Politics
Russian nationalism will triumph only together with democracy
Reading Time: 4 minutesRussian nationalism is currently in a deep ideological crisis, unable to mobilize the Russian nation because of its obsession with out of date ideas and opposed by the regime which fears the coming to power of a Russian nationalism allied with democracy
by Paul Goble
Russian nationalism is currently in a deep ideological crisis, unable to mobilize the Russian nation because of its obsession with out of date ideas and opposed by the regime which fears the coming to power of a Russian nationalism allied with democracy, according to an MGIMO historian.
Indeed, Valery Solovey, an expert on Russian nationalism, argues in an interview posted online last week, “nationalism will triumph only if it is allied with the ideas of democracy,” much as was the case in Eastern Europe whose historical path Russia “willy-nilly” seems fated to follow, however much the regime opposes it (nazdem.infor/texts/132).
Supporters of Russian nationalism recognize, he continues, “the need for radical changes” in both their theory and practice, “but the very process of these changes has not been completed and that in turn means that Russian nationalism still has not been transformed into a new quality.”
While this process is likely to be prolonged, Solovey says, “the democratic and human rights trend in Russian nationalism” are becoming “more evident.” And “it is coming to be understood that Russian nationalism is objectively being transformed into an important part of civil society, for it arose independently of the state and in a certain sense in opposition to it.”
For that to happen, Russian nationalists have to find “ideas capable of mobilizing society.” Anti-Semitism and Orthodox Monarchy “weren’t able to mobilize anyone even 20 years ago.” Now, such ideas are simply laughable. Instead, Russian nationalist need to form “a synthesis of Russian nationalism with the principles of democracy and a social state.”
As Solovey points out, “historically nationalism and democracy if not twin brothers are in any case extremely close and in many things even correspond.” Russian nationalists often do not see that reality because “the very term ‘democracy’” was “compromised in Russia, although the ideas it encompasses has not.
Most Russians, the historian insists, “support the basic values of democracy: they are for honest and free elections, competition in politics, and a multi-party system, for everything in short that represents the content of democracy. And if nationalists want to achieve success, they must be with their own people” on that.
Moreover, Solovey says, Russian nationalism must focus “above all on the middle class,” the class which is always the basis for nationalism’s success. He adds that he “has not doubts that the Russian middle class would invest in nationalism if the political prohibition on that were lifted and if the current ban on any political and social activity in general were removed.”
What that means in turn, Solovey continues, is that “willy-nilly [Russians] will have to repeat the experience of the East and Central European countries where democratic changes took place in nationalist forms and where the national-liberal revolutions played out as democratic ones.”
Because of Russia’s complicated history, Russian nationalism faces a greater challenge, the MGIMO expert says. In many respects, Russian history has been a playing out of “a conflict between the Russian people and the empire” in “a dialectical” fashion. Russians “not without reason considered the empire their offspring,” but the empire treated them badly.
“It was impossible to convert the empire into a Russian national state,” he points out. Indeed, “even the equality of Russians within the framework of the empire – and it doesn’t matter whether it was Orthodox or Communist – could not be guaranteed.” But most Russian nationalists have refused to accept this.
However, “while Russian nationalists were searching for a way out of this blind alley, Solovey says, “history decided everything for them: [With the end of the Soviet Union,] Russia is no longer an empire, and the task of nationalists is to build in Russia an effective and fully national state.”
Asked about the North Caucasus as “a relic” of empire, Solovey responds in a way that will trouble many Russian nationalists. He says that “already during our lifetimes,” the North Caucasus will separate from or be separated by the Russian Federation, an outcome he says “many now are thinking about but still have not decided to say aloud.”
The Caucasus is not worth what it costs, as those who have fought there know best. Unfortunately, Solovey continues, “the current elite [in Moscow] will never resolve this problem in a principled fashion.” Instead, they will continue to throw money at the problem, not only to hold the place as part of the empire and its “mission” but to steal as well.
Over the next few years, he suggests, the problem may even get worse: President Dmitry Medvedev has called for increasing the financing of the North Caucasus republics. But according to Solovey, “this is connected with the approaching Olympic Games [in Sochi, games that are set to become] the most expensive in the history of the Olympic movement.”
Medvedev is also talking a great deal about “the creation of some kind of common non-ethnic Russian identity,” Solovey’s interlocutor points out, to which the Moscow historian responds that “just as someone who is ill talks all the time about health and an alcoholic about vodka, so too he who speaks about the need to form an identity has serious problems with that.”
“There is no all-Russian identity,” Solovey argues; the level of civic self-consciousness is extremely low.” Society is “atomized and people are not allowed to unite” because “every form of civic unification is persecuted” by the powers that be. Indeed today, the only thing that unites the population of the Russian Federation is May 9.
Solovey says that he see Russia ultimately as a federation rather than a unitary state, not only because Russia is too diverse to be run from a single center and according to a single set of rules but because it is “a guarantee of democracy. Real federalism will only strengthen Russia” because “people will know that they really can participate in the life of their own region.”
