GfbV / Radio Lora: Northern Wildfires and the Imprisonment of Daria and Natalia

Illustration: Indigenous Russia.

A German-language report published by GfbV Voices on 20 October brings together two threats facing Indigenous Peoples in Russia: destructive northern wildfires and the imprisonment of rights defenders Daria Egereva and Natalia Leongardt.

Tjan Zaotschnaja’s contribution accompanies a Radio Lora programme by GfbV Munich. It describes how fires damage reindeer pastures, disrupt traditional livelihoods and threaten permafrost, placing environmental change alongside the shrinking space for Indigenous advocacy.

The report also recalls the September decision extending both women’s detention until 9 December 2026 and the international calls for their release.

GfbV urges Germany and other Western countries to explore all avenues for securing their freedom, including a prisoner exchange. This is an advocacy appeal, not an announcement of an agreed exchange.

By covering the environmental crisis and the women’s detention together, the programme keeps attention on both Indigenous lands and the people defending Indigenous rights.

Source: GfbV Voices, “Russland-Sibirien: Waldbrände im hohen Norden”, 20 October 2026. Listen to the Radio Lora programme (German).