Once there was hope for the liberation of the Moksha people here

Bakhmut. In 1707-1709, this city was one of the main centers of the national liberation uprising of the Donets, Mokshas, Nogays and Ukrainians, led by the Slobozhan Cossack Kondratiy (Kindrat) Bulavin.

The precondition for the uprising was an attempt by the Kremlin to record free people as slaves, accusing them of allegedly fleeing from their masters from the Moscow kingdom, which actually did not happen – they simply figured out how to “legally” get even more slaves.

The uprising was defeated, and most of the participants were executed.

Now the city looks like this again – as it did when Moscow crushed the uprising. Realizing that this is not their land, Muscovites simply wipe out everything.