In an interview with the Jesuit magazine America, Pope Francis said about the war in Ukraine, Chechen and Buryat soldiers behaved more brutally. “In general, perhaps the most cruel are those who live in Russia but are not of Russian tradition, such as Chechens and Buryats”, judged the pope. He was thus referring to acts of torture in eastern Ukraine during the conflict.
Francis I was questioned by the American media on his reluctance to condemn Russia directly. He justified his remarks by saying he had received a lot of information from Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelensky about the brutality of the troops, but added that “the one invading is the Russian state”.
A statement that does not pass in Russia
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the pope’s comments were an example of Russophobia. “It’s not Russophobia anymore, it’s perversion on a level I can’t even name”, she got carried away on her Telegram channel. “We are one family with Buryats, Chechens and other representatives of our multinational and multi-religious country.”
Russia has many republics with distinct ethnic and religious groups. Chechens are an ethnic group originating from Chechnya in the North Caucasus (southwestern Russia) and are predominantly Muslim. Their leader, dictator Ramzan Kadyrov, widely supported the war in Ukraine and is said to have even sent his own sons to fight. The Buryats are a Mongolian ethnic group originating from Buryatia, Eastern Siberia, and are Buddhists and shamans by tradition.
For her part, Alexandra Garmazhapova, the founder of the anti-war organization Free Buryatia, created in 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, called the Pope’s remarks “inexcusable and racist”, reports The Guardian. “I was extremely disappointed to read these racist and inexcusable statements”
”Russia is waging a war begun and led by Vladimir Poutine, who is obviously not a member of an ethnic minority. The pope should condemn him personally, but he decided to spare the Russian president. Let’s not forget that the Russian Orthodox Church is one of the biggest supporters of the warBuryat community advocate Alexandra Garmazhapova added, referring to the Russian Orthodox Church leader’s public support for the war.