Speech by Dzhambulat Suleymanov, Chairman of the Chechen national liberation movement Chechen United Force, at the Caucasus Union conference held on July 16, 2026, in the Ukrainian Parliament.

Distinguished representatives of the peoples of the Caucasus!

Dear Ukrainian friends!

It is a great honor for me to speak today at the conference organized in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine — the conference of the Caucasus Union, an association that has become one of the most important results of the long-standing struggle of the peoples of the Caucasus for freedom, dignity, and the right to independently decide their own future.

When the Soviet Union was collapsing, the Chechen nation was among the first to declare its inalienable right to independence, despite not having the status of a union republic.

The Chechens declared their political sovereignty even before the emergence of the Russian Federation. Chechens clearly understood that Russia was incapable of becoming a democratic state if it maintained the political, legal, and ideological continuity of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The very essence was preserved — central colonial rule over subjugated nations.

Unfortunately, at that time, no other nation reached such a conclusion. They hoped they could secure their future within the framework of the Russian Federation.

But history has put everything where it belongs.

Over three decades, the Kremlin has definitively shown that the Russian state system is incapable of existing without war, repression, the destruction of national subjectivity, the suppression of civil liberties, and the denial of the right of nations to independently determine their destiny.

The empire merely changed its name. Its essence remained the same.

The Chechen nation was the first to openly challenge this system.

We paid a terrible price for it. Two devastating wars, hundreds of thousands dead, destroyed cities and villages, mass repressions, state terror, and ongoing occupation became the price of our struggle for freedom.

However, this sacrifice was not in vain.

It was the Chechen resistance that, for the first time after the collapse of the USSR, showed the entire world that the Russian empire is neither a democratic federation nor a union of equal nations. It was the Chechen struggle that shattered the myth of its invincibility and became the first wake-up call for other subjugated nations.

Today we see the results of this historical process.

More and more peoples of the Caucasus and other colonized regions understand that their future is not possible within the imperial model. More and more people realize that the freedom of a nation cannot be limited only to the right to speak their mother tongue, sing national songs, and dance national dances or preserve traditions, if that nation is deprived of the most important thing — the right to be the master of its own land and to independently determine its political future.

Therefore, the goal of the international community should not be limited to projects for reforming the Russian Federation in another attempt to “democratize the empire.”

History has convincingly proven that an empire does not stop being an empire just because it changes its name, constitution, or political regime.

Democratization without decolonization inevitably ends with the preservation of the center’s dominance over colonized nations. An empire cannot transform into a non-imperial structure through reforms. Empires are characterized by only two states — attempts at constant expansion or disintegration.

The word “disintegration” may evoke negative associations with something destructive. In our case, however, this word carries an entirely constructive meaning. We are talking about the realization of a fundamental principle of international law — the right of nations to self-determination.

This right does not only mean the possibility of preserving one’s culture and language. It means the right to independently determine one’s political status, manage one’s natural resources, and create one’s own national states.

That is precisely why the de-imperialization of Russia cannot be limited to the reform of federal institutions. It must be completed by the elimination of the colonial system, and conditions must be created in which every colonized nation will be able to freely decide its future through a democratic expression of will in accordance with the norms of international law.

Therein lies the true meaning of contemporary decolonization.

This is not about creating a new international precedent.

It is about completing the global process of decolonization that began after World War II but was never finished in relation to the last continental empire of Europe — Russia.

That is precisely why dozens of national liberation, decolonization, and de-occupation movements are emerging today.

That is why, at the end of October 2022, the Caucasus Union was created here in Kyiv — an association of nations that realized the necessity of a common struggle for freedom and political self-determination.

An equally important role is played by the Group of Free Nations, which has authorized the Chechen national liberation movement Chechen United Force to represent its interests in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Thanks to our joint work in PACE, a working group has already been established for the implementation of point 2621 of the resolution — the creation of an independent platform for dialogue with colonized nations.

We highly value the cooperation with the Ukrainian delegation to PACE led by Mariia Mezentseva, the support of Ukrainian MP Yuriy Kamelchuk, who coordinates the activities of this group, and the work of the Temporary Special Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on cooperation with national liberation movements, with which we cooperate thanks to Ukrainian MP Tamila Tasheva.

Of particular significance is also the inter-factional parliamentary association of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Free Ichkeria, led by Oleksandr Merezhko, which has become a major political actor in supporting the Chechen nation and all other nations fighting against colonialism.

On behalf of all participants of the working group we established in PACE, which represents various colonized nations, I want to express sincere gratitude to Ukraine.

Today, Ukraine is not only defending its own independence. It has become the state that is the first to create real international mechanisms for the realization of the right of subjugated nations to self-determination.

That is precisely why Ukraine has become a hope for millions of people who continue the struggle for their freedom.

Dear friends!

Thirty years ago, the Chechen nation stood practically alone against the Russian empire.

Today, dozens of nations stand by its side.

Our unity is not a temporary political alliance.

It is a historical necessity.

In the 20th century, the colonial empires of the world collapsed. In the 21st century, the decolonization of the last continental empire of Europe must be completed. And we, the peoples of the Caucasus, intend to be subjects of this process, not its objects.

Long live free Ichkeria!

Long live the free Caucasus!

Glory to Ukraine!