#hetalia buryatia

[meliissa-art]

The first drawing I do for my OC Buryatia 💙

I still have to add more details and think about his name. I have thought on a bunch of names, such as Mergen (“wise”), Sodnom (“virtue”, this one has a Tibetan origin)

Perhaps his surname could be Barnzarov? Dorzhi Barnzarov was the first non-ethnic Russian to receive a PhD in a Russian university, so he was the first non ethnic Russian academic. I really love when OCs have names of notable people, that’s why I love the idea

Also, Buryatia had beef with Yakutia/Sakha, but they are more neutral nowadays. Or are they? 👀 We will see…

What do you guys think? What headcanons do you think that could fit him?

[mayhellsky]

Chibi Buryatia with his little friend - chibi Baikal🦭

(edited ver.)

I decided to draw @meliissa-art design of Buryatia!! I really liked all our headcanons so I drew it like this. 😌

[irithnova]

Naadam - and how Mongolia celebrates it.

What is Naadam in Mongolian culture and how would Mr Mongolia celebrate it?

Naadam is a traditional sports festival in Mongolia. It includes Mongols adorning themselves in national dress, mounted soldiers in uniform, music, dancers, and of course, the "Three Manly Sports":

Horse riding, wrestling and archery!

Naadam is a 2000 year old event, however, the term "Naadam" was coined in the 13th century by Chinggis Khaan (according to the secret history of the Mongols) and has been celebrated ever since.

Naadam used to be a preparation/practices/training for war. Competitions such as this would take place just before major battles in order for the war commanders to select which soldiers would be in which division.

Individuals who demonstrated exceptional strength, speed, and flexibility in wrestling, keen eyesight and precise hand-orientation in spear-throwing and archery, and also patience and skill in horse training/horse racing were carefully selected during the competitions.

Naadam takes place around mid-July in the heat of the summer, and is considered one of the biggest and most important festivals in Mongol culture along with Tsaagan Sar.

National Naadam is celebrated in the capital - Ulaanbaatar, in the national sports stadium. However it's not just restricted to the city! It takes place all across the country.

The Naadam festival kicks off with a ceremonial transfer of the symbolic "Nine Banners of the Great Mongol Empire" from the Government House to the Naadam stadium, escorted by honorary guards.

After a speech by the president or a representative, the games officially commence. In Ulaanbaatar, the capital, the event assumes a grand scale, drawing the most talented wrestlers, horse trainers, and archers from all corners of Mongolia!

As I've previously mentioned, Naadam takes place in the countryside too! In the countryside, herders journey to towns not only to partake in the festivities but also to reunite with friends and relatives, they may not have seen in a while.

Mongolia also has a bit of a reunion - with different Mongolic ethnic groups and other ethnic groups who's people participate in Naadam coming over to visit. Buryat and Uriankhai people are an example, and they (So, Buryat Mongols, Uriankhai/"forest people" as Mongols call them, usually denoting the likes such as Tuvans and Yakuts) have their own archery competitions. It's basically like one big get together!

Wrestling

Mongolian wrestling has no time limit and one objective - avoid touching the ground with anything other than your feet, or else you lose the match.

It also has no weight classes!

The National Wrestling Championship takes place during Naadam , however even before this, there are previous stages.

First is Soum (village) Naadam. Soum Naadam showcases wrestlers from various villages vying for the opportunity to represent their respective villages at the regional level.

Wrestlers who win at the Soum Naadam progress to the Aimag (province) Naadam, where they contend against other wrestlers within their own province to win the opportunity to represent the province.

The ultimate challenge awaits the winner of the Aimag Naadam at the National Naadam in Ulaanbaatar, the grandest and final tournament. Here, the aimag representatives vie for the prestigious title of national champion!

Mongol wrestling painting, 16th century

I definitely think Mr Mongolia is an avid wrestler/quite sporty himself (jock™) however he is a nation and so his nation strength and... Many, many years of experience would mean that it would be unfair for the most part if he went against humans. And besides, he absolutely risks outing himself if he participated in Naadam, especially with how popular wrestling is and uhh, considering the wrestling outfits... The lack of anonymity with that comes with it hahah.

However I think he participates in his own way. I think occasionally he helps with being with being a referee. Another thing: music. During Mongol national wrestling matches, you can often hear someone singing a Mongolian long song in the background. A long song is well, a song, which doesn't actually have a lot of words, but the the words are drawn out by the singer and emphasis is put on reaching impressive notes and putting power and volume in the voice. I think he does musical performances during naadam!

Archery

The Mongols are famous for their archery. There are many different types of Mongol archery.

There's Khalkha Archery, the most practiced one (seeing as the Khalkha Mongols are the majority ethnic group in Mongolia), spanning across a remarkable duration of 48 hours.

Those who triumph in this contest earn the esteemed distinction of the state archery title.

There's also women's archery! As for the women's archery tournament, they display their prowess by releasing 20 arrows towards a 60-meter target, while their male counterparts take aim with 40 arrows at a distance of 75 meters. The target itself comprises a symmetrical arrangement of diminutive leather cylinders, artfully positioned in rows of two and three.

Two red cylinders occupy the center of the target, but hitting them doesn't earn extra points. Each hit on a target gives one point, but merely hitting isn't enough for a score. The target must move a set distance from its starting point to count towards the final score.

There's also Uriankhai archery and Buryat archery - with Uriankhai archery only being practiced by men, and is practiced by the Uriankhai ethnic groups (this is a name Mongols give to what they consider Northern "forest people" like Tuvans or Yakuts). It has ties to religious ceremonies related to their culture. Buryat archery is practiced by the Buryat minority ethnic group of Mongolia. Both of which take place during the national Naadam festival.

They even have child archers!

