Report on Human Rights Violations in the Republic of Buryatia

by Petr Dondukov
October 2025

1. Introduction and Methodology

This report presents the results of independent monitoring of human rights in the Republic of Buryatia for October 2025. The study was conducted through an analysis of open sources, including reports from OVD-Info, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), official sources from the Buryatia authorities, regional media, and international human rights reports.

Conclusion: the absence of recorded cases of human rights violations in regional monitors does not mean their absence; rather, it indicates the presence of a “chilling effect” and self-censorship in a repressive environment.

2. Political Persecution and Cross-Border Repression

2.1 Detention of Activist Alexander Bolokhoev in the United States. October 2025

Status: “Tusgar Buryad-Mongolia” movement activist (Independent Buryatia-Mongolia)

Alexander Bolokhoev was detained in October 2025 by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the United States. Bolokhoev had requested political asylum and relocated there in 2022. He remains active in anti-war protests.

Key Concern: His organization was designated “terrorist and extremist” by the Russian government in 2023. Activists have expressed grave concern that Bolokhoev risks imprisonment or death if deported to Russia.

2.2 New Criminal Cases Against Exiled Journalists. October 24, 2025

Alexandra Garmazhapova (founder of the “Free Buryatia” foundation)

A new criminal case was initiated against the head of the foundation. This occurred after she was already convicted under articles about spreading “military fakes.” Despite living abroad, the journalist remains under constant threat of persecution by Russian authorities.

Evgenia Baltitarova, Journalist. Trail date: July 17, 2025

She was sentenced in absentia by the Soviet District Court of Ulan-Ude to 7 years imprisonment on charges of spreading “fakes” about the military and failing to comply with foreign agent obligations. The verdict was reported through her Telegram channel.

Anna Zueva, Journalist and YouTuber). Arrest warrant issued July 24, 2025

Zueva’s name has been added to the list of “extremists and terrorists” by Russia’s financial watchdog (Rosfinmonitoring). The charges include “justifying terrorism” and failure to comply with the foreign agent law. She has previously been fined at least five times for violating the foreign agent law.

2.3 Radjana Dugarova, Ethnographer and Activist. August 22, 2025

She was designated as a foreign agent, after which a criminal case was opened, and she was placed on the wanted list. This demonstrates the use of the foreign agent law as a tool for political persecution and the marginalization of activists, even those located outside of Russia.

2.4 Ayan Bayande, Blogger. July 2025

Sentenced in absentia to six years in prison for social media posts about the army and the alleged justification of terrorism.

3. Socio-Economic Crisis and Its Connection to Military Mobilization

3.1 Disproportionate War Casualties

Buryatia continues to suffer significant combat losses.

According to research by the journalistic project “People of Baikal” (September 2025), at least one in seven conscripted fighters from Buryatia mobilized in October 2022 was killed. A joint investigation by BBC Russian Service and Mediazona confirmed more than 3,500 deaths in the region since the beginning of the conflict.

IIn October 2025, 18-year-old fighter Tsyvan Ayurzanaev, who had signed a contract, was among those killed.

3.2 Economic Coercion in Recruitment. October 2025

The Head of the Republic of Buryatia, Alexei Tsydenov, is prepared to offer a one-time payment of 1,000,000 rubles (approximately $12,700) for signing a contract.

Context: The average salary in the region is approximately $600, making such payments a form of economic coercion that exploits the population’s poverty to achieve military objectives.

3.3 Criminal Prosecution of Minors for “Sabotage”. October 2025

Two minors were sent to pretrial detention on charges of sabotage.

According to the FSB, an unknown individual offered them 11,000 rubles (approximately $130) via instant messaging to disable a cell phone tower. The teenagers allegedly completed the task, sent a video, but received only 2,000 rubles.

Concerns: This case raises serious questions about:

  • Exploitation of minors
  • Proportionality of punishment
  • Use of criminal prosecution in the context of information warfare
  • Vulnerabilities of young people in an economically disadvantaged region

4. Persecution of Activities Related to Free Speech

4.1 Censorship in Educational Institutions. October 26, 2025

The Civic Chamber of the Republic of Buryatia appealed to its teachers and school administrations, calling for the cancellation of Halloween celebrations.

The Chamber argued that the holiday contradicts Russia’s “traditional values” and could have a negative psychological impact on children due to images of witches, corpses, skeletons, vampires, ghosts, and zombies.

Problem: This represents a direct attempt by a quasi-governmental body to impose ideological and cultural control over educational institutions, thereby limiting students’ cultural freedom of expression.

4.2 Blocking of Online Content. November 9, 2025

The Kurumkan District Prosecutor’s Office reported a successful lawsuit to restrict access to unspecified “prohibited information” online.

Although the specific content was not specified, such actions constitute a form of censorship that directly impacts freedom of speech and public access to information.

5. Persecution of the LGBTQ+ Community

5.1 Bookstore Raid and Fine for Propaganda in Ulan-Ude

Law enforcement agencies raided a bookstore in connection with a “bad book auction” organized by the owners and local feminists, which included publications with LGBT+ content.

The store owners were fined 100,000 rubles for the alleged “promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors” (Article 6.21, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

5.2 Destruction of a Mural Artwork Due to Social Pressure in Ulan-Ude

The owners of a nightclub were forced to paint over a two-year-old mural due to public pressure. This act of self-censorship illustrates the climate of harassment and fear that affects establishments perceived as LGBT+-friendly.

