INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A young Komi-Karelian activist announced this month that he was able to escape Russia despite being featured as a key witness in a
Combating Extremism, risking receiving lengthy jail terms on charges of inciting ethnic hatred, engaging in terrorist activities or
the republics of Bashkortostan, Mordovia and Tatarstan
Similarly to Goldin, all of them were suspected of harboring anti-government sentiments and maintaining links with outlawed pro-independence
their language and traditional lifestyle amid wide-reaching Russification
Goldin recalled, using the historic Slavic collective name for the Finnic peoples of northwestern Russia
collage with an alternative flag of Komi co-designed by Goldin
interest in the history of his peoples and indigenous politics was further stimulated by the invasion of neighboring Ukraine, which has been
the invasion, Goldin dove even deeper into the history and cultural traditions of his peoples and decided to share his findings in a
Telegram channel of the Karelian National Liberation Movement, a far-right pro-independence organization founded by exiled Karelian activist
citizens by asking them to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces
officers took Goldin for questioning straight from a lecture at his college, the Higher School of Fishery and Marine Technologies in
The officers also accused the activist of harboring Rusophobic sentiments and forced him to record a video in which he could be seen
Goldin Courtesy photo Goldin said that the officers repeatedly threatened him with an arrest and a lengthy term in a Siberian penal colony
encounter with the FSB as a precursor to his own imminent arrest
escape from Russia due to security concerns but confirmed to The Moscow Times that he is currently awaiting a humanitarian visa issued by an