I definitely think Mongolia is very passionate about archery, and watches the archery competitions intently. I think he helps with setting up the targets and prepping some of the archers when he can. He finds it fascinating to watch them display their skills and techniques with such precision and accuracy - and he wishes he could participate himself! He believes it is a testament to the level of dedication and hard work that athletes put into their craft and loves the satisfaction of the perfect hit - he'll always appreciate a good archer. Further, he puts time aside to go and watch the Buryat and Uriankhai archery with Buryatia and the others as its quite important to them all.

Horse racing

Over a thousand horses gather from all corners of the region to partake in this grand event. Diverging from Western traditions, these races traverse immense distances, spanning a remarkable range of 15 to 30 kilometers. The length of each race is intricately tied to the age of the horses, with the seasoned contenders gallantly competing over the longest stretches.

Curiously, the jockeys who guide these horses are not seasoned professionals, but rather children as young as 5 years old, with the oldest among them being 13. Yet, it is the horse's prowess that truly determines the outcome, as the race serves as a testament to their remarkable skills.

Age and gender play crucial roles in the classification of horses within the realm of horse racing. For example, in the case of geldings, they are divided into distinct age groups, spanning from 2 years old up to 6 years and older.

The races commence in a distinctive manner. All the horses gather behind a standard-bearer, cross the finish line together, and then follow the guidance of the official rider to reach the starting line.

In each class, the top 5 performers are crowned as "airgiyn tav," and the top three champions proudly claim gold, silver, and bronze medals. People joyfully sing their praises while showering them with fermented mare's milk (airag) on their rump, neck, and cheek.

The victorious jockey ascends to the esteemed title of "tumny ekh," signifying their leadership over a multitude of ten thousand.

Multiple races are showcased during Naadam. Stallions, specifically those known as Azarga, have a race of their own, while geldings partake in a minimum of three races. Further, a special race is organised specifically for pacing horses in Ulaanbaatar.

Remarkably, even the horse that crosses the finish line last in the two-year-old category is bestowed with a special appellation: "bayan khodood," meaning "full stomach." A heartfelt song resonates through the air, expressing good wishes and luck for the humble competitor to emerge triumphant in the following year.

The subject of child-jockeys seem to be somewhat contested amongst Mongols themselves. I'm not going to touch on that debate, however it should be noted that safety measures have been implemented in order to make sure that the race is as smooth as possible, but I understand that this can be a point of controversy. I definitely think Mongolia does his best in making sure the riders are well prepared/equipped for the races to ensure that have the best chances of coming out uninjured/relatively unscathed as possible. I think he puts extra time and care into this aspect of his Naadam participations considerably. He enjoys it to an extent as it reminds him of when he was a very young horse rider, and he does enjoy the celebrations afterwards, however the safety of the riders is at the forefront of his mind.

Other Naadam headcanons:

-Because Mongols usually wear their best clothes to Naadam, Mongolia definitely does too! He has a different outfit planned for each day.

-He uhh definitely enjoys all the food that's about 🤤 (khuushur, buuz)

-Probably floods his social media with pictures during this time

-Overall, it's quite an exciting yet busy time for him, he is involved in both the preparations for Naadam and participation in some aspects of Naadam, whilst also making sure to keep socialising with all the people he's invited over! But he manages it well.

[papaveronamu]

Mongolia horrifyingly looking at Buryatia speak Buryat (it sounds like a broken mongolian but Mongolia's just glad it's similar but scared at the same time)

[peonycats]

Hello! How do you think Buryatia would be like?

Thank you @irithnova for letting me borrow her Buryatia OC!! GOSH it took me a couple of rounds of drawing and doodling before I finally felt like I had gotten his features down right LOL...

To people who don't know him well, he comes across as friendly, warm, and sociable. He is reliant on tourism after all...

His public face hides some unusual hobbies and tendencies 🤨

Goes out of his way to avoid pissing off russia 🗿

Bugs Tuva to join him at the Inner Asian meetups

Streams online 🎮

BONUS:

Buryatia has a close relationship with Soyotia, who are a Turkic people who've traditionally made their living herding reindeer rather than yak herders like a lot of Buryats. Due to their long history together (as well as Russian imperial and Soviet ethnic minority policies), a lot of Soyots have intermarried with Buryats and have been heavily influenced by Buryat culture, so much so that Soyot culture and language itself is at risk of dying out.

Buryatia treats Soyotia as one of the few people he can let go of his "outside face" around, and holds the philosophy of "we're basically the same, so we can count on each other 😊" towards Soyotia...

[eruverse]

1) Buryatia + nyo!Mongolia

2) Kyrgyzstan + Mongolia and (Yenisei) Kyrgyz

After its establishment, Mongol Empire quickly subjugated Turkic confederations and groups in the territory of Mongolia and around the Baikal such as Kerait, Naiman, Merkit, Tatar, and Yenisei Kyrgyz (though Merkit was probably Mongolic). All these Turkics were Mongolia’s first harem. In the end, only the Kyrgyz would survive as distinct people into the current time as most of them became modern Kyrgyz people in Kyrgyzstan. The others were quickly absorbed into Mongolians or Kazakh.

It’s unknown whether Kyrgyzstan is the former Yenisei Kyrgyz or if he is a successor who carries the latter’s memories, but Mongolia feels familiar with Kyrgyzstan beyond what he would feel about a country who happens to share a similar nomadic culture. As it stands, today’s Kyrgyzstan looks different from the mostly West Eurasian Yenisei Kyrgyz, but Mongolia almost swears they’re the same person. Mongolia could also differentiate easily between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan even when many others aren’t able to (“How are you not able to distinguish them? They’re massively different!” Says Mongolia)

(I gave Yenisei Kyrgyz Göktürk era clothing as I haven’t found their specific costume, lol)

3) Golden Horde + baby Golden Horde carried by Mongolia

When Golden Horde was newly born, he was close to Mongolia who would often carry him everywhere (or let his horse do the job). Think of a toddler who stares unblinkingly at you from underneath all the fur wrapped around his tiny body as if trying to drill a hole into the area between your eyes. Meanwhile, Mongolia would smile proudly at him.

