The verdict handed down today by the «most humane and just» Russian court in the three-year-old case of Ingush political prisoners can be seen as a condemnation of Russian policy itself. In Ingushetia. In the Caucasus. And in general, everywhere — a verdict on this regime as a whole.
Ahmed Barakhoev — 9 years of imprisonment, Musa Malsagov — 9 years of imprisonment, Barakh Chemurziev — 8 years of imprisonment, Bagaudin Khautiev — 8 years of imprisonment, Ismail Nalgiev — 8 years of imprisonment, Zarifa Sautieva — 7.5 years of imprisonment. Among those sentenced to these terms are elderly people and a woman. They are respected people among the Ingush. They are not deputies appointed by Moscow, they are the real authorities of this people. And they are thrown into prison precisely for representing their people against the will of the Kremlin — just like Alexei Navalny, Ayrat Dilmukhametov or Sergei Furgal.
Undoubtedly, as a result of this decision, the Kremlin has finally lost Ingushetia. Of course, it physically controls it and will continue to do so as long as this army of security forces remains united around its leader. But as soon as infighting begins among them and they split into opposing factions, which will happen sooner or later, insha Allah, it will become clear that this control over peoples and territories was maintained solely by force. They no longer have this force.
In the case of the Ingush protests, at first we did not interfere in the Chechen-Ingush territorial dispute, we did not give a verdict on who owns the disputed land, and we do not intend to do so in the future. Neighbors, relatives, Vainakhs and, above all, Muslims will find out for themselves. The essence of this story is that, like many other issues, they wanted to solve it without the people and for the people, through the hands of Moscow-appointed deputies. It was the people, simply because of their sensitivity, who provoked protests against the power imposed on them, which decided such issues without their participation, on their behalf, using them as a cover.
In response, the authorities, through the mouth of their governor, expressed the desire to literally shoot those who dared to speak out against their decision (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sk3W4E-hjo). Official executions have not yet taken place (although there have been many unofficial ones, including in Ingushetia…), but the decision to punish the protest leaders in a demonstrative manner was made in the Kremlin and nowhere else. The three-year pre-trial detention, the beatings, the refusal to grant house arrest, and now the verdict itself — all these are the consequences of such a decision.
The sentence has shocked not only the Ingush people, but also the civil society of Russia, which is still struggling to get used to the fact that today the average sentence for courageous social activities in the country is 10 years. And in such a situation there are only two options — either to get used to it and accept it, or to put an end to it.