Reaction of Edinaya Rossiya to Shtygashev's phrase provokes new protest in Kalmykia

Kalmyk activists expressed their dissatisfaction with a party penalty as the only response to the statement about the deportation of Kalmyks voiced by Vladimir Shtygashev, the speaker of the parliament of Khakassia, a member of the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party. The activists announced holding a next action.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 10, about 350 residents of Kalmykia signed a resolution with the demand to expel Vladimir Shtygashev from the "Edinaya Rossiya" Party for his statements justifying the Stalinist deportation of Kalmyk people.

The "Edinaya Rossiya" Party considered the Vladimir Shtygashev's statements as "inconsistent with the party's basic principles" and demanded a party penalty for the MP.

Residents of Kalmykia are dissatisfied with the reaction of the "Edinaya Rossiya" Party to the statement voiced by Vladimir Shtygashev, so local activists submitted an application for the next rally on February 29, said Vyacheslav Ubushiev, an organizer of the action, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Elista Courier".

According to him, the purpose of the rally scheduled for February 29 was "to protect the civil and constitutional rights and dignity of the Oirat-Kalmyk people." However, according to the organizer of the rally, the rally participants may expand their demands.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 21, 2020 at 01:29 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.