Monthly Report on Human Rights Violations in Tatarstan
September 2025
ABSTRACT
The disregard of human rights continues in the current government of the Republic of Tatarstan. In addition to the ongoing repression and election violations, the militarization of children and violations of international law regarding mercenarism were also recorded.
Militarization of Children by the State Education System
In September, the perpetuation of pro-imperial militarization of children by the state education system was noted explicitly in Tatarstan. The extracurricular reading list compiled by Moscow with books that portray war crimes as heroism is filled with propaganda and false information, not only about the Russian Federation but also about other countries.
Besides practically eliminating the native languages of the peoples it occupied from schools, Moscow also significantly curtailed the study of all foreign languages in September. Instead of teaching the children about their people, their native Republic, and the democratic foundations of a healthy society, the Ministry of Education would devote these “liberated” hours to the “Great Rus” propaganda and to instilling in the children of the imperialist military aspirations. Against the will of parents, schools are being turned into a weapon for the assimilation of non-Russian peoples into “Russians” and the preparation of children for further imperial conquests. Such a distortion of the education system violates both Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
https://www.cultmanager.ru/news/16624-minprosveshcheniya-predstavilo-spisok-sovremennyh-patrioticheskih-knig-dlya-vneklassnogo
Recruiting Tatars as Mercenaries in Africa.
Russian occupiers have begun using Tatarstan as a mercenary platform for military expansion in Africa and have started recruiting Tatars into the Afrika Korps. This is a violation of the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing, and Training of Mercenaries.
Russian authorities are using Tatar imams loyalists (likely for money or other benefits) to recruit Muslims from the Republic of Tatarstan, convincing them that they were going there (in the Russian army) to defend African Muslims.
https://www.idelreal.org/a/ispolnyaet-poruchenie-moskvy-na-otlichno-tatarstan-utverdilsya-v-roli-glavnogo-tsentra-verbovki-v-afrikanskiy-korpus-/33512500.html
Selective Justice: Exonerating Russian Nazis and Vandals
In September, cases of attacks on religious buildings by Russian Nazis, including arson and the tossing of pig heads (desecration), were recorded. Such cases, unfortunately, are often silenced. Law enforcement in the Russian Federation would rarely initiate criminal cases for such offenses. They would refuse to validate these instances or deem the perpetrators “cannot be found.”
https://74.ru/text/criminal/2025/09/16/76031680
War Criminals Promoted in Local Government Elections
On the single voting day of September 14, 113, “deputies” who directly participated in the war against Ukraine were elected to municipal districts. And, as if placing international criminals in positions of power wasn’t enough, a new law was passed that eliminated the requirement for heads of administration to have higher education. The already low quality of Russian civil servants and government officials is rapidly worsening.
https://www.idelreal.org/a/v-tatarstane-uchastnikam-voyny-mogut-razreshit-rabotat-v-organah-mestnogo-samoupravleniya-selskih-poseleniy-bez-vysshego-obrazovaniya/33515318.html
Election Violations
One of the few violations in the local elections in Tatarstan to come to light was the denial of observers’ access to some polling stations.
In the village of Biryuly, in the Republic of Tatarstan, local election observer Aigul Nuriyeva was detained for allegedly engaging in illegal campaigning. After two hours at the police station, she was released. However, Aigul was unable to monitor the election process and was absent for 3 hours, which led her to miss potential evidence of fraud.
https://ovd.info/story/vybory-2025-zaderzhaniya-i-davlenie?news_id=72621
The presidential election in the Republic of Tatarstan was held on September 14. Rustam Minnikhanov has been re-elected as the head of Tatarstan for the fifth consecutive term. The contest result was finalized despite his asset declaration revealing evidence of corruption. Navalny’s team published an investigation into Minnikhanov’s wife’s billion-dollar income and the bribes he, Minnikhanov, himself took.
https://www.dw.com/ru/fbk-nashel-u-semi-prezidenta-tatarstana-nedvizhimosti-na-39-3-mln-evro-a-54874144/a-54874144
https://meduza.io/feature/2020/09/09/fbk-nashel-u-semi-glavy-tatarstana-nedvizhimost-na-3-5-milliarda-rubley
Considering that the head of the republic wields the administrative resources, it can be assumed that the said official would be unwilling to relinquish power through fair, independent elections. Therefore, it would be appropriate to limit the number of terms a single person can serve as the head of the Republic of Tatarstan to two. The people of Tatarstan deserve a democratic and legitimate government, not a criminal one.
REPRESSION
Patriot and Veteran Agliullin Given 2.5 Years of Probation
As part of the persecution of Tatar activists fighting for Tatarstan’s independence from Russia, national patriot and veteran of the Tatarstan national liberation movement Zinnur Agliullin was given a suspended sentence of 2.5 years for statements he made in a closed internet conference and underground stream where he spoke out against the Russian occupation of Tatarstan.
https://www.sova-center.ru/racism-xenophobia/news/counteraction/2025/09/d50748
Twin Brothers Fined for LGBT Propaganda
Tatarstan twins were fined 200,000 rubles for posting joint photos and videos of their sports training and travels on Instagram, under the LGBT propaganda statute (Part 3, Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). However, the court did not specify the specific publications, which constitutes a gross violation of the procedure for imposing sanctions for such a “crime.”
https://verstka.media/v-tatarstane-bratev-blizneczov-oshtrafovali-za-propagandu-lgbt-v-instagram
Kazan Pensioner Sentenced for Anti-War Comments
Irina Nikolskaya, a 64-year-old activist and retired history teacher, was given a three-year suspended sentence for defamation of the army (Part 1, Article 280 of the Russian Criminal Code). She was also banned for four years from leaving comments on anyone’s posts or administering websites; in other words, she was forbidden from expressing her personal opinion.
Her VKontakte page expresses regret over the thousands of Russian soldiers dying in the war and the suffering of Ukrainian civilians. One comment read: “Where did your heroes drop their bombs? Children and women without electricity; maternity hospitals and kindergartens without water. The people have truly become brutalized to be able to rejoice in this and consider it heroic.”
https://t.me/rusnews/73730
https://ovd.info/express-news/2025/09/16/pensionerku-iz-kazani-osudili-po-delu-ob-antivoennykh-kommentariyakh-i
Chelny Resident Received One Probational Sentence and a Fine for Using the Word Orc
Ravil Nabiullin, a resident of Naberezhnye Chelny, was given a three-year suspended sentence for making repeated insulting statements against the Russian military in Ukraine (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Russian Criminal Code). In February 2024, he was fined 30,000 rubles under Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses for calling a Russian soldier an “orc” in a group chat.
https://ovd.info/express-news/2025/09/09/zhitelyu-tatarstana-naznachili-uslovnyy-srok-iz-za-kommentariev-s