Paul Goble
Staunton, Aug. 1 – The Kremlin’s decision to declare 55 national liberation groups part of a non-existent Anti-Russian Separatist Movement is backfiring, their leaders say both by highlighting Moscow’s fears of organizations that are often virtual or based abroad and by encouraging them to view themselves as parts of something larger and more powerful.
Experts like Andrey Fedorkov, a lawyer at Memorial, say that the Russian authorities likely took this step for convenience because it means that they can bring charges against any of these groups without having to go through the process of declaring each extremist (idelreal.org/a/zapretnyy-plod-sladok-/33055231.html).
But however that may be, the leaders of these groups are delighted. Nafiz Kashapov, a member of the Tatarstan government in exile that is included in this list, says that the Kremlin has not only demonstrated its powerless before these groups but served as a basis for alliances among them and as an advertisement that will attract more support for them.
Sergey Antonov, who represents the Free Udmurtia group, agrees. He says that since Moscow announced its decision, his group has attracted new members because what the center has done is leading Udmurts and others to conclude that they can become part of something much larger than they had thought.
The Committee of the Bashkir National Movement Abroad says the same. Moscow’s action, its telegram channel says, represents that “for the Putinist terrorist regime, we are a dangerous and serious threat. The empire fears liberation movements … but the empire is doomed to fall apart and its death is near!”
And Vladislav Zhivitsa, the president of the Smolensk Republic Center, which is also on the list, argues in a similar vein. He says that “no one has done more to advertise the national liberation movements than the Russian fascist authorities themselves. This is leading to the consolidation of our organizations.”
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