Historical and Indigenous Peoples Face Obstacles to Returning to Their Homeland
By: Adel Bashqawi
December 30, 2025
The struggle of Indigenous and historical peoples to return to their ancestral homelands is not merely a legal question—it is a test of whether states honor truth, dignity, and the enduring rights of those who existed long before modern borders were drawn.
When the Russian state—under its various successive regimes—began to focus intently on territorial expansion beyond its initial borders in the Principality of Muscovy, and later across vast, uncontrolled, and scattered territories, it showed no regard for the humanity of the peoples and nations who became its prey and helpless victims. These Russian campaigns amounted to nothing more than the seizure and annexation of other peoples’ homelands and the suppression of their voices. There was no intention of spreading benevolence, compassion, or fostering peaceful coexistence. Instead, entire nations became targets to be attacked at any moment and for any reason, in pursuit of predetermined plans designed to fulfill colonial ambitions at any cost.
Russia eventually confronted the consequences of its mismanagement of social and demographic affairs. The poor handling of the diverse peoples under its control became commonplace, as successive administrations demonstrated a flawed understanding of their responsibilities—believing, incorrectly and irresponsibly, that these matters were not their concern. This mismanagement became impossible to ignore, especially regarding Indigenous peoples.
As one analysis notes:
“The Russian government does not have an agreed‑upon list of ‘the historical peoples of the country,’ those nations whose members either now or in the past had such a status and therefore whose members currently abroad have the right to return as compatriots, Nezavisimaya gazeta says. A major reason such a list does not exist is that the Kremlin doesn’t want to see an influx of people from some nations such as the Circassians because that would change the ethnic balance in various parts of Russia and could generate social and political instability.” [1]
In all cases, the right of return has been codified in ways that impose prohibitive conditions—such as requiring fluency in the Russian language—that make it impossible for some ethnic groups to qualify. It is important to note that many of these peoples, particularly the Circassians, have the right under international law and custom to return to their homeland, from which they were forcibly expelled when it was occupied. Their ancestors lived there for thousands of years—long before a Russian state existed.
Accordingly, the historical and Indigenous Circassian presence, culture, civilization, history, and diaspora cannot be denied or ignored. Circassians are inextricably linked to their homeland and their national identity. As another analysis explains:
“But without such a list, Moscow must continue to rely on Russian‑language knowledge as the primary basis for deciding who can qualify as a compatriot and who cannot—a reliance Putin favors but that has the effect of blocking the return of favored groups and allowing the return of some the regime would prefer not to have come back. Thus, the current struggle to come up with such a list, although unlikely to yield one anytime soon because of the political sensitivities involved, will remain an important indicator of where Russian official opinion now is regarding who’s in and who’s out as far as the formation of Putin’s favored ‘Russian world’ is concerned.” [2]
It is also worth noting that Russia’s population has been declining steadily for years—a trend that has proven impossible to halt or even slow under current conditions. This demographic crisis will pose significant challenges in the medium and long term. The situation is worsened by the government’s refusal to allow the return of those who have a legitimate right to return to their ancestral homeland, particularly members of smaller Indigenous peoples whose territories remain under Russian occupation and were illegally annexed by the colonial state. Meanwhile, no such restrictions apply to ethnic Russians, who are considered part of Putin’s “Russian world.”
As one report states:
“Ethnic Russians, who form the core of President Vladimir Putin’s oft‑promoted ‘Russian world,’ are rapidly declining in number, with many of those who had identified as Russian in the past no longer doing so—thus driving down the percentage of the Russian Federation’s population that is ethnically Russian. According to Russian census figures released at the end of December 2022, even though Russia’s population increased slightly between 2010 and 2021, the number of people who identified as ethnic Russians fell from 111,016,896 to 105,579,179, a decline of 5,437,717—or almost 5 percent. And, in turn, this decline means that the share of the population identifying as ethnic Russian fell from 77.71 percent in the 2010 census to 71.73 percent in the current one, far below the 80 percent that the Kremlin routinely claims.” [3]
Until every displaced nation is allowed to reclaim its homeland without obstruction or discrimination, the wounds of history will remain open and the promise of justice unfulfilled.
References:
[1] https://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2024/12/moscow-struggles-to-come-up-with-list.html?m=1&s=09
[2] https://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2024/12/moscow-struggles-to-come-up-with-list.html?m=1&s=09
