May 08, 2026

Attacked for "Speaking Buryat" on the Bus


Attacked for "Speaking Buryat" on the Bus
Footage of woman who confronted a passenger for speaking Buryat. Astra, Telegram.

On May 1, Mediazona reported that authorities had opened a criminal investigation into a racially-motivated attack on a woman of Buryat descent. She was on a bus and allegedly speaking Buryat over the phone. Footage of the incident went viral on social media.

On April 29, interior designer Natalya Sundupova, who is from the Russian republic of Buryatia, got on a Moscow bus while on a call with a colleague. A nearby young female passenger in a gray hoodie shoved and insulted her as she walked to the back of the bus. She accused Sundupova of conversing in a foreign language. The attacker said, "You come here to our country, speak on the phone, that language is always yours. How are we all supposed to listen to this? Why should we, people, listen to that?" The victim claims she was actually speaking Russian and wrapping up her phone call.

Sundupova was told to go "live in your country." She told her attacker, "So you don't think I'm Russian?" The woman in the hoodie and an older female passenger hit the interior designer in the face. According to Sundupova, one of the women said a racist insult towards her. Then, she got off the bus and called the police. 

Sundupova told MSK1.RU, "Nobody helped me. A man sitting next to the woman merely asked her to calm down. Other women told the two of them that they had done everything right, [that they] shouldn't be afraid and continue." Since the attack, the interior designer has been suffering panic attacks, which further aggravate her preexisting heart condition.

On April 30, Sundupova uploaded footage from her cellphone, documenting the attack. The video quickly went viral, garnering 2.6 million views. The reaction was mixed, with many attacking the designer. However, Sundupova received support from Buryats and other ethnic minorities. Members of Buryatia's State Duma contacted her to submit a parliamentary inquiry over the incident. Authorities announced they had opened a criminal investigation, but have not publicly identified suspects or what charges will be filed.

 

You Might Also Like

Teaching Russian DNA
  • May 06, 2026

Teaching Russian DNA

In January 2027, war propaganda in schools will be expanded by adding another ''patriotic" lesson to the curriculum. 
Starlink's Shadow Network
  • May 01, 2026

Starlink's Shadow Network

An investigation finds that the Russian army is still using Starlink in Ukraine despite restrictions, but connectivity remains fragile, worsened by Russia's own messaging limits.
Black Rain of War
  • April 29, 2026

Black Rain of War

An environmental catastrophe hits Tuapse following an attack by Ukrainian drones on a local oil refinery.
Watch Your Mother Tongue
  • November 19, 2024

Watch Your Mother Tongue

Students chanting in Azerbaijani inside a Russian university are being investigated for terrorism.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955