[myrddin-wylt]

An incomplete list of hetalia ocs I've made but only rarely if ever posted about because like 90% of them are for Crusader Kings purposes (which is why they're so specific and overlap and/or they're not modern states, so don't @ me).

Adal

Afghanistan / Kabulistan

Amdo

Andalusia

Aquitaine

Armenia

Attika / Athens

Bengal / Bangladesh

Bhutan

Brittany

Buryatia

Chukotka

Crete

Damot

Daylam

Epirus

Ethiopia / Abyssinia

Frisia

Georgia

Ghana

Gujarat

Hejaz

Indus River Valley

Inuit

Karnataka

Kham

Khazaria / Khazar Khaganate

Lotharingia

Khorasan

Maharashtra

Makran

Mexico

Mongolia

Mycenae

Navarra

Nepal

Nubia

Odisha / Orissa

Outremer

Pagan / Bagan

Pomerania

Pontus

Punjab

Sápmi

Socotra

Somalia / Ajuraan

Sri Lanka

Syria

Tamilakam

Thessalonika

Tibet

Tlaxcala

Tuva

Uyghur Khaganate

Valencia

Wallachia

Yemen

Zaporizhzhia

I still have so many more I still need to make, too orz

[irithnova]

Mongolia hcs because I'm bored:

That man's hair routine is water + hoping for the best y'all are out of your minds thinking he has an elaborate plan for it

If you told him you needed therapy the best thing he'd do is tell you that he hopes you find a job soon

Kalmykia + Buryatia drain his wallet with the amount of shit they manage to guilt him into buying

Seems like he's good with kids on the surface but he can't actually parent.

Can be condescending towards Tuva because Tuva was ruled by Mongolia for a while

Also condescending because he's fully convinced himself Tuva has a stealing problem and thinks that calling him a kleptomaniac instead of a thief is politically correct, so is annoyed when Tuva doesn't recognise his attempts at being sensitive 🙄

Dog person but will pet kitty cats when they approach

It's so hard for Mongolia and China to feign niceness/diplomacy to each other in a formal setting that you get the most awkward and obviously forced interactions

Can honestly sleep soundly on any surface

Believe it or not Mongolia can actually swim and no he's not afraid of water. He finds the ocean a little eerie sure but you guys realise Mongolia has huge lakes right

Fluent in Russian but purposefully butchers it sometimes to annoy Russia

Insults Russia by calling him a drunkard when he is arguably worse with alcohol

Tibet is his Lady Macbeth. No I will not elaborate

Is freakily good at puzzles/logic games it's literally one of his traditions

Has actually made quite a few puzzles himself

Goes to the bathroom to play some on his phone when a meeting is boring the hell out of him (he was so close to the next level anyways-)

Not always but sometimes he carries around a small pouch of shagai (ankle bones of goat or sheep) for good luck

Seems composed on the surface but is secretly entertained by drama

If he accidentally steps on your foot he'll instinctively reach his arm out to touch your wrist or try to shake your hand to apologise because that's what you do in Mongolia when you misstep onto someone's foot

Always carries cigarettes with him

Deep/rich voice 🥺 He speaks somewhat softly though

Do not tug on his braid

[irithnova]

Wah my Russia and Mongolia (with Tibet and Buryatia mention) fic set in the 1930's!

This is based around the incident in which Peljidiin Genden, Prime Minister of Mongolia at the time, allegedly slapped Stalin across the face and broke his pipe. Fun times.

[irithnova]

Buryatia: Stop working so late you have really ugly eyebags lol ^.^

Sakha: I should have killed you when I had the chance

[irithnova]

Buryatia when he's allowed to bring his slave husband Soyot over when Mongolia invites him to visit (Mongolia is making Buryatia pay for all of Soyot's expenses because they ruin his sleep with really loud se-):

[meliissa-art]

[meliissa-art]

Mongolia in the Gangsta! AU

This AU is very random, but I wanted to draw him as a mafia leader, so... here you have him, with a poker card on his hands, as they play poker in the manga (I dont know why??? omg hima is too random sometimes)

Tuva and Buryatia are his bodyguards :)

[irithnova]

Mongolia: If you're going to bring him over act normal please

Buryatia: ^.^

Soyot: ._.

[irithnova]

About my Siberia ocs...

So I think it's important to balance their characterisation in a way in which they are distinctive characters with interesting personalities and backstories but also acknowledges the challenges they face without making their entire character essentially "They're sad all the time because of Russia" or "Stop talking about their struggles under Russia I don't like politics."

I think both are problematic however I find the latter to be far more distasteful because well. This is a nation personification OC we're talking about and not only that, they're essentially nations within a nation (Russia) by virtue of colonisation and so are minority groups within the larger nation. Hell - because of displacement and immigration from European Russia , a lot of these groups are minorities within their own lands. It's a special case when dealing with minority groups/occupied people personifications and it's particularly egregious when someone wants to forgo any kind of acknowledgement of these power imbalances yet still insists that their interpretation is sensitive.

I've seen some pretty bad OCs of Siberian groups which are the product of the creator going "I hate politics stop talking about politics!" or, an almost direct quote, "I hate when people shove politics into historical hetalia." Which... Is an interesting take to say the least considering how history feeds into politics and vice versa. Historical hetalia is a beast in an of itself and is one of the only hetalia communities/bubbles in which "no politics" will get you laughed out the door from what I've seen considering *gestures to my previous statement*. If you've ever taken a history course - you'll know how much history and politics are intertwined.

