On October 19 we were forced to convene an urgent meeting of the Council of Elders in connection with the wave of arrests of Erzya that began in the Russian Federation.
The Russian authorities through the hands of their FSB lackeys acted in the best traditions of the Cheka, the NKVD, and the KGB. FSB operatives broke into houses and apartments at night wearing face masks and armed with assault rifles not paying attention to the fact that everyone, including children, were asleep. Erzya, almost from bed, were taken to Saransk. Today it is known about the detention of a dozen and a half people. Everyone’s phones and computers were taken away. No bombs were found.
Most of the detainees were released to their homes after lengthy interrogations. The whereabouts of some are still unknown.
Among them are the Honorary Inyazor of the Erzya people Kshumantsian Pirguzh (Grigory Musalev) and the Erzya writer, journalist, editor-in-chief of the independent publication “Erzya Mastor” Nuyan Vidyaz (Evgeny Chetvergov).
According to the information received from a representative of Od Viy, both are accused by FSB of terrorism and extremism. (Nuyan Vidyaz will be 90 years old next March, and Kshumantsian Pirguzhu will be 83 years old on November 19). Given their state of health and age, it can be assumed that the people who made the decision to arrest them suffer from chronic mental disorders or are very eager to curry favor without being able to do anything else. The representative of Od Viy stressed that not a single member of the real underground had been detained. Everyone is free and ready for action.
Appeal of the Council of Elders of the Erzya people
Erzya! Friends!
The Russian government which started a war against Ukraine in 2014 is now waging a war against the entire civilized world and understands that it is not capable of winning it. In addition, it understands that losing the war guarantees the Russian government not only political death but also the verdict of the International Tribunal. Russian leaders will be tried as war criminals, so Putin and his gang decided to go all the way and drag as many countries and peoples as possible into this war. Hundreds of thousands of people died! Millions could die, but the Kremlin rats don’t care.
Today, they are in a hurry to put the economy on a war footing. This means that soon children will have to work on the military factory assembly lines and adults will have to go to war, and war will come to every Russian home! All this is happening despite the fact that no one attacked Russia.
In order for the war to end and people to stop dying, it is enough to withdraw Russian troops from foreign territories. No one is going to chase them to Moscow or the Urals, it does not make sense! The end of the war will bring relief to the entire population of the Russian Federation, but the Russian authorities are waiting for the International Tribunal. And that is why they are trying to share the responsibility for their crimes with every Russian citizen. Hence these wild calls to “become Russian”!
In order to implement their criminal plans, the authorities need an obedient population, they need people who are afraid. This is the only way to explain the arrests and detentions that have swept through the Russian Federation. The regime is afraid of disobedient people who can draw people’s attention to the lies and atrocities of the authorities!
We appeal to those who have experienced repression by the security forces: do not be afraid!
First: it’s not your fault! To wish for the continuation of life for one’s people, the preservation of one’s language is not a crime, but a dignity! The desire to be free is not a crime, it is a natural quality of Human! Stay human!
Secondly, the authorities are afraid themselves, and with your fear you feed the feeling of impunity of the executioners. They are afraid of proud people!
And thirdly: this power is not forever even if the ruling regime today seems indestructible. Few people believed in the collapse of the Soviet Union either. Very soon, fair people’s courts will bring to justice those who today frighten your children, interrogate, and judge the innocent.
Jalgat! A jon pelems!
We appeal to all the peoples who are forced by the satraps to carry out the will of Moscow. In fact, Moscow and its lackeys on the ground are afraid of us! We are the very needle in which the death of the Russian Koschey is contained! He is not immortal. He is mortal, he is afraid, and therefore he is in a hurry to turn us into Russians! It is disgusting when people, spitting on the ashes of their ancestors, dancing on their graves, bleating like sheep: “I am Russian”!
In order to survive, we need to be fearless! We must unite, look for allies and, most importantly, we need to understand that the Russian government is our enemy! Not an adversary, not a rival – an enemy!
Appeal to the civilized world!
We often hear voices advocating the preservation of the Russian Federation, which express concern that the collapse of this monster will lead to unnecessary trouble! You are “worried” about the fate of our executioner! But what about democratic, universal principles and values? What about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Russia will fall apart anyway, and it will be sooner rather than later. But we are aware that it will have enough time to destroy many of us. Your concern does not extend to the disenfranchised existence of millions of non-Russians. Over the past ten years, the number of Erzya alone has decreased by 200,000 people. The price for your “tranquility” is the lives of our peoples, and it is growing rapidly! You can, you are strong, you are just, pay attention to our situation, unless your talk about principles and values is grandiloquent but empty declarations!
We appeal to Russian employees, officials, and security officials. Think about your future. Do not let yourself be put in the dock with Russian war criminals. You will need to move on with your life, work, and raise your children. Do not overshadow your future with today’s crimes, and only then will it be bright for you!
Council of Elders 19.10.2023 Erzya Mastor.
