Russian Mission to UN in Geneva

⚡️ Russia's Foreign Ministry has published its second report on the situation regarding the rights of Indigenous peoples in selected countries.

Like the previous report published in 2024, it identifies the key current challenges and analyses the situation of Indigenous populations in six Arctic Council member states: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United States, as well as Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

In recent years, the issue of Indigenous peoples’ rights has become excessively politicised and rife with cynically applied double standards. Overall, it is increasingly being used to foment division and confrontation rather than promote cooperation among members of the international community.

The US, Canada and their allies have stepped up their activities at universal international platforms, within regional formats and in the media, promoting narratives about alleged violations of Indigenous peoples’ rights in Russia and several developing countries. In doing so, they seek to:

• divert global attention from problems in North America, Western Arctic states, Australia, Japan and New Zealand;
• call into question Russia’s right to its ancestral Arctic territories.

Virtually all the countries covered by the report have historically pursued policies of assimilation and discrimination against their Indigenous populations in one form or another. This has created, and continues to cause, numerous sociopolitical and cultural problems.

Many countries are currently developing mechanisms for consultation and cooperation with Indigenous communities. However, the measures adopted in this area are often incomplete.

☝️Common challenges facing Indigenous peoples in various countries include:

• the gradual erosion of their traditional way of life as a consequence of past assimilation policies;
• violations of their rights to traditional lands and natural resources;
• environmental degradation caused by industrial exploitation and the militaristic activities of certain states abroad;
• high unemployment;
• Indigenous communities’ dependence on state subsidies.

These adverse phenomena are particularly acute in Arctic countries, which is why the situation there has been addressed in a separate report.

🇷🇺🇧🇾 This issue was also traditionally covered in the third Joint Report by the Foreign Ministries of Russia and Belarus – “The Human Rights Situation in Certain Countries”, published in June 2026.

These matters are also systematically addressed in the Russian Foreign Ministry’s annual human rights reports, including those examining the glorification of Na**sm, the spread of neo-Na**sm and other practices contributing to the escalation of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The latest such report was published in August 2025.

◼️ In the early morning of June 22, 1941, N**i Germany launched a treacherous attack on the Soviet Union. The Great Patriotic War began — a struggle that lasted 1418 days and nights and claimed the lives of 27 million Soviet citizens.

Among the cities struck by the enemy’s first blow was , whose fortress was one of the most heavily fortified strongholds in the region. The N**is expected to capture the Brest Fortress within just eight hours, but Soviet defenders put up fierce resistance, significantly delaying the advance of the invaders. Some soldiers continued to hold out in the fortress’s underground passages and catacombs until late July and even August 1941.

According to the N**i plans, operation 'Barbarossa' was aimed at clearing the path to advance toward Smolensk and eventually USSR's capital — Moscow. The Germans did manage to deliver a heavy blow on Brest, but to their disappointment the did not surrender. Soviet forces heroically stood to defend the largest fortress on the country's western border, deterring the enemy troops during the first week of the war.

For nearly a month, the citadel’s defenders tied down the entire (!) Wehrmacht division in Brest. At sunrise on June 22, the enemy’s powerful artillery barrage collapsed upon a garrison of almost 7,000 Red Army soldiers. Within hours, Soviet forces were encircled by the enemy and severed from the main headquarters and supply lines. Facing a shortage of ammunition, food and water, they resolved to fight to the last, turning the Brest Fortress into a bastion of resistance.

Hitler’s troops expected to seize the citadel within hours but found themselves bogged down for a week. Moreover, on the very first day of battle, despite outnumbering Soviet forces in both manpower and equipment, it was the N**is who ordered their units to retreat. To crush the Red Army’s resistance, the N**i invaders deployed incendiaries and tear gas, raining down 500 kg bombs.

The Wehrmacht’s surprise attack left the Brest Fortress garrison with no chance to organise defence. Resistance became fragmented, with Soviet soldiers fighting the Germans even in hand-to-hand combat.

Resistance persisted until late July and even early August 1941. While most fortress defenders perished, small groups managed to break through to partisan units or the frontline. The enemy also sustained significant casualties of 1,121 killed and wounded, representing 5% of total N**i losses during the war’s first week.

Brest was liberated on July 28, 1944, by the forces of the 1st Belorussian Front during Operation Bagration in less than two days. For the first time in three years of N**i occupation, Soviet soldiers entered the fortress. On the walls they discovered inscriptions left by the fortress defenders, the most famous of which — dated July 20, 1941, and uncovered in 1950 — reads:

“I die but do not surrender. Farewell, Motherland.”