This is how you get interps which consists of the likes of "Russia was wandering around the empty lands of Siberia" which not only blatantly disregards the brutality of the Russian colonisation of Siberia but also promotes the concept of "Terra Nullius" or "Virgin Land". I'm quoting myself from an even bigger post I have in store which focuses on anti Mongolian sentiment however stereotypes about Mongolians and Siberian groups often overlap because of their placement in Northern Asia, hence why it applies to both,

"In addition, to hone in on Mongolia being an "untouched, pristine" land - this is also a common trope that is launched towards traditionally nomadic "unsettled groups” (such as Siberian and Native American groups). The concept of "Terra Nullius", a Latin word meaning "nobody's land". It completely disregards the presence and rights of the people who inhabit the land and has been historically used to justify the colonisation and displacement of such groups - their land belonged to "nobody" so it was essentially up for grabs...It divorces the people from their landscape and paves the way for dangerous misconceptions and justifications to blossom.

Here is an example of "Terra Nullius" in action in a Russian propaganda poster, encouraging Russians to move to Kazakhstan."

Or interps such as "[Siberian group] has forgiven Russia for everything he did/most things he did and is in love with him" which implies that the mistreatment of the Siberian groups is merely something in the past when it is in fact ongoing. The mistreatment of Siberian groups such as the Sakha, Buryats, Chukchi and Tuvans has been all the more highlighted in their disproportionate mobilisation in the invasion of Ukraine - and the heaps of scapegoating that was subsequently shovelled onto them.

That's not to say ethnic minority soldiers in the Russian army shouldn't be held accountable for their crimes - however that and the fact that they themselves are victims of Russian imperialism can both exist as true statements. The scapegoating is so bad that even Pope Francis joined in, blaming the brunt of the war crimes committed onto "Non Russians" such as Buryats and Chechens, as they do not come from "Russian culture."

Back to my main point... I think the resistance to do research on and publicly acknowledge how these groups live under Russia and what kind of struggles they face in some kind of bid to "not paint them as victims!!11" is sorely misinformed and ignorant. Because well. They are victims.

Not in the sense that you should portray them as sad, pitiful, weak little meow meows but in the sense that yes they are living under Russian occupation and are an occupied people who's been subjected to centuries of Russification, and so compared to making an OC of Mongolia who is an independent nation state at least I think there is far less room to be hauling around "leave politics out of historical hetalia!" "don't talk to me about politics!" "stop victimising them!!" because then it leads to tone deaf interpretations such as "They've forgiven Russia for everything and is in love with him ♥️💖", "Russia is actually [Siberia groups] father", "Here is my singular Siberia OC who represents ALL Siberian groups and by the way Russia is their father" (yes these are all real interpretations I've seen and I've made a separate really strongly worded post ranting about it) and worse. I mean I've literally seen an "aph Siberia oc" who was Russia and France's love child. Terra Nullius executed Hetalia-style.

I don't really think I need to elaborate on why a singular Siberia OC is problematic - Siberia is filled with a myriad of different groups who speak different languages, have different origins and ways of lives and practices, different religions, who've experienced eras of peace and conflict with each other, etc and yeah to shove them all into one personification is an erasure of the sheer diversity that is in Siberia. I definitely don't need to elaborate on why making Russia a father to any of these groups is problematic, to say very the least.

On the point of "don't only portray them in a victimising lense", I think making Siberian groups all depressed all the time is also a Russia-centric perspective. Of course it's ignorant at best to not acknowledge their shared suffering because of Russia however when this point and this point alone is central to their character I believe in a way that it strips them of their autonomy and ability to feel things and do things outside of Russia's gaze. There is absolutely a lot of joy to be had despite their current situation, perhaps even in spite of their current situation. It's ok to give them odd quirks and put them in funny situations as well as acknowledge that they are an occupied people and approach that territory carefully when need be.

For example, I made my Buryatia bubbly and loud but made my Tuva a bit more deadpan because I see them as a pair who often associate with each other and I think the dynamic is funny. I also made Buryatia an overbearing "husband" to Soyot who is perpetually tired™ from all the se- .

I made a crack dynamic between Sakha, Evenkia and Dolgan where Evenkia was Sakha's teacher at first but then became a deadbeat dad leaving Sakha to primarily raise Dolgan, thus Dolgan takes after Sakha and is uh lawyermaxxing👍. Yukaghir is the little old lady of the group who is often forgetful but very nifty and Chukotka acts like a big sister to people which Koryak (who I see as her brother) always finds annoying and they often bicker. Ket is on the slightly edgy side and is extremely particular about his routines and Nganasan terrifies Nenet because he eats reindeer whereas Nenet doesn't.

All of these quirks/ more lighthearted interpretations and "they are an occupied people under Russia" can coexist. One should not be thrown out for the sake of the other.

I think there's also problem - though I've seen this far less, in making Siberia ocs purely as a middle finger at Russia. As in, you made the OC because you wanted to say loud and proud FUCK RUSSIA which well yeah, fuck Russia, but I highly doubt your interest in this group lies outside of wanting to #own the Russians which is dehumanising in and of itself. At least pretend to care about the history and culture instead of using an entire group of people to make a virtue-signally oc purely to try and upset some Russians.

Anyways yeah Siberia 👍

[irithnova]

Hi! I recently came across your post about writing Siberian Hetalia oc’s and other than the fact that it was a really great and informative post it did raise a question in me. Do you have any examples of people writing Siberian Hetalia oc’s and writing their relationship with Russia is a way that’s….respectful? Or alternatively, how do you represent it? Thanks in advance!

Helloo, thank you for this ask :>

Anyone who's just seen this post, here's the post the asker is referring to, read if you want more context:

TL;DR at the end and summarising thoughts on Russia's relationship with my Siberia OCs because this is very long sorry !

