‘Diversity within Russian Opposition Ends with Gender and Doesn’t Include LGBTQ People or Ethnic Minorities, Maladayeva Says

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Jan. 28 – “Most Western donors have a very Moscow-centric view of Russia,” and “diversity within the Russian opposition” extends only to gender and does not include either LGBTQ people or ethnic minorities, according to Viktoriya Maladayeva, a Buryat activist who has now formed a group, the Indigenous of Russia,” to unite minorities and change these views.
    The activist who formed but then left the Free Buryatia Foundation when the group failed to back Buryats and now lives in exile says she “created Indigenous of Russia with a mission to unite Russia’s Indigenous peoples, raise awareness about their struggles and advocate and promote their rights” (themoscowtimes.com/2025/01/28/activist-viktoria-maladaeva-uplifts-russias-indigenous-peoples-with-power-of-unity-a87762).
    Those involved in this effort, Maladayeva continues, not only want to protect and advance their rights but also to know our “true history” and control “our own historic lands.” But at present, we “know so little about each other” that “one of our goals is to increase mutual understanding and learn about each other’s problems and dreams.”
    Last year, the group prepared a documentary about the international struggle of Queer indigenous people (themoscowtimes.com/2024/08/27/documentary-explores-the-intersectional-struggle-of-queer-indigenous-people-in-russia-a86124); and it is now preparing a second about residential schools Moscow used to Russify the indigenous peoples of the North.
    The group – whose activities are chronicled at instagram.com/indigenousofrussia/  -- would like to do more but at the present time lacks the resources to do so, Maladayeva concludes.