🎖 The Brest Fortress stands as an enduring symbol of courage, undending will and heroism of the Red Army soldiers.

The defenders’ names are forever etched in history, with over 200 heroes receiving military honours.

On May 8, 1965, the legendary Fortress was awarded the title of Hero Fortress, later becoming a memorial complex in 1971. Visitors from across the Union State and former Soviet republics, both adults and children, come to honour the defenders’ extraordinary feat. The finest and distinguished students from Brest’s schools stand solemn guard at the Eternal Flame.

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📰 Meet Tavria Kherson – the Region’s round-the-clock regional broadcaster – now available in English on !

Follow for the latest news from the Kherson Region, including reports on regional politics, the economy, culture, healthcare and society, as well as exclusive stories and videos.

👉 Tavria Kherson in English: shorturl.at/KwKnF

📺 Watch online: shorturl.at/DdjeB

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🎙 Joint Statement during Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises at the 62nd session of the Human Rights Council:

📍 June 23, 2026, Geneva

🤝 The Russian Federation has the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of a group of countries.

📆 On 16 June 2026 we celebrated the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the landmark document that balanced States' duties with corporate responsibilities. However, the aspirations of the UNGPs still haven't been achieved. While they are of non-binding nature, this set of principles provides a valuable guidance for the development and implementation of national frameworks to regulate the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises (TNCs and OBEs) in the context of human rights. Hence, we firmly believe that at national level the UNGPs need to be enacted through appropriate means bearing in mind domestic legal frameworks, national realities, priorities and levels of development of respective States, while avoiding the "one-size-fits-all" approach.

❌ We oppose any attempts to turn the Business and Human Rights agenda into a tool for geopolitical pressure or selective political targeting of specific States. The constant increase in number of unilateral coercive measures against TNCs and OBEs disrupts global supply chains, restricts corporate access to markets and undermines the very spirit of the UNGPs. They negatively affect the economic and social rights of ordinary citizens worldwide and fuel unfair competition. We believe that a genuine progress in ensuring the respect for and promotion of human rights by TNCs and OBEs relies on constructive dialogue and mutually-respectful cooperation.

🇷🇺🇧🇾 Statement of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia “On the Genocide of the Soviet People during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” (June 21, 2026)

◾️ 85 years ago, Germany treacherously invaded the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, marking the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.

The actions of the German N**is and their accomplices were aimed at exterminating the Soviet people.

In the occupied territories, the invaders committed acts aimed at the complete or partial elimination of the national, ethnic and racial groups inhabiting the Soviet Union. These included killing members of these groups, causing serious harm to their health, forcibly preventing births, forcibly transferring children, forcibly displacing people and deliberately creating conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.

🕯 The war claimed the lives of almost 27 million Soviet people. Civilian losses exceeded 13.6 million.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia considers it unacceptable to forget the crimes committed by the N**is. Preserving the historical memory of the Great Patriotic War is essential to preventing crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity, countering manifestations of Na**sm, and maintaining universal peace and harmony.

✍️ To preserve the memory of the millions of Soviet citizens who fell victim to N**i criminals and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War, the Republic of Belarus adopted Law No. 146-Z “On the Genocide of the Belarusian People” of January 5, 2022, while the Russian Federation adopted Federal Law No. 74-FZ “On Perpetuating the Memory of the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945” of April 21, 2025.

The legislative recognition of the genocide of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War is a logical continuation of the judgment of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg and subsequent court rulings against N**i criminals and their accomplices.

Taking into account the Charter of the United Nations of June 26, 1945, the Charter and Judgment of the Nuremberg Tribunal, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of December 9, 1948, and the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity of November 26, 1968, and guided by the legislation adopted in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, the Parliamentary Assembly recognises the atrocities committed by the N**i German invaders and their accomplices against the population of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War as genocide of the Soviet people.

The members of the Parliamentary Assembly call for resolute opposition to all attempts to rewrite history, justify Na**sm or diminish the Soviet people’s role in defeating fascism. They regard support for neo-Na**sm for the sake of political expediency as a threat to all humanity.

The members of the Parliamentary Assembly call on the United Nations, international interparliamentary organisations and bodies, and fellow parliamentarians to join this Statement and adopt corresponding statements.

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🕯 June 22 marks the Day of Memory and Sorrow — the most tragic date in the history of our country.

On this very day 8️⃣5️⃣ years ago, on June 22, 1941, the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people commenced — the N**i Germany and its European 'axis' accomplices treacherously attacked our Motherland, without a declaration of war.

