Paul
Goble
Staunton, August 2 – The Russian
government yesterday forced Slon.ru to remove an interview with a leader of the
Siberian regionalist movement (kommersant.ru/doc/2538073
and slon.ru/russia/artem_loskutov_my_otdaem_svoi_resursy_a_v_obmen_poluchaem_nabor_idiotskikh_zakonov-1135581.xhtml)
only to have it appear on other sites almost instantly (bramaby.com/ls/blog/rus/1171.html
and euromaidanpress.com/2014/08/01/siberian-artist-we-give-away-our-resources-and-get-piles-of-dumb-laws-in-return/).
On
the one hand, the ban reflects Moscow’s nervousness about the announcement of
plans by Siberian regionalists to hold “a march for the federalization of
Siberia” in Novosibirks on August 17th, a demonstration that organizers
say will take place under slogans calling for Siberia to “stop feeding Moscow”
and to “create a Siberian Republic” within Russia.
And
on the other, the failure of the ban to work as planned shows the difficulties
Moscow faces in trying to restrict such information online. There are always
other sites people can place their news on, and Internet users are far less
likely to be discouraged from finding them than are those who rely on
newspapers or television alone. Indeed, a ban may only heighten interest.
The
article Moscow sought to block and that is nonetheless available consists of an
interview with Artem Loskutov, a longtime advocate of Siberian identity and
regionalism and one of the organizers of the August 17 demonstration. Reading his words one can see why the Russian
authorities are worried.
Loskutov
makes it clear that the events in Eastern Ukraine have had “a great influence”
on autonomy ideas and projects within Russia. Indeed, he says, those events
have changed the climate inside the country.
And as a result, he warned that “a new wave is coming” not only in Siberia
but in Russia as a whole.
Moreover,
he stressed that the Siberian movement is highly decentralized “as befits a
movement” committed to the decentralization of the country. He insisted that
his movement is “not about separatism; it’s in full compliance with the law”
because “we are talking about creating a new region within Russia.”
And
he said that Siberia is not the only region within Russia that needs greater
autonomy. “Everyone deserves it,” Loskutov said. “Our constitution provides for
independence of the regions; the law just has to be implemented. We must have
as much autonomy as possible. It’s stupid to live in Siberia according to laws
pushed from St. Petersburg.”
Under
current conditions, he said, “Siberia gives away her resources and gets piles
of dumb laws in return.”
Siberian
regionalism, the sense that Siberia is “a colony” and that that arrangement “isn’t
right,” has existed for more than a century, Loskutov continued. He said it has
gone through “several waves” and is now “very popular among ordinary people.
Everyone understands Siberia is feeding the country by supply oil and gas but
Siberia isn’t the main beneficiary.”
That
is “obvious,” even if politicians “never mention it openly,” but “no one can
argue with that,” Loskutov concluded.
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