The Moscow Times is republishing the weekly news wrap spotlighting the latest developments in Russia’s ethnic republics and Indigenous communities, which was originally published by From the Republics.
Tyva & Sakha ablaze
- Authorities in the Siberian republic of Tyva on Sunday declared a region-wide state of emergency for the second time this month due to ongoing wildfires. Forest fires engulfed a total area of more than 6,300 hectares and came close to residential areas in the central Tandinsky kozhuun (district).
- Meanwhile, more than 350,000 hectares of forest were ablaze in the Far East republic of Sakha (Yakutia), where a state of emergency has been in place since July.
- Residents of at least 45 localities in Sakha were impacted by wildfire smog exposure as of Monday, according to the local emergencies ministry.
(Mandatory) support for Kursk
- In the latest display of loyalty to the Kremlin, the heads of Russia’s republics rushed to provide support for displaced residents of the Kursk region, where Ukraine’s offensive is entering its third week.
- The head of Dagestan, the poorest republic of the North Caucasus, asked local residents to send a sum equal to one-day earnings to the state-run All Together foundation.
- And the heads of Bashkortostan and Chuvashia expressed readiness to accommodate refugees in their regions.
International Buddhist Forum
- Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Far East republic of Buryatia, hosted Russia’s second annual government-led International Buddhist Forum.
- Delegates from 13 countries, including China, Japan, Mongolia and Thailand, were in attendance, according to event organizers.
- Lama Damba Ayusheev, the official head of Russia’s Buddhist community, backed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at its start in February 2022.
Tatar mathematician behind bars
- A Moscow court on Thursday upheld a four-year prison sentence for Tatar mathematician Azat Miftakhov on charges linked to his purported “approval” of a deadly attack on an FSB building in the northern city of Arkhangelsk.
- Miftakhov, 31, was arrested in September 2023 immediately as he left prison after serving a previous six-year sentence for breaking an office window of the ruling United Russia party.
- The mathematician was designated a political prisoner by the Memorial rights group.
Chuvash language in iOS
- iPhone users worldwide will be able to use a Chuvash-language interface from this fall thanks to a volunteer initiative led by language activist Konstantin Glukharyov.
- Chuvash, the only surviving member of the Oghur branch of Turkic languages, will become the first Indigenous language from Russia to be featured in iOS.
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