Federal Lezghin National and Cultural Autonomy Our organization represents the Lezgin people, who are divided by the border between Russia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. According to expert estimates, more than 800,000 Lezgins live in the Republic of Azerbaijan, making them the second-largest ethnic group after Azerbaijani Turks. There are also hundreds of thousands of representatives of other indigenous peoples, including Avars, Talysh, Tats, Tsakhurs, Rutuls, Udis, Kryzes, Budukhs, and others. These peoples are not recognized as communities making an important and independent contribution to the economic, cultural, and political fabric of society. They are subjected to deliberate assimilation. At the same time, the false narrative of multiculturalism is regularly promoted at the international level. A striking manifestation of assimilation is the change in the official population figures for the ethnic groups of the Republic of Azerbaijan. From 1989 to 2019, the number of Lezgins in the country decreased by more than 2 percent, while the number of Azerbaijani Turks increased by 62 percent. An example of a gross violation of the rights of the people is the land border with the Republic of Azerbaijan, which has now been closed for five years. The stated pretext is the COVID virus, which has long since ceased to be a global emergency, while the actual reasons have not been officially disclosed. One part of the people has been separated from the other. In order to see a relative on the other bank of the Samur River, on their own historic land, a Lezgin must travel approximately 1,000 kilometers by air and purchase prohibitively expensive tickets to or from the country’s capital, Baku. Respect for the rights of the non-titular peoples of the Republic of Azerbaijan is merely nominal. The languages of these peoples are taught in schools only as optional subjects. There is no teacher training, no textbooks, and no state funding for media in their languages. Almost no funds are allocated to support the culture and distinct identity of these peoples. Their languages are absent from the public sphere; the placement of signs and public notices in these languages is prohibited. Lezgin civil society activists, cultural figures, and historians are subjected to persecution. They receive actual prison sentences on the basis of false charges. Since the 1990s, the authorities have actively altered the toponymy of areas inhabited by indigenous peoples. The country’s authorities are erasing their historical memory. The current unstable situation in the world provides the authorities of the Republic of Azerbaijan with an opportunity to accelerate the Turkification of the country. Thank you.