An open letter from the government of independent Tatarstan in exile to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi
Esteemed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, we support your demand to dismantle the “Victory in the East” memorial, dedicated to the USSR’s victory over Japan and unveiled in Khabarovsk on 4 September. The Japanese people and we are outraged by the image of a Soviet soldier destroying a border post bearing the Imperial Chrysanthemum emblem. However, the Russian authorities have stated that they will neither remove nor alter this monument, although they should first apologiіe to the Japanese people for the insult.
Indeed, this monument deeply offends the Japanese; we understand your position, as we Tatars have often had to face similar situations. Russian colonisers have, in various regions, been erecting monuments to Ivan the Terrible, who committed genocide against the Tatar people and other peoples. Also, in recent years, dozens of monuments to participants in the “SVO” have been erected in Russia; this testifies to the imperialist attitude toward Ukrainians.
Yes, this memorial was created precisely on Putin’s orders—through the joint efforts of the Russian Military Historical Society and the Khabarovsk Krai government—whose goal is to exacerbate tensions between Russia and Japan. It is worth noting that Putin is continuing the policies of Ivan the Terrible and Joseph Stalin; suffice it to recall the massacres of Azerbaijanis, Kazakhs, Crimean Tatars, Circassians, Chechens, Georgians, Syrians, and Ukrainians.
Sincerely,
Rafis Kashapov, Prime Minister of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile
Vil Mirzayanov, Honorary Advisor of the PNT in Exile
Isa Sadykov, Honorary Consul of the PNT in Exile in Azerbaijan
Nafis Kashapov, Deputy Prime Minister of the PNT in Exile
Marat Akhmerov, Deputy Prime Minister of the PNT in Exile for Legal and Legislative Issues
Zufar Zainullin, Ambassador of the PNT in Exile in the Republic of Latvia
Vyacheslav Sivchik, Honorary Consul of the PNT in Exile in Belarus
Dmitry Kuznetsov, Representative of the PNT in Exile in Finland
Kamil Sukayev, Ambassador of the PNT in Exile to the USA / Representative of the Free Idel-Ural Movement, New York, USA
Nurmukhamet Yunusov, Representative of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile for Interaction with the Peoples of the Lower Volga Region
Baatr Pyurbeev, the PNT representative in exile for interaction with Mongolian peoples;
Zilya Usmanova, the representative of the government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile for Interaction with the Tatars of the Urals;
Alina Koltsova, a PNT activist in exile in Sweden;
Raushan Gizatullin, the PNT representative in exile in Bavaria
Anti-imperial Block of Nations: https://abn.org.ua/en/history/an-open-letter-from-the-government-of-independent-tatarstan-in-exile-to-japanese-prime-minister-sanae-takaichi/
https://tatar-toz.blogspot.com/2026/09/an-open-letter-from-government-of.html
https://x.com/indtatarstan/status/2097277083302957075
https://x.com/Rafis_Kashapov/status/2097373776371491131
https://kashapov-rafis.livejournal.com/837603.html?newpost=1
