Report: Khakas language, culture activist charged with extremism in Russia
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 24 July 2018 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Report: Khakas language, culture activist charged with extremism in Russia, 24 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5bc0517a4.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
July 24, 2018 11:01 GMT
By Siberia Desk, RFE/RL's Russian Service
Khakas activist Lidiya Bainova (file photo)
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has reportedly lodged an extremism charge against an activist who promotes indigenous cultures and languages following a post on the Internet.
The news site Tayga.info reported on July 24 that it had obtained FSB documents related to the charge against Lidiya Bainova, an activist in the Khakasia region of Siberia.
The documents show that the FSB has accused Bainova of calling "for violence against [ethnic] Russian people residing in the region."
In a post on the Russian social network VKontakte that went viral earlier in July, Bainova wrote about what she described as racism faced by ethnic Khakas people on their own land on a daily basis.
In her post, Bainova said that her daughter had tried to enter playgrounds and been told by small children that they were "for Russians only."
"At such a moment one wants to make a revolution . . . . To get back the power, the land for our people! To fight for it! So that we could feel like masters of this place," Bainova wrote.
Khakas are Turkic-speaking indigenous people of Khakasia, making up 12 percent of the region's population of 540 thousand.
With reporting by Tayga.info
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
