Not long ago we criticized the organizers of the Free Russia Forum (FRF) for refusing to invite a delegation from Chechnya. However, it must be acknowledged that the FRF, which took place in Vilnius at the end of last week, was marked by good news for Muslims in Russia.
Although there was no panel on regionalism this time, for the first time there was a panel on religious minorities, specifically addressing their persecution in Putin’s Russia, as detailed in the corresponding report. Representatives of various faiths participated in the ensuing discussion, including Lutheran pastor Pavel Levushkan, Old Believer dissident and political émigré Dmitry Savvin, Bishop Igor Knyazev of the Karelian Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Pastor Yuriy Yefimov of the Independent Community of Evangelical Christians and Baptists. Human rights activist Ruslan Kambiyev, an advisor to the Mufti of Stavropol Krai, spoke about the persecution of Muslims in Russia.
It should be noted that the holding of this event by Russian opposition figures, dissidents, political émigrés and human rights activists was accompanied by a real hysteria in the Kremlin-controlled media. The reason for this was the open discussion of the country’s problems under a tyrannical regime and its prospects after its collapse.
The fact that the «Islamic question» appears in these discussions is undoubtedly significant for Muslims in Russia. After all, Islamophobic circles within the Russian opposition are actively trying to portray Russian Muslims as beneficiaries of the current regime, using its puppets and collaborators among the Muslim population.
Therefore, the breakthrough of Muslims into the platforms of civil society and the dissemination of the truth about Muslims in Russia, one of the most oppressed groups in the country, is extremely important in the long run.