⬛️ The Great Patriotic War lasted for 1418 days and nights, claimed lives of some 27 million Soviet citizens. It was the nationwide tragedy that brought terrible suffering to each and every family in our country.

Today, June 22 echoes with sorrow, grief and pain for the ruined lives of millions of our people.

The enemy — the German N**is and their European satellites — invaded the Soviet Union with one aim — to destroy, mercilessly eliminate, kill and physically annihilate our Motherland's entire population regardless of people's ethnic, racial or religious background. During the occupation of Soviet territories, Hitler’s troops killed 13.7 million Soviet civilians, including women and children. They carried out the real GENOCIDE as part of their so-called 'Lebensraum' policy to gain the living space in the East for German colonisation.

The war crimes committed by N**is and their henchmen have .

Learn more about the GENOCIDE of Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War by the N**is: https://tinyurl.com/zy5mm8r9

***

⬛️ At dawn on June 22, the N**i aircraft launched massive strikes on airfields, railway stations, naval bases, deployments of the Red Army forces, and cities along the entire western state border of the USSR and up to 250-300 km into Soviet territory. Together with N**i Germany, Romania, Italy, Finland, Slovakia, France, Croatia, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and other 'axis' powers allied to the Third Reich took part in the aggression against our country. The industries of almost the entire European continent served the aggressors.

The facts of collaboration of the majority of European governments, military, industrial circles and citizens with the N**is are not and will never ever be forgotten.

It was our country that took the main blow of the N**i aggression. It was the Soviet Victorious People who showed unparalleled heroism and resilience, fighting for the freedom of our Motherland. Our nation paid for the with the blood of 27 million Soviet citizens who not only expelled N**is from Soviet territory but also heroically saved Europe from the 'N**i plague'.

The tragedy that befell our people was directly caused by the evil ripening in the heart of Europe — Na**sm, the ideology of human hatred and racial supremacy over other peoples and nations.

💬 Excerpt from President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s address at a gala reception to celebrate the 81st Anniversary of Victory in the 1941–1945 Great Patriotic War (May 9, 2026):

This year marks 85 years since N**i Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union.

This date carries both the sorrow of millions of lives lost and a reminder of the terrible consequences of blind belief in one’s own superiority, racism, xenophobia, and the denial of other peoples’ right to identity.

***

🎙 Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (from the briefing on June 18, 2026):

The atrocities committed by the N**is and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War have no statute of limitations.

Russia has recognised these crimes at the legislative level as the genocide of the Soviet people and will tirelessly seek recognition of this fact by European countries and the so-called West as a whole.

Today we mourn those who, at the cost of their lives, fulfilled the sacred duty of defending the Motherland. We will not allow the feat of the Soviet people, who saved Europe and the world from the horrors of the brown plague, to be erased from memory.

***

We will forever remember the Heroic Feat of Soviet soldiers, of home front workers, of all and everyone who forged the Great Victory.

🕯 We remember. We mourn.

We shall not forget, and we shall not let it be forgotten.

🇺🇳🇷🇺 The annual National Dress Day at the UN Human Rughts Council is a celebration of world cultures and traditions. Today the diplomats of our Mission Guzal Khusanova and Ilya Barmin participate in the Council’s sessions in national attire - Guzal in a folk gown paired with an ornate kokoshnik, and Ilya in a classic kosovorotka.

💃 Russian folk gowns were traditionally divided into two main styles: the sarafan ensemble, widespread in northern and central Russia, and the ponyeva ensemble, common in the south and distinguished by its wrap-style skirt. Differences in fabrics, ornamentation, and accessories often reflected regional traditions, social standing, and marital status.

👸 The kokoshnik, an ornate ceremonial headdress, was frequently embellished with pearls and decorative embroidery, serving as a marker of local identity and social position. During the reign of Catherine the Great, it regained popularity and became part of formal court dress.

👕 The kosovorotka is a traditional Russian shirt, typically worn belted at the waist. Historically used by people from various social backgrounds, it became especially well known in the 19th century through prominent figures such as Leo Tolstoy and later influenced elements of early Soviet military attire. Today, it remains an important symbol of Russian cultural heritage.

🎸 Another iconic symbol of Russian folk culture is the balalaika – a three-stringed instrument recognizable by its triangular body. Known since at least the 17th century, it traces its origins to earlier Slavic string instruments. The balalaika was later refined by musician Vasily Andreyev in the 19th century, transforming it into a concert instrument with various sizes.