Ombudsman Media platform’s goal is to make the world aware of the indigenous peoples living within the territory of contemporary Russia. These peoples have lived there long before their lands were conquered and absorbed into the Russian state – first Muscovy, then the Russian Empire, then the Soviet Union. And they are still there. Yet few speak of them or know their names.

These indigenous peoples are subjected to repression. Their cultural rights are violated. The state authorities are purposefully trying to erase their languages and ethnic identities. Their schools are shut down, their activists arrested. Their lands are seized for resource extraction, leaving communities in poverty. But they are not broken.

Our platform is in contact with human rights activists from several of these indigenous communities, who call themselves free ombudsmen and ombudswomen – unofficial but committed defenders of their people. They have taken on the task of documenting and regularly reporting violations of human and cultural rights in their regions and against their peoples. We publish their reports on our site.

Ombudsman Media urges you to read and share these reports. Pass this information on – stand by these peoples

Ombudsman Media is the official media platform of the “Free Ombudsman Association,” a registered NGO.