Paul
Goble
Staunton, April 4 – Activists in
Khabarovsk kray, Tver oblast, and Vologda oblast are responding Moscow’s
annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea by calling for the central Russian government to
“join” their territories to Russia so that they do can benefit from the center’s
largesse, have higher living standards, and escape from local authoritarian
rulers.
These appeals, first advanced in
Tver and Vologda, are being amplified in Khabarovsk where activists of the
Popular Alliance, known locally as “Native Country,” are calling for a mass
demonstration on Sunday “for the re-unification of Khabarovsk kray to Russia” (sobkorr.ru/news/533D3EE21D252.html).
This popular activism comes as a
response to what Moscow has promised Crimea and to the efforts of officials to
organize expressions of support for the annexation of that peninsula by the
Russian Federation, and it is a clear reminder that once such games are begun,
no one can be entirely sure where they will lead.
And perhaps equally important, such
activism shows that a significant portion of Russians who may say they support
what Putin did in Crimea view it as a military action rather than the result of
a popular referendum as Moscow propagandists and defenders have been at pains
to claim.
In announcing Sunday’s meeting, organizers
said: “Look at the Crimea. On television they say that by its unification with
Russia, the life of its citizens will become better, because Russia is a
flourishing country which does not have social and political problems. Citizens of Khabarovsk! ... We live less well
than on average in Russia ... our rights are violated ... [and] they oppress
us.”
Moreover, it continues, “We are all
Russian-language residents of Khabarovsk kray ... and [here] we live much worse
than in Russia. [Consequently,] we call
for uniting Khabarovsk kray to the Russian Federation” (amurmedia.ru/news/khabarovsk/03.04.2014/347589/miting-za-prisoedinenie-habarovskogo-kraya-k-rossii-proydet-v-daln.html).
Vladimir
Avramchuk, one of the organizers, told a local news outlet that “it isn’t a
secret for anyone that the standard of living in Khabarovsk kray is far behind
other Russian regions.” The costs of
housing and food are higher, wages are lower, medical care is worse, and there
is a lack of infrastructure.
In fact, he
says, one has the impression that “Khabarovsk kray and the Far East as a whole
are not part of Russia.”
Following a
meeting organized by officials in support of the annexation of Crimea,
supporters of this current effort staged small one-day protests carrying signs
like “I demand the introduction of the Russian Army into Khabarovsk kray!” “For
a kray without official arbitrariness!” and “For a better and more worthy life!”
Yevgeny Afanasyev, regional head of the Native
Country Party, says that local people have been driven to ask for a Crimean
solution because conditions are so bad where they live. And he expressed the hhope that such
demonstrations would at a minimum attract the attention of the authorities (
But other activists in Russian
regions are less certain about what Moscow has done in Ukraine’s Crimea or
about how useful it would be for the center to do the same thing within the
borders of the Russian Federation. Dmitry Kovalchuk, a leader of the Far
Eastern Alternative group, for example, says that annexing Crimea was “a
mistake on Russia’s part” because “by this decision, the country violated all
international legal norms.”
That is certainly true, but Putin’s
actions in Crimea may prove an even greater mistake as they echo in Russia’s
regions --- and especially as the gap between those who say they support what
Putin did – some 96 percent in some polls – and those who say his actions there
will benefit Russia – 76 percent or 20 percent less – grows (expert.ru/2014/04/3/staraya-dilemma/).
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