Alexandra Garmazhapova: Dechauvinization of Russia
Since the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Buryats appeared as one of the most pronounced ethnic groups in this conflict. Their presence in the frontline of Ukraine was determined by the number of Buryats who were in the armed forces on contract service in the numerous Russian military units stationed in the republic. Military service was a popular career choice among the Buryats because it guaranteed upward mobility in an economically disadvantaged area. Besides economic advantages in military service and patriotic narratives, the authorities also employ religious and ethnic narratives to galvanize support and encourage volunteering. For instance, the leader of Russian Buddhists, Damba Ayusheev, asserts that Buddhists are fighting to preserve not only the Russian and Slavic worlds but also safeguard their Mongolian heritage. And in this sense, all citizens of Russia, and not just the ethnic majority, need decolonization of thinking. Because the entire Russian society is permeated with chauvinism. The same Buryats, due to the actions of the Russian authorities, do not know the Buryat language and their history. Consequently, they have lost their identity. People who know their history and THEMSELVES cannot be aggressors towards “others”. For example, to the Ukrainians.
Aleksandra Garmazhapova is the founder and president of the Free Buryatia Foundation, the first ethnic anti-war initiative that has inspired dozens of ethnic groups from Russia to create anti-war initiatives.Aleksandra is a veteran investigative journalist and keen political researcher who has been advocating for human rights and democracy in Russia for over 15 years. She is the architect of the international "Denazification of Russia" campaign, which aims to raise awareness about the experiences of ethnic minorities in Russia who face racism and discrimination. Garmazhapova is the first journalist who wrote about Yevgeny Prigozhin's "troll factory". She is the winner of several prestigious journalistic awards, including "Zolotoe Pero". She covered the North Caucasus and was nominated for the Caucasian Journalists Award. Garmazhapova was declared a foreign agent by the Russian Ministry of Justice. On November 10, 2023, a Russian court sentenced her in absentia to 7 years in prison for spreading “fake news” about the Russian army, namely for condemning Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine. The Free Buryatia Foundation has been declared an undesirable organization by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office.
Lecture was held at the following symposium in Prague:
MAKE VOICES BE HEARD
Decolonial reflections on power and racism
in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia
December 15. and 16. 2023
Academy of Art, Architecture and Design in Prague
Symposium program:
Introduction by Noemi Smolik and Adam Vackar
Madina Tlostanova, keynote
Joanna Warsza, keynote
Alexander Etkind, keynote
FATA Collective (Jeanna Kolesova, Keto Gorgadze)
DAVRA research group (M. Joldybek, Z. Mirzalieva, S. Ismailova)
Furqat Palvan-Zade
David Tišer
Alexandra Garmazhapova
Peter Kašpar/Denis Kozerawski
Roundtable moderated by Jörg Heiser
For some years now, questions of colonialism, its legacy and the way how to address this legacy have been central themes of contemporary art. It is noticeable that while artists and theoreticians from North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Arab countries are represented in exhibitions, symposia and debates on this topic, representatives from countries that were subject to the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union are simply not present.
The war in Ukraine has not only exposed Moscow's colonial claims but also revealed an ambivalent relationship between Western countries and those in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. While Western countries sought to address the security concerns arising from Moscow's colonial claims, insufficient attention was paid to the security, respect, and self-determination needs of these countries.
Therefore, it is necessary to ask: Why is it that in the West, hardly any attention is paid to the experiences of these countries? Why a supposedly binding global knowledge about colonialism and racism is produced without the inclusion of the experiences of the people from these regions, as witnessed by the absence of representatives from these countries in the current postcolonial debate? It is time for the people of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia to raise their voices.
The symposium in Prague, initiated by Hope Recycling Station and the working group it has launched at CCA Berlin in spring 2023, has set itself the task of making these voices heard.