I know that you're probably aware but for anyone who stumbles upon this post, I'm not Northern Asian or Siberian myself. I'm just someone who's interest/hobby is researching Northern Asian history and culture (started with just Mongolia, my interest also extends to Central Asia) which started when I was around 13/14? So please keep that in mind. This is a post written by an outsider (with the perspectives of Northern Asians taken into account of course), for other outsiders.

If I'm being quite honest, Hetalia Siberia OCs in particular are quite a... Niche corner of the Hetalia fandom. Especially in the anglophone/Western fandom. I'd say they're more popular in Russian speaking country personification communities (not always specifically Hetalia) purely because of the obvious - Siberia is a part of Russia. Unfortunately I do not speak Russian, nor am I really familiar with the Russian speaking hetalia fandom or country personification circles. However I have spoken to Northern Asian folk who are a tad more familiar with these circles than I am, and have come to find that even then, people who post Siberia personification OCs are few and far between, and those who do, post them very rarely and there's little else of these characters other than once in a blue moon art.

However they do recommend some Northern Asian artists that we could show some love to (not necessarily Hetalia, just general artists, I think it's important to show support to creators/artists who are actually from these regions):

Haehaie - Buryat artist on tumblr, has his own OC of Buryatia

Goraesky - Mixed Buryat/Korean artist on tumblr

Zorikto Dorzhiev https://www.instagram.com/zorikto_official/ - Buryat artist 

Alima Ligden - Buryat artist, her art is on artstation.com if you google her name however I believe she's moving off of artstation and is moving to tumblr, hence why if you click on any of the links, nothing shows up

Balzhinima Dorzhiev https://khankhalaev.com/en/artists/balzhinima-dorzhiev/bio/ - Buryat artist

Khomonova Sayana https://www.instagram.com/sayaka_artwork/ - Buryat artist 

Penginius - Sakha artist on tumblr and instagram

Erisudraws - Northern Asian artist on tumblr and instagram

gertrrket (twitter), https://www.instagram.com/gertrrketjoui/?hl=en-gb - Sakha artist on twitter and instagram

geneslovee - Sakha artist on tumblr, twitter and instagram

Thank you to @haehaie and @topipaku for helping me source quite a few of these artists and for your input !! :3

In the Western/English speaking fandom, as I've said before, there's really not a lot of us. Most representations of Siberian hetalia OCs usually come down to sparse dottings of fanart across different sites such as Tumblr, Deviantart, and Instagram. I am not on the hetalia amino so I wouldn't know but I highly doubt there are many, if any, Siberia OCs posted on there. I frequent hetalia twitter, particularly amongst North Asia (by that I mean Mongolia) adjacent posters, who are mainly Japanese. However it seems as if Mongolia is the furthest North most will go. So the circles I'm personally aware of (well not really circles as there's not a lot of us in the English speaking fandom) that do post about Siberia OCs are mainly here on tumblr, instagram, and I guess some rare art posted on Deviantart.

Honestly I don't think I can really recommend someone in these circles that I'm aware of (other than @peonycats as we developed a lot of these OCs together along with a lot of research of course) in terms of writing their relationships with Russia respectfully or writing respectful OCs in general for quite a few reasons:

Some of these creators don't post their OCs frequently enough for me to pass a judgement on/have become inactive

I don't know some of them personally, so again, cannot pass any judgement

Some creators genuinely have really insensitive portrayals of Siberian groups relationships with Russia

I am aware of certain creators who have excused racism against Northern Asians and others who have defended the Russian state's mistreatment of them (yes, despite posting about Northern Asians). I'm not giving out specific names but I'm not going to recommend them either

This isn't me trying to toot my own horn when it comes to hetalia Siberia OCs as despite my long standing interest, I want to reiterate that I am not from there. But to answer your question on how I would personally represent them/how I'd approach representing them from an outsiders POV (I guess this could apply to other country personification communities too such as countryhumans because of the common theme but I've only ever been in hetalia so,):

I think part of the question can be answered with the post you are referring to. It is vital to understand the nature and history of why Siberian groups are a part of Russia in the first place - colonisation. And it is just as vital to understand and acknowledge the effects of colonisation on such groups and the ongoing mistreatment and injustices they face under the Russian state. Without this in mind, representations of Siberian groups' relationships with Russia end up being tone deaf and one dimensional at best. At worst, orientalist caricatures and/or colonisation apologia.

This does take a lot of reading and research. Not just on the aforementioned topics, but also on orientalist depictions and stereotypes that are associated with Northern Asians. It's all good to be knowledgeable on how the colonisation of Siberia took place and ongoing injustices indigenous Siberians face, but that with no understanding of racist and exoticised stereotypes - a majority of which being a result of colonisation and an overall eurocentric outlook on "unsettled" peoples (putting "unsettled" in quotes here because the concept of a people being unsettled is in itself a eurocentric concept that was used to justify colonisation and the concept of "virgin land" that I talked about in my previous post), still results in insensitive depictions, both overall as characters and especially with their relationship with Russia. It's no good touting facts about how the Sakha people were colonised but then make up headcanons about how Russia had to "teach" Sakha to "behave" (this is a real example I've seen).

That being said, whilst it is obligatory that those topics are read about and applied accordingly, I also believe giving them agency is just as important. I don't want to say "putting too much emphasis on the colonisation aspect" but rather, emphasis on the colonisation and ongoing injustices without giving them a level of agency can also result in insensitive depictions. Siberian groups did and continue to fight/push back against the Russian state and it is just as important that their efforts and diligence against the face of their oppressor is acknowledged. It is correct to acknowledge that they are victims of Russian imperialism, but it is also correct to give them agency and depict them giving Russia pushback. Otherwise, this sort of portrayal diminishes the vast efforts Siberian groups have gone through and continue to go through against a much more powerful nation, and you end up with a bunch of OCs who's entire characterisations consists of merely being a punching bag for Russia.

