‘Dismantling the Russian Empire will Stop Wars, Not Provoke Them,’ Sokolov Says

 Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 13 – Denis Sokolov, coordinator of armed resistance of the Civic Union and a participant in the Free Ingria movement, says that opponents of republic and regional groups who want their motherlands to gain independence so that they and their children can have a better future rely on four basic myths.

            Those who argue that dismantling the Russian Federation would be a disaster insist, he says, that people don’t want it, those seeking it don’t represent anyone, independence will lead to fratricidal wars, and the regions and republics have no economic foundations on which to build (civiccouncil.info/4-mifa-imperii/ reposted at region.expert/4myths/).

            None of these arguments holds water upon examination, Sokolov continues; but the one that seems most persuasive to the largest number of participants in this debate is that dismantling the Russian Federation would lead to an enormous number of violent wars among the newly independent countries with much loss of life and economic destruction.

            In reality, the activist argues, this argument gets things exactly backwards. “The dismantling of the empire will stop wars not provoke them.” (emphasis supplied)

            Sokolov’s argument is based on his proposition that a civil war in Russia “is being launched right now by Putin, Prigozhin, Kadyrov and many others who aren’t yet publicly visible. They are dividing the country into zones of influence,  industries, territories, and financial flows.”

            “Their war with each other,” the activist says, “is a war of survival so they will increasingly deploy not only weapons but propaganda. They will invoke old wounds and grievances between peoples and different social groups, setting one against the other” which is what a civil war is all about.

            Those favoring the dismantling of the empire before things can deteriorate further, he continues, “must be stronger, more numerous and have a clear vision of the future for our regions and republics. Then we will be able to work together to stop the endless fight for the restribution of the remains of the dead empire.”

            According to Sokolov, “all regional and republic political movements in the Civic Council are independent of each other but form a single international corps and a single partisan movement … We are thus the ones who will stop the civil war in Russia, not the ones who have started it.