Pandemic an Alibi Not a Cause of New ‘Parade of Immunities,’ Martynov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 13 – Thirty years ago, the non-Russian republics followed one another in what came to be known as “the parade of sovereignties.” Now, in an echo of that event that shows how much has changed, the federal subjects have launched what one might call “a parade of immunities,” Kirill Martynov says.

            The authorities in ten Russian regions have refused to have military parades there on June 24, citing their responsibility given to them by Vladimir Putin to exercise control over the epidemiological situation of their respective populations, the political editor of Novaya gazeta continues (novayagazeta.ru/articles/2020/06/13/85830-parad-immunitetov).

            But their invocation of the pandemic appears to be more “an alibi for ‘a special course’ than a real cause,” Martynov argues. Perm Kray, one of the ten, is refusing to have a parade even though its daily infection rate now is only 70, far less than in many other places, not to mention Moscow itself.

            “Nevertheless, the recently appointed acting governor, Dmitry Makhonin, refused to have a parade.” Local people say that his decision had little to do with the pandemic and everything to do with saving the kray government money in the current economic environment. That is both possible and consistent with what others are doing.

            “The epidemic has already been used for justifying the most varied political decisions, from banning individual picketing to the collection of personal data of citizens as part of the system of ‘digital passes,” Martynov continues. Such actions show how officials in various parts of the country really feel about Moscow’s orders.

            “It is frightening to imagine how they might economize on projects pushed by the center in a situation when there might be real and not coronavirus federalism” in Russia.  Using whatever justification they could find, regional leaders for their own interests and those of their areas would go off in the most varied directions.

            The situation of Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin is special.  He has imposed a tough program to combat the coronavirus but now has begun to loosen it. Given where he sits, he can’t block the Victory parade in his city, but he has called on Muscovites to stay home and said he won’t organize any specifically Moscow events.

            Lest that antagonize the Kremlin, Sobyanin has simultaneously announced new programs to ensure that the city delivers the correct vote on the constitutional amendment referendum on July 1 by making voting easier and also by offering prizes as part of a massive get out the vote effort.

            This is what Russian “federalism” looks like today, Martynov concludes, both in terms of what individual regions and republics can in fact do and what they would like to do if they had the chance.  Their aspirations will certainly disturb the Kremlin and make it less, not more likely that the center will agree to move toward more federalism anytime soon.