Indigenous activists from Russia’s ethnic republics converged on Berlin last week for their second annual gathering, transforming what began as scattered anti-war protests into a coordinated political movement. The Indigenous Vision Forum attracted participants from across Russia’s vast territories, alongside allies from the United States, Europe, Central Asia and Oceania.
Sargylana Kondakova of the Free Yakutia Foundation, who gained attention in 2022 with an anti-war video filmed in Melbourne, explained the shift. “We understand that if we won’t speak on the international stage, if we won’t enlist the support of our allies, then everything could end very tragically for our peoples,” she told attendees. Can a decentralized movement really challenge Moscow’s grip on power?
The forum’s focus on “navigating the future” reflects substantial progress since 2025. Indigenous representatives have since appeared before the UN, OSCE and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, securing five of fifteen seats on the body’s Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces.
Ukrainian MP Mariia Mezentseva-Fedorenko joined via videoconference from Kharkiv, air raid sirens audible in the background. She’s pushing to codify “decolonization” concepts in international law. Tetiana Katrych from the Ukrainian NGO Decolonization argued that genuine European security requires Russia’s transformation. “le peace for both Ukraine and Europe can be achieved only when the empire ceases to exist in its current form,” she stated.
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