Paul
Goble
Staunton, July 12 – In 1988, more
than 100,000 Estonians came together to sing their national songs in what many
have since described as the beginning of “the singing revolution” which
ultimately led to the restoration of the independence of their nation. Now, more than 30 years later, the Nenets
people are doing the same thing.
They attracted unprecedented
attention and gained widespread respect ten days ago when they became the only
federal subject to vote against Vladimir Putin’s constitutional amendments (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2020/07/being-nenets-or-nenets-resident-no.html).
But that vote, while important, was hardly a one-off event.
Both before and since, residents of
the district have come together in the main square of their capital city Naryan-Mar
and sing songs in order, in the words of the Nazaccent portal, “to
continue their protest against the possible unification with Arkhangelsk Oblast”
(nazaccent.ru/content/33594-zhiteli-neneckogo-okruga-s-pomoshyu-peniya.html).
The Nentsy began to sing on May 13 when
officials announced the signing of a memorandum calling for the amalgamation of
the two regions. That was supposed to take place this year; but two weeks
later, after meetings in Naryan-Mar, leaders of the two federal subjects agreed
to postpone it until next year.
But despite that, the Nentsy
continued to sing, and possibly as a result, their governor has now said that
any talk about uniting the Nenets AD with Arkhangelsk Oblast is “premature,” an
indication that the voices of the singers have been heard and that Vladimir
Putin’s much-ballyhooed restart of his amalgamation campaign may have been stopped
before it began.
For the Nentsy, who are a minority
in their own republic, this is an enormous but far from final victory. But it
certainly deserves to be included in the history of other singing revolutions
like the Estonian which achieved with their voices raised in song more than
many more obviously political steps could.
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