Anastasia Pechenyuk04:27, 06/20/23

Russia sends mainly Buryats, Tuvans and Kalmyks to the front.

The Russian Republic of Tyva, where Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was born, has turned into a land of orphans and widows in a year of full-scale war unleashed by Moscow against Ukraine. 

As the Russian edition of Important Stories found out, Tyva is the leading region in terms of the growth in the number of recipients of military pensions for the loss of a breadwinner. The data published by the Ministry of Defense shows that in 2021 such payments were made by 300 people, and in 2022 – more than 9 thousand. The majority of survivors’ pension recipients are relatives of the military liquidated in Ukraine. 

In seven more regions, including Altai, Buryatia, Komi and Kalmykia, the growth in the number of recipients of payments (compared to last year) exceeded 50%. The lowest growth is in the Central, Siberian, Northwestern Federal Districts and the occupied Ukrainian Crimea.VIDEO OF THE DAYplay video

The available statistics do not fully reflect the losses among immigrants from the regions, because only those who have already gone through all the bureaucratic procedures and were able to make payments were included in the pension statistics of the department. 

Tuvans in the war against Ukraine 

Having unleashed a bloody war of conquest against Ukraine, Russia sends to the front mainly natives of regions where a significant part of the population is national minorities. Because of this, the Kremlin was publicly  accused of carrying out ethnic cleansing. 

Among those who died in the war, who are known, are also predominantly Buryats, Tuvans and Kalmyks. The inhabitants of these regions are also buried without special honors. 

In the spring, a scandal erupted in Tuva – the inhabitants of the region accidentally discovered that their loved ones, liquidated in the war, were buried in Novosibirsk – more than 1000 kilometers from their home – without the knowledge of their families.

And earlier mobilized from Tuva complained that they were sent to the front as cannon fodder and faced bullying in the army. 

(C)UNIAN 2023