Russian civilization will come to an end without the unity of its people and a state that serves the people. It will suffer the same lot as the Central Asian civilizations buried under the sand. It would be a huge mistake to think that we can live under the natives of the Caucasus or Central Asia, like the Chinese did for centuries under Mongol rule.
In December Russia plans to approve a strategy for interethnic relations for the next 13 years. The document will introduce the notion of the “Russian civil nation.” The new strategy conceptualizes Russia as both a political nation and an ethnic nation. Mikhail Delyagin, member of the Valdai International Discussion Club and presidium chairman and research director of the Institute of Globalization Studies, offers his views on the strategy.
Interethnic tensions are on the rise in Russia today. The improper and sometimes aggressive actions of clan-based people from the Caucasus and natives of Central Asia have inflamed passions, upsetting the ethnic and religious balance in this country. The future existence of the Russian nation is at stake. One gets the impression that the authorities are consistently, though perhaps unconsciously, replacing the indigenous population with people of other cultures, primarily from these two regions. This is the result of corruption. Officials find it much easier to deal with diasporas that consider bribery a normal business transaction.
Russian people do not feel like citizens. They feel like slaves of the corrupt ruling coterie and, in some regions, as slaves of the ruling ethnic classes. Still, Russia has a civil society. This is evidenced by the near total popular discontent with the way things are. We see expressions of civil society in massive rallies and large-scale protests that are brutally suppressed. People are thrown into prison for massive riots, even though what actually happened bears no resemblance to a “massive riot” as defined by law. This amounts to a crackdown on expressions of civil sentiments. Society is structured differently in Russia than in the West. Our people are not supportive of gays and lesbians, but their civil sense is expressed in their dislike of thieves and corrupt officials that impudently and cynically refuse to perform their duties. Historically, the development of the Russian people as a civil society and a political nation was based not on religion but on a common way of life and a system of values. This explains why we have a civil society with deep roots.
It is necessary to defend our national interests in the sphere of interethnic relations. The state must guarantee its citizens a normal, harmonious life and develop society as it exists. It should take resolute action to this end if need be. It should not allow minorities to dictate their will to the majority. And in everyday life it is enough to comply with the Criminal Code, which classifies bribes, slavery and rape as heinous crimes rather than national traditions.
Russian civilization will come to an end without the unity of its people and a state that serves the people. It will suffer the same lot as the Central Asian civilizations buried under the sand. It would be a huge mistake to think that we can live under the natives of the Caucasus or Central Asia, like the Chinese did for centuries under Mongol rule. It is enough to see how much the presence of Russian culture has diminished in the South and North Caucasus and in many Central Asian republics.
The formation of a civil nation should start with defining a national idea that restores justice as the fundamental principle. It is extremely important to reclaim a feeling of worth in Russian society that felt lost in the 1990s, when Russian society saw itself as a worthless scrap left over from the once great and powerful Soviet Union and as a victim of destruction. In reality the idea is very simple – justice. The many ethnic groups into which we are now divided will have to become a single nation. This is indispensable for our survival. We’ll make it. But it will be our generation that goes through this extremely painful process.
Russian culture does not destroy other cultures but absorbs and develops them. This is its distinguishing feature. We borrow and process everything until it becomes our own, so the formation of a uniform nation will not lead to the destruction of other ethnic groups or the loss of their distinctive voice. At one time there were Soviet Tatars, Soviet Bashkirs, Soviet Germans and Soviet Russians. They were very different from their ethnic counterparts living abroad. Many Soviet Germans could not adapt to life in Germany after reunification, and those who did found the process difficult. In the same way, there will be Russian Tatars, Russian Bashkirs, Russian Germans, probably Russian Chinese, and Russian Russians.
The formation of a Russian civil nation will surely stabilize interethnic relations. When our people are united, we won’t have an excuse to fight. People will have common goals and those who try to fuel interethnic strife will be punished in accordance with the Criminal Code. They will be the aliens.
The recently passed law on protecting the feelings of believers is a huge step backward, a step away from the formation of a Russian civil nation. First, everyone has their own religious beliefs, and they divide rather than unite people. This law obviously encroaches on the rights of atheists, who are treated as not quite equal.
This is not the 15th century. It is impossible to unite Russia and its people on the basis of religion even if we disassociate ourselves from the current image of the Russian Orthodox Church, which does not always evoke compassion.
Russia is a religiously diverse country. We have four major religions alone and many divisions within each, not to mention atheists. Attempting to turn back the clock 600 years and unite Russia on the basis of religion will make our society archaic and destroy its integrity. This does not mean we must surrender to Islamic or Jewish fundamentalism, but as one devout believer said, “The Lord has never been a religious fanatic.”
Laws fix in place that already exists. There has to be something there to fix in place. Those who make laws to create something that does not already exist in the world are ignorant of the essence of jurisprudence. A nation needs to take shape before it starts expressing its will in laws.
This strategy probably can be put into action. What matters most is who is pursuing this strategy and why. Right now these projects are a hobby for corrupt elements that fiddle with them for want of something better to do. Projects headed by spoiled brats have no future. Given the current scale of corruption, the prospects of a Russian civil nation are no better than the prospects of Russian agriculture.