On the other hand, and this is a depiction I've seen: there is such a thing as tokenising Siberian groups solely in order to signal to people how much you hate Russia. In this way, Siberian groups are depicted only as tools for the original poster to vocalise their distaste of Russia, with little exploration of their relationship with Russia outside of this and frankly, little exploration of them as characters and their history/culture overall other than "lol guys look they're trolling Russia!!!1" (and this is on the rare occasion that they are even talked about by such creators). I have absolutely no problem depicting them trolling Russia or conspiring to ruin Russia's day or something because we all know he deserves it, but this should not be the sole way in which such groups are ever brought up - if they are even talked about in the first place. I'm not saying to depict their relations with Russia as only doom and gloom and I do think the concept of them trolling him or annoying him is funny, but when such groups are only brought up in order to show them pwning Russia and nothing more, it, 1) runs the risk of downplaying the severity of the mistreatment they go through 2) runs the risk of these OCs not having any character outside of their relationship and interactions with Russia 3) can even give off the impression that Russia is the victim of their bad behaviour rather than the other way around.

It's even worse if offensive stereotypes are used in these depictions. Whilst Greenland is not a part of Siberia, groups in Greenland and Siberia are in many ways related not just through history and culture but also in the ways in which they are stereotyped. I've seen a depiction in which it seemed as if the creator was acknowledging that indigenous Greenland groups are mistreated, but to combat this they portrayed Greenland as being a violent, unruly drunkard that "abused" Denmark all the time, but it's okay because Denmark deserved it. Not only is an offensive stereotype of indigenous Greenlanders being used in this "look at Greenland owning Denmark!" portrayal, but Denmark is almost seen as a victim of Greenland's bad behaviour rather than the other way round. This is why I said that it is so important to learn about offensive stereotypes that are associated with Northern Asian folk, because you can be knowledgeable on how they are mistreated but still create insensitive depictions if you are not familiar with racist stereotypes. Nothing wrong with depicting Siberian groups giving Russia pushback, or depicting them annoying or trolling him, but please don't fall into using offensive stereotypes to do so and do not solely use these groups as a tool to display your hatred of Russia - that in itself is dehumanising.

When I say that "I'm not saying to depict their relations with Russia as only doom and gloom", that certainly doesn't mean portray them as being in love with Russia with little acknowledgement of ongoing injustices. Ships are a tricky enough subject in the hetalia fandom because of the nature of the content, however it's important to be sensitive if you are portraying an indigenous and settler relationship, especially if the colonised are still a colonised people with no independent state of their own and are "autonomous regions" that are a part of the coloniser nation state. I will not speak on Siberians who may choose to do this as this is their lived experience (though, I have not come into contact with any so far that do so - and those I have talked to about this topic have shown great distaste towards these types of depictions), but if you are an outsider who chooses to do this you seriously need to be careful (speaking as an outsider).

I cannot tell you what to ship or what not to ship. But I can sure as hell tell you that I have seen depictions of Sakha (for example) being portrayed as a woman who is infatuated/in love with Russia, who has "forgiven" Russia for everything he did, and who selflessly does things for him. And I can't say that the Sakha people I have talked to are impressed with this portrayal.

It's even worse when you consider that the whole "Sakha woman selflessly in love with a Russian man" is literal colonisation apologia:

https://travelleronamission.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/propaganda-at-its-best-8-the-monument-celebrating-love-between-the-natives-and-the-settlers/

There is an overglorified myth promoted of a Sakha woman called Abakayade selflessy marrying a Russian settler by the name of Semyon Deshnev, whereas in reality she was forcibly converted and married to him. The picture of the statue I linked above is colonial apologia, that is supposed to represent the "love" between the natives and settlers.

I myself do not ship any Siberian indigenous group with Russia and I'm not planning on doing so. All I can say is to tread lightly, and don't push out flimsy half-baked portrayals without thoroughly thinking about it considering the steep power imbalance between the indigenous and the settlers, especially amidst the recent and ongoing disproportionate mobilisation of indigenous peoples in the invasion of Ukraine. How I see it anyways, there are much higher stakes when shipping an indigenous group and it's settler vs two nations who have a long history of warfare with each other like France and England, or at least two independant nations. I, as an outsider, personally would not romanticise or make a lovey dovey relationship between an indigenous group and the settler group period - especially as I am not indigenous in any sense and when it comes to Siberian indigenous, those I have talked to so far from this region seem to unanimously dislike such portrayals.

This point kind of links to my previous one, but I would not portray a Siberian group and Russia's relationship as the Siberian group being some sort of helper or even something of a mom friend - a "rock to lean on" in Russia's life who "keeps Russia in check". I have seen this portrayal with Sakha, Kazakhstan and even Belarus. It's already quite odd to depict the colonised comforting the coloniser. However it gets a little more problematic when you realise that the colonised are almost being portrayed as accessories of Russia/ enthusiastic bearers of emotional labour for Russia. I have spoken to a Northern Asian who is more familiar with Russian country personification communities and they've seen a portrayal that unfortunately, fits that description almost perfectly.

It's important to portray their relationship with Russia as rounded and with both sides having equal say and shown to be fully developed characters in their own rights, though this applies more specifically to the Siberian OC in the relationship as they are the ones who are often reduced to accessories in their relationship with Russia. By this I mean that depictions of their relationship with Russia centre around Russia's feelings and perspectives with little thought put into their feelings and perspectives. They simply act as sidekicks or side characters to Russia rather than fully fledged out characters with their own agency and opinions. Further, it's pretty egregious to show the Siberian group as acting as comforters to Russia who willingly and even enthusiastically partake in engaging in large levels of emotional labour for Russia to "keep Russia sane" when Siberian groups have historically been exploited by Russia and continue to be exploited by Russia to this very day. From fur tax, to forced conversions and Russification, to nuclear testing sites that resulted in poor health conditions for those who inhabited the area, to the disproportionate mobilisation of indigenous Siberians in the invasion of Ukraine - it hasn't stopped. This isn't to say that you're not allowed to depict a lighter side to their relationship, but to boil it down to "Sakha/Buryatia/Chukotka etc. are fiercely protective of Russia/selflessly goes out of their way to help Russia/act as Russia's rock to lean on" is very... Questionable, considering the circumstances.

