense planning, migration issues, and information strategy. It also creates a new framework for cooperation with Western partners. Many of them now possess more information in recognizing the colonial nature of Russian state policy. Moreover, Ukraine as a nation provides an important example for other countries. Its policy vision demonstrates that post-conflict reconstruction should mean not only rebuilding what was lost but also dismantling the structural systems that made the conflict inevitable in the first place. This is not only about Ukraine. It is about Europe and the broader global community. Supporting the rights of indigenous peoples is not only crucial for historical justice, but also for ensuring their present and future well-being. It is also a pivotal condition for building peace, preventing authoritarian revanchism, and creating a stable, pluralistic future for the territories currently under Russia’s imperial rule. By turning decolonization into state policy, Ukraine defends itself from the next war and helps the world build new relationships in which such wars become impossible.

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Endnotes

[1] Shtepa, Vadim. “Militarization of Regional Policy Leads to Decline of Federalism in Russia.” Eurasia Daily Monitor 22 (April 28, 2025). https://jamestown.org/program/militarization-of-regional-policy-leads-to-decline-of-federalism-in-russia/.  

[2] Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine No. 3355-IX of August 24, 2023. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/3355-20#Text

[3] OSCE PA Resolution on “The Need for the Decolonization of the Russian Federation,” June 29, 2024. https://www.oscepa.org

[4] PACE Resolution 2540 (2024): “Death of Alexei Navalny and the need to stand up to the totalitarian regime of Vladimir Putin and his war against democracy,” April 17, 2024. https://pace.coe.int/en/files/33511/html

[5] OSCE PA Resolution on “The Need for the Decolonization of the Russian Federation,” June 29, 2024. https://www.oscepa.org

[6] Resolution of February 29, 2024, on the murder of Alexei Navalny and the need for EU action in support of political prisoners and oppressed civil society in Russia. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2024-0083_EN.html

[7] PACE Resolution 2540 (2024): “Death of Alexei Navalny and the need to stand up to the totalitarian regime of Vladimir Putin and his war against democracy,” April 17, 2024. https://pace.coe.int/en/files/33511/html

[8] PACE Resolution 2540 (2024): “Death of Alexei Navalny and the need to stand up to the totalitarian regime of Vladimir Putin and his war against democracy.” https://pace.coe.int/en/files/33511/html

[9] “Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk reported on the results of the plenary session,” Verkhovna Rada, October 18, 2022. https://www.rada.gov.ua/en/print/229468.html

[10]  Feng, Emily, and Kateryna Malofieieva. Meet the Chechen Battalion joining Ukraine to fight Russia – and fellow Chechens, September 5, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/09/05/1119703328/chechens-ukraine-russia.

Sky News, “EXCLUSIVE: The Chechens Fighting Putin in Ukraine,” December 22, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hND3DPX3sNU.

[11]Goble, Paul. “Russia’s Demographic Problems Make Putin’s Mobilization Plans Explosive.” Eurasia Daily Monitor 19, no. 139 (September 22, 2022). https://jamestown.org/program/russias-demographic-problems-make-putins-mobilization-plans-explosive/.

Sukhankin, Sergey. “Ethnically Non-Russian Formations in Russia’s War on Ukraine: Bashkortostan.” Eurasia Daily Monitor 21, no. 52 (April 4, 2024). https://jamestown.org/program/ethnically-non-russian-formations-in-russias-war-on-ukraine-bashkortostan/.

Sukhankin, Sergey. “Ethnically Non-Russian Formations in Russia’s War on Ukraine: The Volga Region.” Eurasia Daily Monitor 21, no. 54 (April 9, 2024). https://jamestown.org/program/ethnically-non-russian-formations-in-russias-war-on-ukraine-the-volga-region/.

Sukhankin, Sergey. “Ethnically Non-Russian Formations in Russia’s War on Ukraine: Siberia.” Eurasia Daily Monitor 21, no. 58 (April 16, 2024). https://jamestown.org/program/ethnically-non-russian-formations-in-russias-war-on-ukraine-siberia/.

Sukhankin, Sergey. “Ethnically Non-Russian Formations in Russia’s War on Ukraine: North Caucasus.” Eurasia Daily Monitor 21, no. 66 (April 30, 2024). https://jamestown.org/program/ethnically-non-russian-formations-in-russias-war-on-ukraine-north-caucasus/.

[12] “Под Курском Погиб Один Из Представителей Народа Кереков.” Сибирь.Реалии, December 11, 2024. https://www.sibreal.org/a/v-kurskoy-oblasti-pogib-odin-iz-poslednih-predstaviteley-malochislennogo-naroda-kerekov/33234586.html.

Minority Rights Group International provides information on the Kerek as a small Indigenous minority in Russia. https://minorityrights.org/minorities/kereks/

[13] Draft Law on the Basic Principles of Ukraine’s State Policy on Interaction with National Movements of Colonial Peoples of the Russian Federation, July 15, 2024. https://itd.rada.gov.ua/billinfo/Bills/Card/44539

[14] “Today, Ukraine Officially Recognized the Right of the Ingush People to Create an Independent State | Anti-Imperial Block of Nations.” Anti-Imperial Block of Nations, February 23, 2024. https://abn.org.ua/en/documents/today-ukraine-officially-recognized-the-right-of-the-ingush-people-to-create-an-independent-state/.

[15] Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine “On the recognition of the genocide of the Circassian (Adyghe) people committed by the Russian Empire Draft Law on the basic principles of Ukraine’s state policy on interaction with national movements of colonial peoples of the Russian Federation,” January 9, 2025. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/4206-20#Text

[16] Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine “On the recognition of the genocide of the Circassian (Adyghe) people committed by the Russian Empire Draft Law on the basic principles of Ukraine’s state policy on interaction with national movements of colonial peoples of the Russian Federation,” January 9, 2025. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/4206-20#Text

[17] Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, October 18, 1907. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/hague-conv-iv-1907

[18] Universal Declaration of Human Rights, December 10, 1948. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

[19] Regional recognition of the Circassian genocide within the Russian Federation, accessed June 23, 2025. http://justiceforcircassia.org/

[20] “Adjarian Supreme Council Holds Inaugural Session.” Civil Georgia, November 28, 2016. https://civil.ge/archives/125964.

[21] The Jamestown Foundation, “Russia’s Future: A Challenge for U.S. Policy,” June 12, 2025. YouTube video, 8:28:45. https://www.youtube.com/live/YX24g0Q_aAo.

[22] Draft Law on the Basic Principles of Ukraine’s State Policy on Interaction with National Movements of Colonial Peoples of the Russian Federation, July 15, 2024. https://itd.rada.gov.ua/billinfo/Bills/Card/44539