Paul Goble
Staunton, Nov. 3 – Two weeks ago, Daghestan head Sergey Melikov called for eliminating the provision in the republic’s constitution that requires that heads of that federal subject defend Daghestan’s territorial integrity, a change he said is required to bring the republic law into line with federal laws which makes only on the Russian president responsible for that.
But his appeal sparked widespread protest by Daghestanis who fear that if that provision is dropped, there is a danger that parts of Daghestan will be handed over to neighboring republics, including Chechnya, which has laid claim to part of the North Caucasus republic in the past (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/382452/).
While Melikov may have federal law on his side, the protesters have in their mind what happened when the head of Ingushetia handed over ten percent of his republic’s territory to Chechnya in a secret deal which led to massive protests over the next two years and equally massive repression by the authorities to stop it.
And while there has not yet been any commentary in other republics about the Daghestani move, it is likely that at least some in all of them will see this move in Daghestan as an indication that Vladimir Putin plans another round of regional amalgamation or even the complete abolition of the non-Russian republics.
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