Bit of a side note but in general you should not be treating Siberian OCs as exoticised accessories. Of course there is nothing wrong with admiring their clothing or jewellery or arts, however it becomes a problem when outsiders use these aspects of their culture to mystify such groups and subsequently view them through an exoticised lense - and so they are reduced merely to pretty objects for outsiders to ogle, and not groups of real people. Because of how niche Siberia OCs are, some may think that drawing a Siberian in a pretty headdress or posting "Siberian aesthetics" and calling it a day is enough to be deemed as knowledgeable or sensitive on the culture in question despite other actions showing otherwise, because there's not really anyone to call them out on their questionable treatment of such cultures. But just know, it's not acceptable to reduce such cultures to merely aesthetics, real research and most importantly respect is the priority (I have unfortunately interacted with people who would repost indigenous Siberian clothing and aesthetics for example but then at the same time, justify/dismiss their mistreatment under the Russian state.)

On an (almost) final note, I would never portray Russia as being a father or even teacher to any Siberian group - period. I've talked about this in a previously very strongly worded post, however portraying Russia as a father to any Siberian group holds many questionable and downright offensive connotations. First of all, these groups existed before Russian colonisation, they had their own unique histories and cultures before Russian settlers arrived. These groups have histories that go back further than the very concept of Russia. This sort of paternalistic outlook is often used by settlers around the globe and colonisation apologists - that the groups they colonised had no culture and no real tangible history before their colonisers arrived, and that the coloniser in question acted almost as a parent and/or teacher to the colonised, lending them a generous hand to "civilise" and "enlighten" the "barbarous" indigenous people. This kind of portrayal of a Siberian group's relationship with Russia is misguided at best and colonisation apologia at worst. Siberian history did not start when Russians arrived, culture was not gifted to them by Russia.

Finally (can you tell I'm a professional yapper?), this is about portraying 2P!Russia or the "evil side" of Russia as... The Asian/Siberian part of Russia. This goes far beyond a mere "disrespectful" portrayal of Russia's relationship with Siberian groups. I'm going to insert an excerpt here on an up and coming post of mine that centres around how anti-Mongolian sentiment manifests, however anti-Mongolian and anti-Siberian sentiment often overlap because they are Northern Asian groups,

Brief summary of what oriental despotism is:

Oriental despotism is the theory that Asian societies are more inclined/prone to authoritarianism than European societies. It is a eurocentric view which paints Asian civilisations as a monolith and ignores complex power structures and nuances in favour of oversimplifying them as simply being authoritarian/having an extremely strong centralised and most importantly "despotic" (basically, backwards) rule.

"...Russia's weirdness and antisocial behaviour when compared to other European characters being blamed solely on Mongolia/Asiatic influences in Russian culture is the theory of oriental despotism rearing its ugly head even if people are not aware that they are doing it.

This next point not only talks about Mongolia but the indigenous Siberians of Russia. I have seen people make 2p!Russia (AKA "evil" Russia) Asian or represent Siberia because:

1)They want to show the Mongol/Tatar influence/side of Russia 

2)They want to show the Siberian side of Russia

Considering 2p Hetalia characters are often portrayed as the "dark side" or "evil side" of nations I don't think I need to explain why this is racist, especially after the explanation of what oriental despotism is

In the case of the Siberians I'd argue it is even more egregious to do this. Siberia is a part of Russia because of Russian imperialism/colonisation. Many indigenous Siberian people were killed, their languages and way of lives close to destroyed or destroyed period, and are being disproportionately mobilised by Russia in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In fact, Siberian soldiers, especially Buryats who are a Mongolic people, are being scapegoated for the brunt of Russia's war crimes in Ukraine. 

Pope Francis himself scapegoated the non-(ethnic) Russian soldiers for a majority of Russia's war crimes in Ukraine:

“Generally, the cruellest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryats and so on,”

From:

...So not only is Russia being called a continuation of the Mongol Empire, with articles titled "Putin Khan" being published without anyone batting an eye, and with a Siberian/Mongolic ethnic minority being scapegoated for Russia's war crimes despite them being victims of Russian imperialism and an ethnic cleansing, do you understand how insensitive it is to make the "dark/2p Russia" a representation of Siberia or the Mongol/Tatar influence on Russia?

To note: It's not just Buryats being disproportionately mobilised.

To use Russia's indigenous Siberian population as a representation of 2p/dark/evil Russia is so unfair it beggars belief. Those people are victims of Russian colonisation, yet their "despotic, Asiatic" ways will be used by racists to scapegoat Russia's bad behaviour onto, despite again, being victims of Russian colonisation and imperialism themselves.

Yes, Russia colonised you, forced you out of your traditional ways of life and destroyed the use of your language. Yes, the Kremlin is unfair to you and you live in the most deprived and poverty stricken areas of Russia. Yes, you're being disproportionately mobilised in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But you committed the crime of ruining the whiteness of Russia simply by existing there - your despotic Asiatic ways is one of the reasons why Russia is so backwards, you are at fault for the brunt of the warcrimes committed in Ukraine because you are inherently more "barbaric" than white Russians"

That's all I have to say on that topic for now. I decided to include it as it's technically kind of a portrayal of Russia's relationship with Siberian groups, as the Siberian groups are all blended into one and then made the "evil" part of Russia. It's genuinely one of the worst interpretations I've seen of Russia and Siberian groups in a hetalia context.

