Many Ethnic Russians in Republics Share the Aspirations of Titular Nationalities, Gabbasov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 19 – When the Baltic countries pursued the recovery of their independence before achieving it in 1991, the ethnic Russians living in them were divided, with some supporting the USSR and others openly backing the aspirations of the Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians.

            Something similar is happening in the non-Russian republics of the Russian Federation now, Ruslan Gabbasov, the émigré leader of the Bashkir National Political Center, says, noting that “the ethnic Russian residents of the Republic of Bashkortostan are not like the Russians who live in Tambov, Moscow or Rostov-on-Don” (region.expert/bashrussians/).

            The Russians in his homeland – he now lives in Lithuania – greet Bashkirs and Tatars there by saying Salam Aleykum, they love to ride horse, they drink kumys and share an interest in the flute music Bashkirs love. They are truly “Bashkir Russians” who consider Bashkortostan their motherland.”

            To be sure, Gabbasov says, there are some imperialists among the ethnic Russians of Bashkortostan; but if one is honest, there are such people among Bashkirs, Tatars, Udmurts and others as well.

            “But those Russians who recognize the right of the Bashkir people to self-determination, who remember that the Bashkirs have other land and are prepared to defend it to the death, are one of the components of the Bashkir political nation, who will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Bashkirs and other nations to defend its independence.”

            They will do so, Gabbasov says, “because they know that no one intends to oppress Russians whatever the chauvinists say. Russians will have the full right to the study of their own language, the practice of their own religion and the development of their own culture.” Indeed, Russians in Bashkortostan already have things better in this regard than do Russians in Ryazan.

            Russians who feel otherwise and want to live under Moscow will be able to do so by leaving the republic, a place where their own attitudes will make them feel uncomfortable.