If Russia Collapsed Tomorrow, Sakha People would Not Want It Restored, Zubareva Says

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Jan. 9 – Many non-Russian activists suggest that large shares of their nations want independence and will pursue it when they have the chance. Ruslan Gabbasov, the émigré leader of the Bashkir national movement is among them. He suggests that roughly 80 percent of Bashkirs support independence (nv.ua/world/geopolitics/posle-vtorzheniya-rossii-v-ukrainu-v-bashkorstostane-usililos-stremlenie-k-nezavisimosti-novosti-rossii-50422110.html).
    And they are forced to explain the relative quiescence among their peoples by suggesting that Putin’s repression means that large numbers of their community are not prepared to act in any way that challenges the Kremlin because of the negative consequences such actions would have for them personally.
    Putin’s increasingly repressive approach undoubtedly plays a role, but it is hardly the only factor at work. Some non-Russians either because of inertia or concerns that their nations could not make it on their own are skeptical about the pursuit of independence. That doesn’t mean they are thrilled with Moscow’s rule but only that they are unsure of how to overcome it.
    Raisa Zubaryova, the founder of the Sakha independence movement who now lives in New York, provides some interesting observations about support for independence, why it exists, and also why it is not always manifest regardless of how much repression is visited upon activists (nv.ua/world/geopolitics/nezavisimost-yakutii-ot-rossii-aktivistka-rasskazala-skolko-yakutov-k-ney-stremyatsya-50480454.html).
    In her opinion, she says, “about 30 percent of the Sakha” are aware of the possibility of independence for the republic but “are simply silent.” However, “our people if Russia collapsed tomorrow would not want it to be restores. Everyone understands that we would have more opportunities if we had our own state.”
    Zubaryova adds: “I think that there are even in power people who sit, remain silent and are only waiting for the moment. Even among POWS … some are in favor. The task of our organization is to awaken this desire,” something we can see “how the processes of national consolidation have already begun among other peoples who live in Russia today.”