Russian MP expelled after claiming Siberia is “homeland of Uzbeks”

Khalid Taghi-Zade, a deputy from the Communist Party of Russia representing the Khanty-Mansiysk district, was expelled from the party after stating that “Siberia is the historical homeland of Uzbeks,” URA.RU reported.

Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Russia, Yuri Afonin, strongly rejected Taghi-Zade’s statement.

“Taghi-Zade was expelled from the party several years ago for violating party discipline. He does not represent us. This is his personal opinion and contradicts the official position of both the party and the regional branch,” Afonin said.

Mikhail Matveev, a Communist Party deputy in the State Duma, responded even more sharply.

“This man is a provocateur. He was expelled and has no connection with us anymore. His absurd statements are purely personal and do not concern us. Furthermore, his remarks were made during discussions about birth and death rates among indigenous peoples. This is an attack on Russia as a whole and an attempt to replace indigenous peoples with migrants. The claim that Uzbeks have historical rights here reads like a script written by someone with an agenda,” Matveev said.

For context, Khalid Taghi-Zade was born on November 15, 1978, in Sumgait, Azerbaijan SSR. He is Azerbaijani by nationality. In 2001, he graduated from Siberian Federal University with a degree in forensic chemistry and also studied at the military faculty of the Siberian Aerospace Academy named after S.A. Reshetnyov.

From 2019 to 2021, he served as a deputy of the Megion City Duma of the sixth and seventh convocations and headed the Communist Party faction there. Since 2021, he has been a deputy of the Duma of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug — Ugra of the seventh convocation.

It is worth noting that Taghi-Zade made his statement on May 29 during the final session of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug parliament. His comment came during a discussion on birth and death rates among indigenous peoples and the reasons behind the migration of Uzbek citizens to Siberia. He noted that the Siberian Khanate was once ruled by Kuchim Khan, a member of the Shaybani dynasty — an Uzbek ruling family descended from the Bukhara Khanate — and posed the question: “Maybe current migrants are returning to their historical homeland?”