When Russia Falls Apart, Finno-Ugric Nations Seen Following Two Distinct Paths but Avoiding Conflicts with Neighbors

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Nov. 6 – Ever more non-Russian nations within the current borders of the Russian Federation are thinking about what will happen if and when the Moscow-centric empire disintegrates, with far from all thinking about complete independence and many assuming they will cooperate with their immediate neighbors if not with a revived Russian state.

            Vladislav Oleynik, a member of the Nordic traditionalist movement, says that the Finno-Ugric peoples in northwestern Russia – from the Ingermanlanders and Karels to the Pomors and Komis – are likely to follow the path the countries of the Baltic states did while those in the Middle Volga are likely to choose a future modeled on the Swiss Confederation.

            But in both cases, he continues, the Finno-Ugric peoples because of their history and culture will almost certainly seek to avoid any conflicts with their neighbors and indeed will be prepared to cooperate with them as equals, a prediction that if it proves true could limit violence in this process (region.expert/finno-ugrians/).

            Oleynik makes two other points about the Finno-Ugric nations that have mattered in the past and can be expected to continue to matter in the future. On the one hand, he says, the special nature of the Finno-Ugric mentality, one that is “quite introverted” has protected it against assimilationist pressures from the outside.

            And on the other, while the Finno-Ugric peoples have “a very strong desire for autonomy,” this is “organically combined with the breadth of their global settlement,” something that has disposed them to cooperation with others rather than hostility to any except those who try to undermine their identities.