Paul Goble
Staunton, Aug. 1 – Almost two years ago, rumors were swirling in Moscow that Putin planned to close the permanent representations that most federal subjects maintain in Moscow and many in other regions and republics (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2023/01/putin-rumored-planning-to-close.html).
Those institutions, created at the dawn of Soviet times, have been practically and symbolically important for the regions and republics which have them. Indeed, in the eyes of many, they were de facto embassies given that in 1991, many union republics formed embassied on their basis.
For the history of these institutions, see Peter J. Potichnyj, “Permanent Representations (Postpredstva) of Union Republics in Moscow,” Review of Socialist Law, 7:1 (1981), pp. 113.-132; and on their role since 1991, see windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2022/10/embassies-of-non-russian-republics.html and the numerous sources cited therein.
The permanent representations seldom get much attention, but now a discussion about them in Dagestan suggest that these institutions about to change in ways that may not lead to their liquidation but which clearly reflect Putin’s interest in downgrading them both practically and in the eyes of the regions and republics which have them.
According to the Dagestani newspaper Chernovik, Makhachkala’s permanent representation in Moscow will not longer help Dagestanis with their legal problems in the capital but will be exclusively devoted to promoting investment in that North Caucasus republic (chernovik.net/news/postpredstvo-dagestana-bolshe-ne-budet-zaschischat-konstitucionnye-prava-dagestancev-v).
To that end, the permanent representation has been restructured to increase staffing for handling investment question. What this likely means, the paper suggests, is that the Dagestani “embassy” won’t be as focused on the diaspora in the Russian capital as much as it has been up to now, thus significantly lowering its political profile.
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