‘Parts of Siberia once belonged to Uzbeks’: Russian MP

Khalid Tagi-zoda, a Duma deputy of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, referred to the region as the "historical homeland" of certain migrant communities.

While discussing birth rate statistics among the indigenous population and migrants in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, the deputy noted the diverse backgrounds of newcomers. He pointed out that Yugra and part of the Tyumen region had once belonged to the Siberian Khanate, whose last ruler was Kuchum Khan — a representative of the Shaybanid dynasty. Tagi-zoda emphasized that the Shaybanids were native to the Bukhara Khanate and represented a ruling Uzbek dynasty.

He went on to suggest that some migrants come to the Khanty-Mansi region as though returning to their historical homeland.

However, the Speaker of the Regional Duma, Boris Khokhryakov, declined to pursue the discussion in that direction, citing procedural regulations that allocate specific time limits for speeches.