North Caucasians Aspire to Have One of Their Own as President of Russia, Kutayev Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 5 – Having dismissed the North Caucasians as bandits who can only be occupied and repressed, Moscow has failed to see that “the Caucasus is more politicized than any other part of the Russian state” and that its peoples both in the streets and via ballot boxes intend to play a role far beyond the borders of their region, Ruslan Kutayev says.\

            If protests and political actions take place in Moscow or other Russian cities, North Caucasians, both the two to three million who live in those places and the millions more in their homelands, will support such movements and expect them to support North Caucasians as well, the president of the Assembly of Peoples of the Caucasus says.

            Indeed, he continues, the peoples of the North Caucasus see no reason why they cannot aspire to any office in the land, including the presidency of the Russian Federation (newizv.ru/article/general/05-05-2020/ruslan-kutaev-kavkaztsy-stanut-aktivnee-i-budut-vydvigatsya-i-v-deputaty-i-v-mery).

            The recent protests in Vladikavkaz yet again showed that “North Ossetian society is distinguished by its activism.” There are many political parties and NGOs there. And compared to other republics, “they feel themselves more independent and can more freely present their demands and, on the whole, find it easier to position themselves in the political field.”

            “But in any case,” this is only a temporary phenomenon. All this is only the beginning,” Kutayev continues. The entire North Caucasus is awakening politically in ways that will feed into all-Russian politics. It has massive unemployment and its officialdom is horrifically corrupt. And its people are increasingly ready to protest in the streets and at the ballot box.

            Given that the issues are similar, “if people begin to advance political demands … not in Chita or Krasnoyarsk but in Moscow and St. Petersburg,” the North Caucasus leader says, then protests in support of them will begin as well … The Caucasus will show solidarity” both via its people in Russian cities and its people in their homelands.

            “I want to assure you that in the coming political affairs, you will see Muslims and you will see Caucasians.” That represents a major change. “Earlier people from the Caucasus were not especially active but hardly because they did not want to take part.”  Instead, Russians regime and opposition alike viewed them as bandits rather than potential allies.

            But “now,” Kutayev adds, “and I say this in the name of the peoples of the Caucasus and the Muslims of the country, we have firmly decided to change this situation … The Peoples of the Caucasus and Muslims want to be among those who take decisions. And of course, they want to be among those who will defend Russia.”

            To that end, we will nominate members of our community to be deputies and mayors and “president of Russia. This is our land.” We aren’t seeking to leave; but in remaining, we want to be an active, even decisive part.