Month: January 2023

Do you remember this famous passage from the Hadji Murat novel by Lev Tolstoy, where he writes about the attitude of Chechens towards Russians?

Let me give some quotes from it:

The so-called “head” of Chuvashia is a non-elected person. He was simply appointed by the occupation authorities. No one in the so-called “federation” has the right to vote and the right to choose – we all know this. Nobody asks people if they want this power. Everyone is simply put before the fact. Even among the imperials, no one has the right to vote, let alone among everyone else.

The author assumes that the very title of his article-reflection on the theme of the Islamic religion in the national liberation struggle will evoke protest in some readers, therefore he warns in advance that he is a devout adherent of Sunni Islam. His attitude to his and his ancestors’ faith, is as it should be for a Muslim – reverence and respect. Therefore, he asks readers not to rush to conclusions and read to the end of the article.

The All-Russian population census showed a steady downward trend in the number of the Tatar nation. In 2002 there were 5 554 600 Tatars living in Russia, in 2010 this number dropped to 5 310 600, and in 2021 it completely collapsed to 4 713 669. That is, the depopulation of the Tatar nation has not only continued over the past decades – it is accelerating at a terrible pace.