Analysis: The absence of official administrative prosecution does not mean the absence of pressure; social ostracism and economic threats are just as effective tools of suppression as legal proceedings.

6. Persecution of Civil Organizations

6.1 Tusgaar Buryaad-Mongolia (Independent Buryatia-Mongolia)

Status: Designated as a terrorist and extremist organization in 2023

The Buryat National Liberation Movement has been declared “terrorist” and “extremist” by the Russian state. This designation is used to criminalize any activity associated with the organization, as demonstrated by the case of Alexander Bolokhoev.

6.2 “Free Buryatia” Foundation

Status: Designated as an “undesirable organization” on September 2023; later recognized as “extremist” in 2024

The foundation was banned in Russia, leading to criminal proceedings against its director Aleksandra Garmazhapova, in October 2025.

7. Labor Rights and Social Justice

Massive Labor Rights Violations in Zakamensk District

Sixty-three employees of a commercial organization did not receive wages from April to October 2025, accumulating a debt of 24.2 million rubles.

Although the Prosecutor’s Office intervened and the debt was paid, this demonstrates systematic violations of labor laws in the region’s private sector, where economic instability leaves workers vulnerable to exploitation.

8. Legislative Changes with Human Rights Implications

The Government of the Republic of Buryatia’s Decree 613. October 14, 2025

Content: Procedural changes to the agricultural subsidies issuance, including the introduction of the new “Agromotivator” grant for veterans of special military operations.

Critical Issue: The Decree explicitly excludes individuals recognized as ‘foreign agents’ from the application review committee.

Human Rights Analysis:

  • This constitutes a clear form of political discrimination.
  • Deprives individuals with a particular political position of the right to participate in economic life.
  • Institutionalizes a two-tier citizenship system
  • Demonstrates the regional implementation of the federal strategy for marginalizing dissidents
  • Constitutes a direct violation of the non-discrimination principle

9. Lack of Data as a Significant Indicator

9.1 The Paradox of Silence

In October 2025, OVD-Info monitors recorded no public protests, demonstrations, or pickets in Buryatia. Local media reported on a memorial gathering on October 30th for Remembrance Day for the Victims of Political Repression. Nevertheless, critical details about the sanctioning, the number of participants, and the police response are missing.

9.2 “The Chilling Effect”

The absence of visible mass protests does not indicate the well-being of civil society, but rather shows the successful suppression of public activity through:

  • Legislative barriers (abolition of “undesirable organizations” in direct elections for the mayor of Ulan-Ude – Legislation on “undesirable organizations”)
  • Informal pressure (threats of job loss for protesters and activists)
  • Administrative measures (establishment of a regional headquarters to combat ‘separatism’)
  • Climate of fear (the combined impact of legal, administrative, and social repression)

10. Educational Rights and Restrictions on Cultural Freedom

10.1 Language Rights: Transfer Schools to Buryat Language. Year 2025 and beyond

The Head of the Republic, Alexey Tsydenov, has initiated a program to switch 106 primary schools to the Buryat language of instruction. The program includes translating educational materials and providing teacher training.

Context: This initiative appears exceptional amid Russia’s overall Russification policy, but historically, the Buryat language has been stigmatized, and its speakers have faced social ostracism.

10.2 Increased Military-Patriotic Ideologization

Russian schools, including those in Buryatia, increased the involvement of war veterans and expanded student monitoring at the start of the 2025 academic year.

Mandatory “Conversations on Important Things” and the activities of youth organizations such as “Yunarmiya” create systemic pressure on educational institutions to comply with state patriotic standards.

11. International Context: Buryatia as Part of Russia

11.1 Disproportionate Burden of Military Casualties

Statistics: Buryatia, with a population of less than 1 million, ranks as the leading Russian region in combat casualties per 10,000 men of drafting age.

A study by a Buryat human rights organization found that at least 2,470 residents of Buryatia were killed in combat (data through March 2025).

11.2 Strategic Use of Ethnic Minorities

The Russian state disproportionately deploys indigenous peoples (Buryats, Tuvans, and Mongolian-speaking groups) in military operations. This is combined with economic coercion in poor regions, where the war in Ukraine is used as a means to resolve internal social conflicts and unemployment.

12. Conclusions and Recommendations

12.1 Key Findings

  1. Transnational Persecution: The Russian state is expanding methods of repression against opponents abroad through criminalization and international arrest warrants.
  2. Ideological Censorship: State control over the cultural and information environment is increasing through educational institutions, the internet, and public space.
  3. Economic Coercion: The socioeconomic crisis is being used as a tool for military recruitment, resulting in disproportionate combat losses.
  4. Legislative Discrimination: New regional regulations incorporate federal repressive legislation (classifying them as a foreign agency) into local procedures, expanding its application.
  5. Narrowing Civic Space: The combination of legal, administrative, and social pressures creates an effective mechanism for suppressing public activity that goes beyond official criminal prosecution.

12.2 Recommendations

For the International Community:

  • Monitor the human rights situation in Russia’s ethnic republics, particularly in the context of military mobilization
  • Document cases of the war’s disproportionate impact on indigenous peoples
  • Track cross-border persecution of political opponents

For Regional Authorities of Buryatia:

  • Review regulations containing discriminatory criteria (foreign agent status)
  • Ensure independence of educational institutions from ideological control
  • Guarantee protection of cultural minorities and their right to self-expression

For National Community:

  • Continue documenting and monitoring human rights violations
  • Provide support to victims of political persecution and their families
  • Develop alternative information channels protected from censorship

Sources

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