The Forgotten Voices of Bashkortostan

The war in Ukraine has been raging for almost two years, with no end in sight. The international community has condemned Russia’s aggression and imposed sanctions, but the Kremlin shows no sign of backing down. The human cost of the conflict is staggering: more than 10,000 people have been killed, over 20,000 wounded, and millions displaced.

But amid the chaos and suffering, there is a group of people whose voices are rarely heard: the Bashkirs, a Turkic ethnic minority living in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan. They are caught between two sides of a war that they neither started nor wanted, and they face an uncertain future.

The Bashkirs have a long and proud history, dating back to the ancient nomadic tribes of the Eurasian steppes. They have their own language, culture, and religion, and they have resisted various attempts to assimilate or oppress them by different empires and regimes.

Today, they make up about a third of the population of Bashkortostan, a region rich in natural resources and strategically located between the Volga and the Ural Mountains. They have a degree of autonomy within the Russian Federation, but they also face discrimination and marginalization by the dominant ethnic Russians.

The war in Ukraine has put the Bashkirs in a difficult position. On one hand, they share a common Turkic heritage and a Muslim faith with the Crimean Tatars and the Volga Tatars, who have been persecuted and displaced by the Russian occupation of Crimea and the Donbass region. On the other hand, they are loyal citizens of Russia and do not want to jeopardize their status or security by openly opposing the Kremlin’s policies.

As a result, the Bashkirs have adopted a stance of neutrality and non-involvement in the war. They have not joined the protests or the volunteer battalions that have sprung up across Russia in support of or against the war. They have not expressed solidarity or sympathy with either side of the conflict. They have simply tried to carry on with their lives as best as they can, hoping for a peaceful resolution.

But this does not mean that the war has not affected them. On the contrary, the war has brought them grief, hardship, and fear. Many Bashkirs have lost their relatives, friends, or neighbors who were conscripted or recruited to fight in the war. Some of them have been killed, wounded, or captured by the Ukrainian forces or the pro-Russian separatists. Others have returned home traumatized, disabled, or disillusioned.

The war has also damaged the economy and the environment of Bashkortostan. The sanctions imposed by the West have hit hard the region’s oil, gas, and mining industries, causing unemployment, inflation, and poverty. The agriculture sector has also suffered, as the war has disrupted the supply chains and the markets for the region’s products. The war has also polluted the land, the water, and the air, as the Russian military has used the region as a base and a testing ground for its weapons and equipment.

The war has also threatened the identity and the culture of the Bashkirs. The Russian authorities have intensified their efforts to promote patriotism and nationalism among the population, especially the youth. They have censored the media, restricted the civil society, and suppressed the dissent. They have also tried to impose a uniform and orthodox version of Islam, while cracking down on the alternative and diverse expressions of the faith. They have also neglected or erased the Bashkir language, history, and traditions, while promoting the Russian ones.

The war in Ukraine is not only a war between two countries, but also a war between two visions of the world: one that respects the diversity and the rights of the peoples, and one that imposes the hegemony and the interests of the powerful. The Bashkirs, like many other minorities in Russia and beyond, are the victims of this war, and they deserve to be heard and supported. They have a right to live in peace, dignity, and freedom, and to preserve and develop their unique and valuable culture. They are not the enemies or the allies of anyone, but the friends of humanity.