Authorities organized a political campaign inside the Indigenous movement in regions to change the leadership of RAIPON to a more loyal person, which would not criticize the federal government for Indigenous policy. That person became the new Deputy of State Duma Grigory Ledkov. This person was elected to the Russian Parliament from the biggest Russian political pro-Putin’s party “United Russia” in December 2011 and before that time he was totally unknown inside the Indigenous movement of Russia. The authorities threatened and pressured Indigenous leaders in regions in order to force them to vote for the “proper” candidate in RAIPON’s Congress that was organized in April 2013 under the unprecedented control of the Presidential Administration and the Federal Security Service (FSB).
2014.03 Dmitry Berezhkov. New Political Realities for the Indigenous Movement in Russia