An interview by Pope Francis in which he suggested that Chechen and Buryat members of the Russian armed forces have shown greater cruelty in Ukraine than ethnic Russians has sparked outrage in Russia.
“In general, perhaps the most cruel are those who are from Russia but are not of Russian tradition, such as Chechens, Buryats and so on,” the Pope told the Catholic magazine America.
During the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian armed forces relied to a significant extent on members of ethnic minorities. Although human rights groups and independent media have documented numerous evidences of war crimes committed by Russian forces, there is no evidence to suggest that soldiers belonging to ethnic minorities behaved worse than ethnic Russians, writes The Guardian.
The Pope’s speech was quickly condemned by high-ranking Russian officials.
“This is no longer Russophobia, it is perversion on an unprecedented level,” said the spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marija Zakharova, on her Telegram channel.
“We are one family with Buryats, Chechens and other representatives of our multinational and multi-confessional country,” Zaharova added.
Aleksandra Garmažapova, the founder of the anti-war organization Free Buryatia, called the comments “unforgivable and racist”.
“I was extremely disappointed to read these racist, unforgivable statements. Russia is waging an imperial war that was started and is being led by Vladimir Putin, who apparently is not a member of an ethnic minority. The Pope should personally condemn him, but he decided to bypass the Russian president,” she added. is Garmažapova.
She recalled the fact that the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, is one of the biggest advocates of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Garmazhapova points out that the Ukrainian investigation has identified a group of ethnic Russian soldiers as the main suspects in the murders of civilians in Buca last spring.
This is not the first time the Pope has faced criticism for his views on Ukraine. Kyiv has criticized him on several occasions since the start of the Russian invasion for not adequately condemning the Kremlin’s moves.
Also, great controversy was caused by the Pope’s statement that the West “may have somehow provoked” the Russian invasion.