Resistance to the lawlessness of the current authorities at the local level, whether in national republics such as Ingushetia and Komi, or in Russian regions such as Arkhangelsk and Ekaterinburg, as we mentioned earlier, is becoming a new trend, indicating a shift in the focus of protest from the capital to the regions. The recent gathering of Bashkirs (Yiyin) under Mount Kushatau, despite the resistance of the authorities, is another example of this trend. In addition to favorable weather conditions and symbolism, the choice of location was apparently motivated by a desire to avoid a repeat of last year’s history with the Congress of the Bashkir People, which the authorities tried to disrupt under various pretexts. It is difficult to cancel a meeting under a mountain because of faulty wiring or the sudden refusal of the owners of the venue to hold the event agreed upon by the tenants. This time the authorities decided to dig up the access roads to Kushatau and place KAMAZ trucks and cranes on them, but the participants dug up the ground and organized the transport of delegates to the meeting place.
Delegates of the Bashkir community from all over the republic arrived at the meeting, refusing to participate in the World Congress of Bashkirs, which has become a decorative, puppet organization under the current colonial «republican» authority, singing its praises and avoiding frank discussion of the pressing problems of the Bashkir people. The participants of the meeting discussed these acute problems, emphasizing the need to protect the people, their land, their language and their state (and let us remind you that in the Russian Constitution the republics are called states), instead of presenting folkloric kurultays. At the end of the meeting, the participants adopted a resolution, the text of which is given below, summarizing the grievances and demands of the republic’s constituent people to their authorities.
In addition to the relatively harsh nature of the resolution as a whole, it should be noted that the participants of the Bashkir National Gathering demanded the release of political prisoner Ayrat Dilmukhametov, calling him a representative of the Bashkir people who is being persecuted for his views. The resolution of the All-Bashkir Yiyin in Kushatau:
We, gathered in the All-Bashkir Yiyin at the foot of Kushatau Mountain, believe that today the development of civil society is impossible without civic activism and the development of local self-government. We believe that the public has an obligation to participate in the life of the republic and to express its opinion on the most urgent issues concerning the fate of the republic and the entire multiethnic people of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
We are concerned about the fate of the ecology of the republic and its barbaric treatment by oligarchic groups. Today the fate of the Kushatau mountain is of the utmost importance, since it is the only mountain that is not protected as a natural monument and its fate hangs in the balance, as it is planned to be exploited in a barbaric way for raw materials for BSK Sod.
We are concerned about the environmental situation in the town of Sibay, where the problem of smog caused by emissions from the Sibay quarry has not yet been resolved. The date for the elimination of these harmful sulfur emissions has been postponed several times, but half a year has passed and the threat to the people of Sibay has not been eliminated. Meanwhile, the mayor of Sibay, Mr. Afzalov, has been rewarded for hiding the true cause of the environmental disaster from the residents for a long time.
We are concerned about the situation in the republic concerning forests and natural resources. For example, the Russian Copper Company is planning to open a new quarry in the Abzelilovsky district, and the residents are opposed to it, which means that the situation may worsen again. We are also concerned about the news that the same Russian Copper Company is planning to build a canal from the Bashkir Karamidel River (Ufa) to the Shershnevskoye reservoir in the Chelyabinsk region for the Chelyabinsk industrial center.
Oligarchic groups, through their patrons in the Russian government, are shamelessly ready to plunder our Bashkir natural resources without seeking the permission of the local population, who, according to the Russian and Bashkortostan constitutions, are the true owners of this land and everything under and above it.
All these urgent issues, such as language, natural resources, economic situation of the republic, issues of local self-government can be solved only if the Republic of Bashkortostan itself manages all processes on its territory without interference of the federal center and various oligarchic groups. If the most important issues for the multiethnic population of the republic are resolved by referendums, taking into account the opinions of the local population. In this connection, the question of signing a federal agreement on the division of powers between the Republic of Bashkortostan and the federal center arises again.
On June 28-29 in Ufa there will be held the V World Congress of Bashkirs, which will be attended by delegates from all regions of the republic, neighboring regions and different countries.
We do not want the 5th World Congress of Bashkirs to turn into another theatrical celebration with the adoption of standard decisions which nobody will implement. We demand that the real concerns of the Bashkir people be addressed and we send instructions from the All-Bashkir Yiyin:
- Initiate a political dialogue between the Republic of Bashkortostan and the federal center in order to prepare and sign an updated agreement on the division of powers and responsibilities between them. According to the Russian Constitution, the federal authorities do not have the right to reject such an initiative of the subjects of the Federation.
- Raising the issue of disagreement with the established practice of appointing heads of federal authorities in national republics from among officials who have not previously lived in these republics or have no ties with them. We see this as a manifestation of disrespect and distrust for local specialists, regardless of their nationality.
- Today all subsoil, natural resources and extracted minerals are federal property. The subjects of the Federation receive a very small share of the proceeds from their economic use and extraction, in exchange for which they suffer from ecological problems, soil and water pollution on a catastrophic scale. A prominent example of this is the ongoing burning of sulfur ore under the city of Sibay in the Republic of Bashkortostan. This is the result of the granting of licenses for the exploitation of natural resources without coordination and consideration of the interests of local authorities and the local population. Another vivid example is the granting of a license for the exploration of the Kushatau mountain, against which the entire population of the republic is actively protesting. We demand to raise the issue of restoration of the article in the Constitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan, according to which all natural resources, land and subsoil belong to the multiethnic people of the Republic of Bashkortostan. We demand an end to the use of our natural resources without taking into account the opinions of the local population.
- We demand to raise the issue of restoring the full status of the Bashkir state language. We demand the restoration of full secondary education in the Bashkir language. We demand the resumption of the training of teachers and other professionals in the Bashkir language at the level of 2005. We demand that middle and high officials be required to pass an examination of proficiency in the first official language of the Republic of Bashkortostan, which is Bashkir.
- We demand to raise the issue of granting Kushatau Mountain the status of a natural monument and to include it, together with Toratau and Yuraktau Mountains, in the list of UNESCO geoparks. This will protect it from attempts to exploit it for raw materials for BSK Sod.
- We demand that the delegates raise the issue of banning the sale of alcoholic beverages during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan with the leadership of the Republic.
In addition, the participants of the meeting decided that Ayrat Dilmukhametov, a well-known public and political figure, is a representative of our Bashkir people, and we officially declare that persecution for beliefs and personal opinions is unacceptable. We are against persecution and demand a thorough investigation, the dropping of all charges and the release of Ayrat Dilmukhametov.
In view of the recent events, where the children of Zaki Validi were excluded from the list of delegates, the participants of the meeting decided to express their lack of confidence in the Organizing Committee of the V World Congress of Bashkirs.
Adopted at the All-Bashkir Yiyin on June 23, 2019, Kushatau.