But getting there is going to be hard given the nature of the powers that be, people who Solovey suggests are more interested in “destruction” than in “creation” and who are capable of “sowing only chaos.” And he adds that “even in the 1990s, the country was led better than know and the effectiveness of administration was higher” because there was less corruption.
The current powers that be, he says, are “totally hostile to everything Russian, to everything national.” Indeed, “the main opponent” of the regime is “the Russian people which objectively needs freedom and democracy.” Those in power feel that and consequently strive to prevent Russians from organizing.
And these powers know they can get away with almost anything as far as the West is concerned, and consequently “the Russian elite intends to hold onto power in Russia to the last – to the last ethnic Russian. If it has to use force, it will use it without a shred of conscience and without any restriction.”
A new football club has earned a leading place in the UEFA Champions League groups and starred in the headlines of worldwide football news yesterday. The Football Club Sheriff Tiraspol claimed a win with the score 2-1 against Real Madrid on the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. That made Sheriff Tiraspol the leader in Group D of the Champions League, including the football club in the groups of the most important European interclub competition for the first time ever.
International media outlets called it a miracle, a shock and a historic event, while strongly emphasizing the origin of the team and the existing political conflict between the two banks of the Dniester. “Football club from a pro-Russian separatist enclave in Moldova pulls off one of the greatest upsets in Champions League history,” claimed the news portals. “Sheriff crushed Real!” they said.
Moldovans made a big fuss out of it on social media, splitting into two groups: those who praised the team and the Republic of Moldova for making history and those who declared that the football club and their merits belong to Transnistria – a problematic breakaway region that claims to be a separate country.
Both groups are right and not right at the same time, as there is a bunch of ethical, political, social and practical matters that need to be considered.
Is it Moldova?
First of all, every Moldovan either from the right or left bank of Dniester (Transnistria) is free to identify himself with this achievement or not to do so, said Vitalie Spranceana, a sociologist, blogger, journalist and urban activist. According to him, boycotting the football club for being a separatist team is wrong.
At the same time, “it’s an illusion to think that territory matters when it comes to football clubs,” Spranceana claimed. “Big teams, the ones included in the Champions League, have long lost their connection both with the countries in which they operate, and with the cities in which they appeared and to which they linked their history. […] In the age of globalized commercial football, teams, including the so-called local ones, are nothing more than global traveling commercial circuses, incidentally linked to cities, but more closely linked to all sorts of dirty, semi-dirty and cleaner cash flows.”
What is more important in this case is the consistency, not so much of citizens, as of politicians from the government who have “no right to celebrate the success of separatism,” as they represent “the national interests, not the personal or collective pleasures of certain segments of the population,” believes the political expert Dionis Cenusa. The victory of FC Sheriff encourages Transnistrian separatism, which receives validation now, he also stated.
“I don’t know how it happens that the “proud Moldovans who chose democracy”, in their enthusiasm for Sheriff Tiraspol’s victory over Real Madrid, forget the need for total and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria!” declared the journalist Vitalie Ciobanu.
Nowadays, FC Sheriff Tiraspol has no other choice than to represent Moldova internationally. For many years, the team used the Moldovan Football Federation in order to be able to participate in championships, including international ones. That is because the region remains unrecognised by the international community. However, the club’s victory is presented as that of Transnistria within the region, without any reference to the Republic of Moldova, its separatist character being applied in this case especially.
Is it a victory?
In fact, FC Sheriff Tiraspol joining the Champions League is a huge image breakthrough for the Transnistrian region, as the journalist Madalin Necsutu claimed. It is the success of the Tiraspol Club oligarchic patrons. From the practical point of view, FC Sheriff Tiraspol is a sports entity that serves its own interests and the interests of its owners, being dependent on the money invested by Tiraspol (but not only) oligarchs.
Here comes the real dilemma: the Transnistrian team, which is generously funded by money received from corruption schemes and money laundering, is waging an unequal fight with the rest of the Moldovan football clubs, the journalist also declared. The Tiraspol team is about to raise 15.6 million euro for reaching the Champions League groups and the amounts increase depending on their future performance. According to Necsutu, these money will go directly on the account of the club, not to the Moldovan Football Federation, creating an even bigger gab between FC Sheriff and other football clubs from Moldova who have much more modest financial possibilities.
“I do not see anything useful for Moldovan football, not a single Moldovan player is part of FC Sheriff Tiraspol. I do not see anything beneficial for the Moldovan Football Federation or any national team.”
Is it only about football?
FC Sheriff Tiraspol, with a total estimated value of 12.8 million euros, is controlled by Victor Gusan and Ilya Kazmala, being part of Sheriff Holding – a company that controls the trade of wholesale, retail food, fuels and medicine by having monopolies on these markets in Transnistria. The holding carries out car trading activities, but also operates in the field of construction and real estate. Gusan’s people also hold all of the main leadership offices in the breakaway region, from Parliament to the Prime Minister’s seat or the Presidency.
