"Ethnic minorities in Russia understand the pain of Ukrainian people like no other"

Sargylan Kondakova from Melbourne is yukagir. It is a small ethnic group in Sakha Republic in the Northern Siberia.

Саргылана Кондакова в студии SBS Credit: SBS Russian

SBS Russian spoke to Sargylana about the foundation she and other activists from the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) started and the foundation's antiwar activities.

Sargylana spoke about her anti-war video filmed on a bridge in Melbourne that went viral on TikTok and was viewed by over 2 million people. "Mostly, it was Ukrainians who sent incredibly supportive comments," says Sargylana, adding. "This is how the whole world found out that the Indigenous people of Russia are against the war."

Саргылана в студии SBS Credit: SBS Russian

When Putin announced so-called "partial mobilization", the foundation organized a peaceful protest in Russia. The protest was attended by more than 500 women. They danced the national folk dance Osuohai and shouted the slogans "No to war!" and “No to the genocide of minorities!”.

In December, Sargylana attended an anti-war congress in Berlin, where she talked about how the mobilization disproportionately affected smaller ethnic groups of Siberia.