FSB Designates 172 Ethnic and Regional Groups ‘Terrorist’ Organizations

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Jan. 11 – The FSB has designated 172 ethnic and religious groups associated with the Forum of Free States of PostRussia “terrorist organizations” because that group has called for its followers to work for the decolonization of Russia and to take part in defending Ukraine against Russian aggression.
    Among those so described are Asians of Russia, Free Buryatia, Free Yakutiya, New Tyva, the League of Free Nations, the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Federation, Free Idel-Ural, Free Bashkortostan, the Congress of Peoples of the North Caucasus, the All-Tatar Social Center, and the Karelian National Movement (zona.media/news/2025/01/10/spisok-172 and nemoskva.net/2025/01/11/fsb-dobavila-v-spisok-terroristicheskih-172-obedineniya-vklyuchaya-naczionalnye/).
    This move follows a decision by the Russian General Procurator to declare the Forum an “undesirable” organization in March 2023 and a ruling by the Supreme Court upholding that position (novayagazeta.eu/articles/2023/03/17/genprokuratura-priznala-nezhelatelnoi-organizatsiiu-forum-svobodnykh-narodov-postrossii-news and t.me/genprocrf/4472).
    Among the other institutions the FSB has now declared a “terrorist organization” is the Komi Daily, even though it has no relationship with the Forum. Its leaders are now seeking legal redress against the FSB move (t.me/komi_daily/706 and moscowtimes.ru/2025/01/12/vrossii-vpervie-priznali-smi-terroristicheskoi-organizatsiei-a152081).
    This new enumeration of terrorist groups includes some about which nothing has ever been heard and it is entirely possible that the FSB has done more to advertise the existence of such trends than any of those involved could have achieved on their own (e.g., the case of the hitherto unheard of Oryol Autonomous Republic (t.me/orlec/2195).