Paul Goble
Staunton, Sept. 4 – Many observers assume that those who are called Siberians being overwhelmingly ethnic Russian will stand with Moscow against efforts by non-Russian peoples east of the Urals and elsewhere against those nations which seek greater autonomy or even complete independence.
But that view is wrong, Tatyana Vintsevskaya says. Siberians like herself, the product of a mixed “Russian Polish” and Nenets marriage, are “internationalists by nature.” They don’t want one ethnic group to dominate another and support those who seek independence as a way to avoid that (region.expert/federalism-2/).
The “’ethnic’ federation” Moscow now claims it has represents “an absurd legacy of Bolshevism which it is long past time to do away with, she continues. What is necessary is the formation of a normal federation like those in the US, Canada, and elsewhere “based not on the principle of blood’ but on agreement among the regions.”
What the ethnic composition of their population is doesn’t matter. Siberians can pursue their autonomy and nationhood as a multi-national population, and so too can others. That is why the Siberian flag takes the form it does, one echoing the American stars and stripes. And that is how federalism can work.
If Moscow opposes that, more regions will want independence – regardless of whether their populations are classed as members of this nationality or some other.
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