Zaki Zainullin is a fierce-looking Tatar. He speaks fiercely, too. Volunteer groups are being raised to fight alongside the Kosovan Albanians, he says. The Tatar Public Centre in Kazan, of which he is chairman, is not involved in this, he stresses, but others are more radical.
"Lists are being prepared. As soon as we hear Russia is sending its own volunteers then we will send ours. The Chechens will send also."
Kazan, the capital of the Tatar Khans, fell to the Russians in 1552. Its ancient fortress has been turned into a typical Russian Kremlin, smaller than Moscow's, but with golden-domed Orthodox churches as well as administrative buildings.
The crosses on those golden domes are a daily reminder to the Tatar population that they are under Russian rule. Each cross, towards the bottom of its stem, bears a crescent moon lying on its back as a symbol of the defeat of Islam.
Today, a huge mosque, unfinished due to current economic circumstances, stands in the Kremlin's grounds to remind the Russians that Kazan is now capital of Tatarstan, a semi-independent state within the Russian Federation with a subtle Tatar politician, Mintimer Shaimiev, as its president.
Zaki Zainullin and his colleagues spoke at their centre's headquarters on Karl Marx Street. He would like to see Russia's rule brought to an end and above all is determined that the proposed union of Russia, Belarus and Serbia will never become a reality.
"This Slavic union will be the death verdict for the Ugro-Finnic peoples here and for the Muslims. With the pan-Slavic union Russia is trying to waken a volcano. But the colonial period is over and I am not sure the West understands this.
"We have lived under the Russians for 450 years. Our language is almost destroyed, they have made Islam their servant, our Mufti is a Russian servant, they have destroyed our traditions, they have contaminated our land.
"Since 1944 we have given three billion tonnes of oil to the Russians and we didn't get a single kopeck. If they had brought us culture it would not have been so bad. But all they taught us was how to drink vodka, speak mat (a complicated system of foul language) and do no work.
"Their main speciality is war and grasping other people's property. We are a colonial people. We know them. We take this triple-union proposal very seriously indeed. It cannot be allowed to become a reality."
While western leaders dither on the issue of ground forces, Zaki Zainullin and his colleagues have no doubts whatsoever.
"Ground forces must be used to ensure that the Albanians have the opportunity to return to their homeland," he says.
His predecessor as chairman of the centre, Gayal Murtazy, a lawyer and former Red Army officer, has no doubts either.
"Our position on Yugoslavia is clear. We believe that the Albanian people are being subjected to genocide. NATO is not involved in aggression, as the Russian mass media says.
"Instead, it is trying to liquidate weapons which are aimed at the destruction of non-Slavic people. We have called on Shaimiyev to shelter Albanian refugees who are fleeing from the genocide and the Serb aggression which attempts to destroy Albanian Muslims," he added.
Mr Murtazy also opposes the Slavic union: "We must denounce not only Russian chauvinism but the pan-Slavic chauvinism which has its basis in Russian chauvinism. They want the rule of Slavs over non-Slavs to be set up to organise genocide and state terror."
Ramai Yuldashev, head of the Tatar youth movement, strives to make a comparison with Ireland. "I send my regards to the heroic Irish people and express my solidarity with the struggle of the Irish people for unity and freedom. We are learning from your experience," he says. There is not a hint of paradox in his voice as he condemns the actions of the British army in Ireland but supports them in Yugoslavia.
"The Tatar youth organisation will be sending volunteers and starting action in support of the Albanian people's struggle for their rights. We protest against the ethnic genocide by Serbia and welcome NATO and its action against Serbia. Milosevic must be brought before the International Tribunal in The Hague to answer for his atrocities. The Albanians must be allowed to settle their own destiny," Mr Yuldashev says.
There are more moderate voices but these, too, condemn Russian policy.
"We understand the reasons and the motives of NATO in Yugoslavia," says Raphael Khakimov, political adviser to President Shaimiev, who opposes the sending of volunteers. "National minorities must be protected against the use of force. It is very hard to understand Milosevic's behaviour and to some extent Russia may have pushed him into the current situation.
"Two years ago when the current foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, visited Belgrade as a deputy foreign minister, he spoke of "support" for the Serbs. He may have been thinking about "moral support" but that is not the way the Serbs saw it. They understood him to be talking about military assistance. Russia is, therefore, considerably to blame for pushing Milosevic into this position," Mr Khakimov said.
In the quiet of the city's main mosque, Gousman Hazrat Iskhakov, the Libyan-educated Mufti of Tatarstan, offers tea and sweets as he speaks of Yugoslavia. He, too, is totally opposed to the Slavic union.
"The Prophet said that when the snake is asleep do not wake it up. If the snake is awakened the Lord will punish the one that wakes it. If they want a union of Slavic states it will lead to a union of Islamic states and to confrontation. We are used to being peaceful here so the serpent must not be awakened. I call on political leaders not to make this mistake.
"We must also be against this stupid war," he said. "It was started by politicians and will be difficult to stop. Satan is at work. The Lord will forgive them if they forgive each other and negotiate.
"It is painful to hear of a conflict that can be turned into a world war through ethnic cleansing and genocide against the ethnic Albanians. It is painful to hear of events that could lead to a confrontation between Orthodox and Islam in the Russian Federation," he added.