The football club is supported by a holding alleged of smuggling, corruption, money laundering and organised crime. Moldovan media outlets published investigations about the signals regarding the Sheriff’s holding involvement in the vote mobilization and remuneration of citizens on the left bank of the Dniester who participated in the snap parliamentary elections this summer and who were eager to vote for the pro-Russian socialist-communist bloc.
Considering the above, there is a great probability that the Republic of Moldova will still be represented by a football club that is not identified as being Moldovan, being funded from obscure money, growing in power and promoting the Transnistrian conflict in the future as well.
Photo: unknown
Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilita, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nicu Popescu, pay an official visit to Brussels, between September 27-28, being invited by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles.
Today, Prime Minister had a meeting with Charles Michel, President of the European Council. The Moldovan PM thanked the senior European official for the support of the institution in strengthening democratic processes, reforming the judiciary and state institutions, economic recovery and job creation, as well as increasing citizens’ welfare. Natalia Gavrilita expressed her confidence that the current visit laid the foundations for boosting relations between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, so that, in the next period, it would be possible to advance high-level dialogues on security, justice and energy. Officials also exchanged views on priorities for the Eastern Partnership Summit, to be held in December.
“The EU is open to continue to support the Republic of Moldova and the ambitious reform agenda it proposes. Moldova is an important and priority partner for us,” said Charles Michel.
Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita also met with Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy, expressing her gratitude for the support received through the OMNIBUS macro-financial assistance program. The two officials discussed the need to advance the recovery of money from bank fraud, to strengthen sustainable mechanisms for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Moldova, and to standardize the customs and taxes as one of the main conditions for deepening cooperation with the EU in this field.
Additionally, Prime Minister spoke about the importance of the Eastern Partnership and the Deep Free Trade Agreement, noting that the Government’s policies are aimed at developing an economic model aligned with the European economic model, focused on digitalization, energy efficiency and the green economy.
A common press release of the Moldovan Prime Minister with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Josep Borrell Fontelles, took place today, where the agenda of Moldova’s reforms and the main priorities to focus on in the coming months were presented: judiciary reform; fighting COVID-19 pandemic; promoting economic recovery and conditions for growth and job creation; strengthening state institutions and resilience of the country.
“I am here to relaunch the dialogue between my country and the European Union. Our partnership is strong, but I believe there is room for even deeper cooperation and stronger political, economic and sectoral ties. I am convinced that this partnership is the key to the prosperity of our country and I hope that we will continue to strengthen cooperation.”
The Moldovan delegation met Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice. Tomorrow, there are scheduled common meetings with Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Adina Valean, European Commissioner for Transport and Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy.
Prime Minister will also attend a public event, along with Katarina Mathernova, Deputy Director-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.
Photo: gov.md
Politics
Promo-LEX about Maia Sandu’s UN speech: The president must insist on appointing a rapporteur to monitor the situation of human rights in Transnistria
The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, pays an official visit to New York, USA, between September 21-22. There, she participates in the work of the United Nations General Assembly. According to a press release of the President’s Office, the official will deliver a speech at the tribune of the United Nations.
In this context, the Promo-LEX Association suggested the president to request the appointment of a special rapporteur in order to monitor the situation of human rights in the Transnistrian region. According to Promo-LEX, the responsibility for human rights violations in the Transnistrian region arises as a result of the Russian Federation’s military, economic and political control over the Tiraspol regime.
“We consider it imperative to insist on the observance of the international commitments assumed by the Russian Federation regarding the withdrawal of the armed forces and ammunition from the territory of the country,” the representatives of Promo-LEX stated. They consider the speech before the UN an opportunity “to demand the observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the Russian Federation with reference to this territory which is in its full control.”
“It is important to remember about the numerous cases of murder, torture, ill-treatment, forced enlistment in illegal military structures, the application of pseudo-justice in the Transnistrian region, all carried out under the tacit agreement of the Russian Federation. These findings stem from dozens of rulings and decisions issued by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that Russia is responsible for human rights violations in the region.”
The association representatives expressed their hope that the president of the country would give priority to issues related to the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region and would call on relevant international actors to contribute to guaranteeing fundamental human rights and freedoms throughout Moldova.
They asked Maia Sandu to insist on the observance of the obligation to evacuate the ammunition and the military units of the Russian Federation from the territory of the Republic of Moldova, to publicly support the need for the Russian Federation to implement the ECtHR rulings on human rights violations in the Transnistrian region, and to request the appointment of an UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur to monitor the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova.
**
The Promo-LEX Association concluded that 14 out of 25 actions planned within the National Action Plan for the years 2018–2022 concerning respecting human rights in Transnistria were not carried out by the responsible authorities.
The association expressed its concern and mentioned that there are a large number of delays in the planned results. “There is a lack of communication and coordination between the designated institutions, which do not yet have a common vision of interaction for the implementation of the plan.”
Promo-LEX requested the Government of the Republic of Moldova to re-assess the reported activities and to take urgent measures, “which would exclude superficial implementation of future activities and increase the level of accountability of the authorities.”
Photo: peacekeeping.un.org
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