Always Has Been, Always Will Be: Systemic Brutality Against Minorities in Russia
Adel Bashqawi
July 12, 2025
AI-generated via Microsoft Copilot
Background
It began in silence, and continues in it. When law enforcement uniforms become symbols of fear rather than safety, and justice is twisted into justification, the bruises left on minority bodies echo older wounds—unhealed and unacknowledged. The muted treatment of the Safarov brothers’ killing in Yekaterinburg is not an anomaly; it is a continuation. The same systemic brutality that once displaced whole nations now resurfaces behind closed cell doors and beneath the weight of fabricated charges.
From the Caucasus to Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the message is familiar: identity is guilt, heritage is threat, and belonging must be erased. It is also crucial to shed light on the clandestine activities of state agents who pursue activists and opposition figures using inhumane, illegal methods.
Introduction
• Shaped by overt and covert colonial policies, the Russian state can only be described as an empire of fear. Under one-man rule and a tyrannical regime, no one—regardless of status—is truly safe.
• Orders issued to eliminate individuals or suppress populations are executed blindly, accompanied by fabricated pretexts and official denials. Crimes are committed against both ethnic Russians and non-Russians, reflecting a broader culture of impunity.
• Individuals and communities are not immune from persecution under overly broad laws that criminalize even free speech. Staff who refuse to carry out unethical or discriminatory orders face immediate punishment.
https://www.worldmap1.com/
The Safarov Brothers
Citizens of different nationalities often fall prey to Russian police brutality. In June 2025, two Azerbaijani citizens were killed in Yekaterinburg amid sweeping raids by Russian law enforcement:
• Around 50 members of the Azerbaijani community were detained in connection with decades-old criminal cases, during midnight raids marked by extrajudicial violence. [1]
• The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported fatalities, serious injuries, and detentions. [2]
Azerbaijan filed criminal charges against Russian law enforcement for torture and murder with extreme cruelty. [3]
• Cultural diplomacy collapsed as Azerbaijan cancelled all Russian state-affiliated events in protest. [4]
• Eyewitness accounts and legal testimony revealed detainees were tortured with electric shocks and beatings. Visible bruises and broken ribs went unacknowledged by the courts. [5]
• The fallout was immediate and far-reaching. Arrests of Russian citizens and media figures in Azerbaijan followed, triggering diplomatic rupture. [6]
• The deaths acted as a tipping point in Azerbaijan’s stance—“the final nail in the coffin.” [7]
Patterns of Abuse
Beneath Russia’s polished image lies a brutal deep state apparatus that enforces dominance over annexed nations:
• Marginalized communities like Circassians, Chechens, Dagestanis, and others face routine abuse.
• Forced conscription for the war in Ukraine has targeted minority populations. Refusal is met with arrest, imprisonment, or worse. [8] [9] [10]
Case Studies
Circassia / Republic of Adygea
Stanislav Shevchenko was sentenced to four years for alleged online “justification of terrorism”—a political prisoner by all measures. [11]
Circassia / Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria
A retaliatory attack against a police officer highlighted entrenched violence and corruption. A young man, previously detained and tortured, was killed during the confrontation. [12]
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Authorities appointed by Moscow perpetuate medieval practices to intimidate. Public display of corpses defies law and ethics. [13]
Dagestan
Minor acts, such as warming feet by the Eternal Flame or dancing the lezginka, have led to harsh prison sentences. [14]
UN Special Rapporteur
The UN condemned Russia’s normalization of torture and impunity. Courts routinely dismiss credible reports, and televised abuse reinforces societal desensitization. [15]
Historical Continuity
• The events in Yekaterinburg echo the atrocities committed against the Circassians by the Russian Empire—acts never fully acknowledged internationally. [16]
• Colonial logic persists: dissent is criminalized, identity erased, and injustice normalized. [17]
High-Profile Deaths Under Suspicious Circumstances
• Roman Starovoit, former Transportation Minister, found dead hours after dismissal. [18]
• Konstantin Strukov, gold mining tycoon, barred from fleeing amid corporate takeover. [19]
• Andrei Badalov, vice president of Transneft, died after a fall from his window. [20]
Conclusion
Justice is not an option—it is a necessity. The restoration of legitimate rights and the unwavering application of human dignity must be realized, not only for the Circassian nation to which I belong, but for all peoples annexed and subjugated by colonial violence. Each syllable in this article is a testimony: to systemic brutality, to the impunity of aggressors, and to the resilience of those who still demand to be seen.
Russia stands at a precarious precipice—its citizens suffocated by fear, its minorities criminalized by design. None of this is coincidence. The cruelty now laid bare was carefully calculated, a blueprint of repression engineered across decades. And yet, those who orchestrate this suffering remain untouched.
But memory is not easily erased. History, once written in exile and blood, will be rewritten—this time, in justice.
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References
[1] https://meduza.io/en/feature/2025/06/30/unacceptable-violence
[7] https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-russia-police-raid-deaths-caucasus-diplomacy/33460707.html
[8] https://eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/66519
[9] https://eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/66515
[10] https://www.newsweek.com/russia-casualties-ukraine-one-million-2083882
[11] https://eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/65873
[12] https://t.me/chp_kavkaz/23823?single
[13] https://eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/66055
[14] https://eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/66485
[16] https://youtu.be/kyYff32-U7s?si=6ujGFlTVl3iBqiek
[17] https://countercurrents.org/2020/03/history-no-forgetting-no-forgiving/
[20] https://www.newsweek.com/top-russian-oil-executive-dies-moscow-window-fall-2094669
