She is 75 years old, and she has spent more than half her life in Germany, far from her homeland and her people, of whom few have heard. Tjan Zaochnaya is an Itelmen. This is the oldest people of Kamchatka; their self-designation, “itenmen,” means “the one who exists.” Tyan left the USSR in 1980 as a dissident. Since then, in Munich — first at Radio Liberty and later at a volunteer radio station — she has been introducing Germans to the indigenous peoples of Russia and their colonial history.

“I’ve known about the Crimean Tatars and their struggle for a long time, ever since Soviet times. You often consider yourselves a small people caught in the whirlwind between the interests of great nations. However, to me, an Itelmen woman, you are great, and your struggle is visible and inspiring.”

There are now no more than three thousand Itelmen in Kamchatka. The Russian-language Wikipedia also refers to them as Kamchadals. This name was given to the indigenous people by the conquerors. But later, the term “Kamchadals” began to be used for mixed-race people born of intermarriages — in particular, with Russians. Both groups preserved common traditions and beliefs, but the Itelmen spoke their native language, while the Kamchadals spoke Russian mixed with Itelmen words. Today this distinction is largely arbitrary, as there is currently only one woman left in the Russian Federation who knows the Itelmen language. Tjan Zaochnaya herself does not know her native language either, as she left her homeland at the age of five. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Soviet authorities forcibly relocated the Itelmen to state farms, which were rapidly being filled with settlers from the “mainland.” The second half of the 20th century marked the final step toward the destruction of the Itelmen.

“…A people who have dozens of names just for salmon and have always been connected to the harsh waters of the Pacific Ocean.”

For a long time, the Russians could not wash their dirty boots in the Pacific Ocean because numerous Yakuts stood in their way. This northern Turkic people knew a thing or two about warfare and for several centuries prevented the invaders from advancing eastward. But in the end, Siberia fell, and this marked the end for the peoples of the Far East: the Evenks, Koryaks, and Itelmens.

Most of the names in Soviet history and geography that we were taught to be proud of are the names of the executioners of the indigenous peoples of the last empire of Eurasia. For the Itelmens, these are Vladimir Atlasov and Vitus Bering. Atlasov led the first expedition to Kamchatka in the late 17th century, which ended with the “annexation” of the peninsula to the Russian Empire. And Bering’s Kamchatka expeditions in the first half of the 18th century marked the beginning of the physical extermination of the indigenous inhabitants.

“The Russians who came with Bering brought diseases that immediately killed half of our people. They killed the men, but not all of them, because the Itelmen had to pay tribute in sables and other fur-bearing animals. Women and children were taken into slavery… And it has been this way for 300 years.”

The Itelmen were never a numerous people; they lived in isolation, in groups of several fishing families. However, at the beginning of the 18th century, their population numbered about 40,000. Even a hundred years ago, according to the 1926 census, indigenous peoples made up more than 60% of Kamchatka’s population. Now—less than 2%.

During Gorbachev’s thaw, Tjan began traveling to Kamchatka again. She even considered returning to her homeland to take an active part in the revival of her people. The Itelmens established their own symbolic capital — the village of Kovran — where they revived the Itelmen way of life and began holding an annual festival in honor of the Itelmen celebration marking the end of summer, Alkhalalalai. Putin’s era put a stop to Tjan’s plans, and the occupation of Crimea separated her from her homeland for the second time.

“In 2014, I was there (in Kamchatka—Ed.) for the last time. I already sensed what would happen to anyone who resisted or protested against the new imperialism.”

Tjan says that among the local Russians, who are descendants of the colonizers, there are people who want to see the revival of the indigenous peoples. The Alkhalalalai festival, language research, and even blogging about Itelmen culture have all become possible thanks to activists of non-Itelmen origin.

“Last year, blogger Vasilia Vershinina was placed under house arrest. She is one of those who popularized Itelmen culture and shed light on the true situation of the Itelmen. With her arrest, the opportunity to receive timely and objective information from Kamchatka disappeared.”

Tjan is convinced that Europe needs to be educated about Russia’s true role. Here, the stereotype persists that Moscow is an ally of the global anti-colonial movement, while European colonizers are the main villains. They have no idea that the scale of the Russians’ historical crimes, from Crimea to Kamchatka, is on par with — or even exceeds — the European expeditions to Africa and the Americas.