Friday, September 13, 2019

Siberian Protesters Against Russian and Chinese Imperialism Arrested


Paul Goble

            Staunton, September 9 – Tomsk officials refused to give permission to Left Resistance activists to hold a Siberian Anti-Imperial March in the center of that city, but a small group went ahead anyway to protest the twin imperialisms they say are oppressing Siberia, the Russian and the Chinese.

            The demonstrators carried signs to the square in front of the city’s main railroad station saying “Down with the imperialism of Moscow and Beijing.”  In short order, however, all those taking part were arrested. They will come before a judge next week (region.expert/sibmarsh/ and vk.com/marshsib).

            What makes this small event worthy of note is that over the last several years residents of Siberia and the Russian Far East have been complaining about the imperialism or neo-imperialism of China with Beijing’s apparently insatiable demands for Russian timber and Russian water supplies, complaints that have now linked up with an older Siberian tradition.

            In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Siberian activists known as the oblastniki labelled their land “a colony” of Russia and talked about Russian imperialism there. What is intriguing is that talk about Chinese imperialism has now led to the reappearance of similar talk about Russian imperialism among Siberians. 

            To the extent that the two ideas become linked in the minds of people living east of the Urals, Moscow when it talks about Chinese plans for Siberia may be unwittingly promoting the rise of Siberian regionalism/nationalism if residents of that enormous and enormously rich region begin to view themselves as victims not just of one imperialism but of two. 

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