WordPress blocks an independent indigenous people’s site on request of Russia, MariUver editor already lives in forced exile abroad due to death threats.
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On 5 July 2021 the administrator of MariUver, Vasli Nikolaev, got notified by Automattic Trust & Safety (formerly known as Tumblr) they are blocking https://mariuver.com/2020/09/10/mari-pocht-razin/ content of MariUver on WordPress due to request of Russian Roskomnadzor. Automattic in their notice clearly state the limitation extents to a specific content. In reality WordPress banned whole MariUver domain to Russian audience, claiming it was done on request of Russian government by editing their DNS records where MariUver hosts it site and bind its domain. The notice Roskomnadzor send to Automattic, owner of WordPress and WordPress.com, refers to take down reason as “calls for suicide or expressing the means for it” and specifies quote “Razin poured himself with gasoline and committed an act of self-immolation at 9:45. He got more than 90% of burns.” Apart from the very fact such pretext for takedown is artificial, editor of MariUver found several articles on Russia’s state media where in great details is described how a person pours someone with gasoline and sets him/her alight. The article MariUver site published was copy of Idel.Realii where they reported of Mari people activists commemorating death of Udmurt Albert Razin, whose act of self-immolation against Russian government persistent suppression and deprivation of indigenous people’s language and culture, has angered Russia on federal and local level because it forces them to talk about the issue of deeds employed against the Finno-Ugric peoples.
Automattic Trust & Safety notice (formerly known as Tumblr) to MariUver administrator.
Facebook post by MariUver with the reason for take down and domain blocking notice
State induced repressions of Finno-Ugric peoples of Russian Federation.
Albert Razin, a 79-year-old Udmurt, was a renowned scientist, an active activist for defending the rights of the Udmurts. He fought from the bottom of his heart for Udmurt language being spoken, Udmurt songs being sang, Udmurt national traditions and festivities being held. Ethnic Udmurts, regardless of their age, are deprived any chance to speak their native language. It’s a great shame for Udmurts and that shame stems from Russian Federation actions to subdue any attempts to learn and teach it kindergartens or schools. Because the whole environment where Udmurt people interact is explicitly Russian and minded towards Russia, only those few lucky who have close daily contacts with grandparents able to speak Udmurt, can learn the language at some level. As with any Finno-Ugric language, it takes decades to master it. Even when an eager Udmurt language speaker interacts with grandparents the chance, they speak in Udmurt, is close to zero as Russia has made sure being an Udmurt, admit it, or have the desire to speak in Udmurt would have been non-existent.
When it all happened, I was told that there was a man who burned down in the square in Izevsk, that he was then found with banners about language. They didn’t tell me his name right away, but I knew right away that no one else could do that except uncle Albert. He felt that time was running out, very little is done for the people, to preserve our ethnos. There’s not a lot of fellow like-minded people among the Udmurts. And we’re a little timid. By doing so, he wanted to awaken the people, touch the thin strings of the conscience, so that people would notice what he was fighting for — the Udmurt language
“And if tomorrow my language disappears, then I am ready to die today”
— Rasul Gamzatov
Udmurt Albert Razin on 10 Sept 2019 on his single person protest against suppression of Udmurt language
“Do I have a Homeland?”
– Albert Razin, 10 September 2019.
Automattic: Nothing personal, just good business.
Automattic, owner of WordPress and WordPress.com has no legal rights over the content people publish on their tool. Those right extents internationally as movables. MariUver did not violate any copyright, legislation, or any law due to the article was reference from Idel.Realii, a regional based outlet that Russian authorities have actively fought against and is still fighting against people on Russian Federation territory could access its content. Idel.Realii has on every page a banner which refers to the page of instructions how to circumvent domain banning by Russian authorities. The MariUver site wasn’t even in the Roskomnadzor prohibited domain register.
“Unfortunately, we have had to comply in order to keep WordPress.com accessible for everyone in Russia.” Automattic Trust & Safety (formerly known as Tumblr)
Automattic is a cynical company that just bluntly states the fact they are happy to receive money from Russia but won’t put any efforts into legally challenging bogus claims on rightful and correct information or have serious 2nd thoughts on gravity of their actions that would have been unthinkable in English speaking worlds due t its highly political and ethnically targeted subjugation.
Automattic showed to Russian authorities the way how to silence any independent Russian Federation indigenous people’s outlet that brings up the problems the officials systematically curb.
Automattic trampled on deceased Albert Razin human rights with an act of ethnic silencing of indigenous people and contributed to Russian Federation systematic long term ethnic cleansing efforts.
Automattic and CEO Matt Mullenweg can’t continue making business in Russia and not having a very clear and good knowledge of events taking place in the region, especially current state of indigenous peoples. An act committed by Automattic Trust & Safety (formerly known as Tumblr) shows such decision can’t any more be based on an average American with their world perception and lack of knowledge of the realities outside the United State of America, considering the roots of Finno-Ugric peoples reach back as far as Sumer, the rulers of Babylonia, who were Finno-Ugric peoples. The cultural heritage of Finno-Ugric peoples over many millennia by which becoming indigenous peoples on their lands can’t be ignored and that applies to CEO of Automattic, to the employees of the company and especially to the employees of former Tumblr.
Automattic has fully earned condemnation and heat for their deed, including the CEO, and they are obliged to elaborate the reasoning behind their suppression of indigenous peoples.
Death or forced exile.
Yes, I haven’t travelled to Russia for security reasons because I’ve received open threats in the comments of MariUver site – I think they are the FSB staff. That took place up to the moment I officially revealed this at the conference in Paris – after that, they stopped. Based on those threats I applied and received Estonian citizenship for that reason only. I didn’t want to give up Russian citizenship, but it’s impossible to get Estonian citizenship in another way.
— Vasli Nikolaev, MariUver editor, ethnic Mari, on reasons he was forced to choose forced exile in Estonia.
SA VALDEF conclusions.
Automattic and the CEO must face international condemnation.
Automattic must change the way of conducting business in Russia to the point they appoint people capable of repel actions required by the Russian authorities in the charge of Trust & Safety.
Depending on the answers of Automatic and the CEO the decision on the next steps will be considered.