Oh and, this should be obvious. Singular Siberia OCs (as in, "Here is my aph Siberia OC who represents THE WHOLE of Siberia and is the amalgamation of EVERY SINGLE SIBERIAN GROUP INTO ONE!!") will always be offensive, period. I talk about this in a previously strongly worded post and the post mainly centers around this point. What's funny is, this post was part of the reason of why someone thought it was acceptable to harass me with fake accounts on, as they (not Siberian or even Northern Asian) argued people should be "able to do what they fucking want <3" (actual quote) in terms of depicting singular Siberia OCs. Meanwhile, actual Siberians agreed with the post. So, there's that. Again, this seems to be an acceptable interpretation to some which I would find funny if it wasn't so... Stupid? It's like making a singular Africa OC. It completely undermines the diversity of the groups that inhabit Siberia. I've seen people justify this kind of depiction by saying "well all of these cultures were killed by Russia/are dead now anyways so that means it makes sense for them all to be portrayed through (1) personification" I'm sorry but 1) So many of these cultures are still alive and kicking, they most definitely aren't "all dead" 2) Who the hell are you as an outsider to declare a culture dead? Especially when there's evidence to the contrary?

The worst singular Siberia I've seen was an abomination of the singular Siberia OC and "Russia as a father to Siberian groups" mashed into one. It went like "Russia was walking along the empty snowy plains of Siberia and found a little girl there who was the representation of Siberia and he raised her and is partly her biological father". Let's break this down:

Strike 1: The concept of Terra Nullius or "Virgin Land" - Siberia was not an empty no mans land for settlers to roam around in and lay claim on, it has been the home of indigenous Siberian groups for thousands of years

Strike 2: Undermines the brutality of the colonisation of Siberia and the atrocities that took place

Strike 3: Singular Siberia OC

Strike 4: Russia being this personifications biological father and the father who raised her. This has... Extremely disturbing connotations, especially on the biological father part when you consider the sexual violence indigenous Siberian women were subjected to. This is why I yapped about that interpretation I saw of Sakha being portrayed as a woman who is hopelessly in love with Russia.

Here's that strongly worded post in question, yes I do sound like a grade A bitch here but you would not believe the crap I've seen that lead up to me making this post:

What's most important in depicting Siberian groups' relationships with Russia is by seeking out Siberian perspectives online whether it's through forums or videos, and if it's possible - asking them directly. You cannot make an OC that is a representative of a nation/group of people without centering and incorporating the aforementioned peoples voices, especially if the OC in question is a representative of an indigenous group because frankly, there are higher stakes with such depictions. I understand with certain groups it's harder to directly reach out to them, whether it's because there's not very many of them or for other reasons. In the meantime though, that should not stop you from doing reading and research, and getting into contact with other groups and asking their perspectives.

TL;DR

It's important to do research on the colonisation of Siberia and the ongoing injustices Siberians face at the hands of the Russian state in order to depict a sensitive portrayal of a Siberian group's relationship with Russia. Research should also be done on racist and exoticised stereotypes Northern Asian folk face in order to avoid such stereotypes when depicting such relationships with Russia. They should be acknowledged as victims of Russian imperialism but they should also be given agency and should also be depicted as giving pushback so as to acknowledge the efforts Siberian groups make in order to fight back against mistreatment of the Russian state. I would not personally portray a Siberian group entering into a  romantic relationship with Russia as the Siberians I have spoken to are uncomfortable with this kind of depiction, if you choose to do so however as an outsider - be careful.

Siberia OCs should not be treated as accessories or enthusiastic bearers of emotional labour to Russia and should first and foremost be fully fleshed out characters with their own thoughts, feelings and personality outside of Russia before depicting their relationship with Russia so as to avoid unknowingly portraying them as accessories to Russia. I would not portray Russia as being a father or "teacher" to any Siberian group as the former is blatantly historically incorrect and offensive, and both are concepts that are used by settlers and colonisation apologists alike ("the indigenous had no culture or tangible history before we came, we acted as a teacher/parent to them in order to civilise them). Singular Siberia OCs that are meant to represent every single Siberian group in one personification will always be offensive. When making Siberia OCs and depicting their relationships with Russia, research and seeking out Northern Asian perspectives is vital.

My personal interpretation:

Honestly, I think the most positive feeling Siberian groups feel for Russia is tolerance. The baseline emotion they have for him is dislike/distrust. I see Russia as kind of being... Fake nice to them if that makes sense? So many places in the far East of Russia are extremely neglected because the Russian state does not care to improve living conditions for such places - Tuva being a prime example. I think Russia only really gives more attention to regions that he can get something out of, like Sakha with his rich mineral reserves. Sometimes for PR purposes he'll tokenise Northern Asian groups to tout himself as being a #rich and #diverse nation like "wow, I am such a diverse nation and we treat our ethnic minorities/indigenous groups as one of our own" and "our ethnic minorities are not victims unlike American SJW ones" (actual shit I've seen Russians say). Basically, he'll use them to big himself up all the while his treatment of them is questionable at best. I also think Russia orientalises them to an extent and will sometimes refer to them as "fierce warriors" or some other bullshit like that (again, actual shit I've seen Russians say) and usually doesn't really take their complaints seriously. A lot of them usually bite their tongue and roll their eyes at this. There are quite a few I think who go full on lawyer mode as a way to give Russia pushback (this forces Russia to respond essentially) but also I do think it's funny when they just conspire to ruin Russia's day somehow or troll him/are snappy or petty to him. Basically, they only really tolerate him at best and see right through his childish/innocent demeanour. Hm I don't think they're as...Afraid of him as a lot of other nations are? Not that they don't ever fear him or fear the consequences of questioning his actions, but moreso that well - they're a part of Russia of course and so are more used to him and is crap. Less fear going around more "oh god what's he going to do this time". Not to say that there aren't perhaps some lighter moments but they are few and far between.

Anyways I'm so sorry I wrote up a novel as a response HAHA