BRICS Summit in Kazan to show Russia is not isolated
On October 22-24, the BRICS annual summit took place in Russia’s fifth largest city, Kazan. This is the capital of Tatarstan, a Russian region that is a homeland for the Tatar indigenous ethnic group, whose main religion is Sunni Islam. There was a tight security cordon in Kazan, obliging schools to teach online. Hospitals also cancelled operations to prevent people from traveling to the city center.
Putin was delighted that several heads of state countries were represented. The real coup for Russia was that the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended the event, too. Ukraine lobbied very hard against Guterres's visiting Kazan. Until now Russia had been dissatisfied with Guterres—accusing him of being openly biased towards Ukraine. When he visited Kyiv in 2022, Russia bombarded the city while he was present.
Russia claimed that 24 national leaders attended the BRICS Summit in Kazan. However, some countries sent a foreign minister or deputy prime minister instead of the head of state or prime minister. Bolivia and Vietnam were among those represented at the summit. Countries that have no intention of joining BRICS still consider it worth being represented, as this forum offers an unparalleled opportunity to have high-level meetings and discussions with other world leaders on issues not on the agenda.
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