The exhibition “Putin’s Real Prisoners. Political Prisoners of the Enslaved Nations” was presented at the National Library of Latvia on 28 January 2025. The Anti-Imperial Block of Nations created the exhibition and presented it to the Baltic countries in cooperation with the Ukrainian Information Service-London.
The exhibition was presented by Hennadiy Ivanushchenko, the editor-in-chief of the website “ABN Correspondence”. In his speech, he particularly, noted:
“Dear Ladies and Gentlemen!
I have the honour to present, the international human rights project, “Putin’s Real Prisoners. Political Prisoners of Enslaved Nations”, initiated by the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations.
The main goal of the project is to report true information about the Kremlin regime’s repressions, against leaders and activists of the national liberation movements of the enslaved nations. An important task of the project is also to form a complete list of political prisoners of the enslaved nations and to work with international partners on liberating them from Moscow prisons.
An authoritarian regime reigns in the modern state political entity called the Russian Federation. There is no real democracy or freedom of speech and conscience. They do not tolerate dissent there, the opposition is persecuted, and all dissenters are thrown into prison. The trigger for increasing political persecution was the full-scale invasion of Putin’s troops into Ukraine. The war has become an additional tool for the Kremlin dictator to crack down on opponents. Since February 2022, there has been a significant increase in the number of criminal cases, in which the main crime is qualified as protests against military aggression in Ukraine: public actions, individual pickets, posts on social networks or conversations in the kitchen.
According to estimates by several independent human rights organizations, by mid-2024 the total list of Kremlin’s political prisoners was about 7 thousand people.
I would like to emphasize that the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations (ABN), as the successor to the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations, is conducting systematic activities aimed at achieving the victory of Ukraine, support for the national liberation movements of enslaved peoples and the final collapse of Russia. The structures of the ABN cover the political, informational, military and international framework for countering Moscow’s imperial policy.
The human rights direction is also important. In early August 2024, the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations, in its Address to the Leaders of the Western World and Human Rights Defenders, emphasized the need to fight for the release of the Kremlin’s political prisoners, who are leaders and activists of the national liberation movements of the enslaved peoples. A list of the most ardent enemies and opponents of the Russian leader who are being persecuted or imprisoned was formed. In the Autumn of 2024, the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations launched an international human rights project “Putin’s Real Prisoners. Political Prisoners of Enslaved Nations.”
To reveal the problem surrounding political prisoners of enslaved peoples, a thematic exhibition of the same name was created, based on the stories of ten political prisoners of enslaved peoples, Crimean Tatar activists, and Ukrainians who are being repressed on the territory of Russia.
On 14 November 2024, a presentation of this exhibition was held in Kyiv for journalists, diplomats, human rights activists and the general public. Today we are presenting this exhibition in your city, in your country.
The exhibition is based on 10 stories of political prisoners from among the activists of the national liberation movements of enslaved peoples: Zarema Musayeva (Chechnya), Altan Ochirov (Oirat-Kalmykia), Natalia Filonova (Buryatia), Mikhail Afanasyev (Khakassia), Ayrat Dilmukhametov (Bashkortostan), Parvinakhan Abuzarova (Tatarstan), Fail Alsinov (Bashkortostan), Alexander Gabyshev (Sakha-Yakutia), Zarifa Sautieva (Inshushetia), Andrey Vasyurenko (Karelia), as well as two Crimean Tatar activists: Asan Akhtemov and Raif Fevziev.
They are Putin’s real political prisoners. After all, in addition to the demand to stop the war, they proclaim the idea of the right of their own people to self-determination and freedom, and that means, separation from Russia. It is this that scares the Kremlin leader Putin the most. Putin understands perfectly well that after their release, they would have every chance to lead the national liberation struggle of their people.
A special place in the list of Putin’s real prisoners is occupied by ethnic Ukrainians who are citizens of the Russian Federation. They are persecuted and repressed, first, because of their Ukrainian identity and public activism. Therefore, after the start of the project, we collected information and supplemented our exhibition with the stories of those who ended up in Russian prisons because of their ethnic origin, just because they are Ukrainians and were not afraid to openly condemn the war against their people. These are Ukrainians worthy of great respect: Oleksandr Dymitrenko, Nataliya Romanenko, Anton Osipenko, Oleksandr Filimonov and Vladislav Nikitenko. These are just five crippled destinies out of hundreds of those persecuted by the Putin regime.
The stories of their struggle, resistance and suffering are different, but what they all have in common is that they suffered in the struggle for truth, justice and the right to freedom. It is important that the civilized world knows these names and realizes the need to make maximum efforts for their release.
Along with the 10 stories of political prisoners of enslaved peoples, there are about 10 thousand stories, and fates of other political and military prisoners of the Kremlin, who are illegally held in places, where they are deprived of liberty – in Russia, Belarus, Crimea and the so-called DPR and LPR. They also, are real prisoners of Putin.
First, these are Ukrainian prisoners of war: Azov fighters, and other heroic defenders of Mariupol, defenders of dozens of Ukrainian cities and villages. Among them, in addition to Ukrainians, are representatives of many freedom-loving peoples, who fought as volunteers in the Ukrainian army: Georgians, Belarusians and others. We also provide information about them at our exhibition.
In 2025, the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations intends to hold a major world tour with this exhibition, demonstrating it on all continents. We are starting this tour precisely with the Baltic countries, our closest allies and associates in the fight against the Russian empire. We want to count on your support, in the cause of freeing Putin’s real prisoners. Therefore, I invite everyone, to familiarize themselves with the materials of our exhibition, and to spread information about our human rights project, as widely as possible (…)”
In his speech, Zufar Zainullin, the ambassador of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in exile in the Republic of Latvia, emphasized that imperial Moscow keeps about 200 people under its yoke and that now they have a historic chance – thanks to the heroic struggle of the Ukrainian people, to rise in rebellion to gain freedom and fulfil the will of their ancestors – to build independent states on the ruins of the prison of nations.
During the exhibition, there was active communication with media representatives. In particular, the President of the ABN Oleh Medunytsya gave an interview to Latvian Radio. Latvian Television also recorded a story about the opening of the exhibition.
The Anti-Imperial Bloc of Nations expresses gratitude to the Embassy of Ukraine in Latvia for organizing this exhibition and the National Library of Latvia for their assistance and hospitality.
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