Paul Goble
Staunton, June 13 – One of the most obvious possibilities of the amalgamation of federal subjects that Putin has been promoting off and on since the start of his rule is that between the larger and predominantly ethnic Russian Altay Kray and the smaller Altay Republic which has a Russian plurality but a much larger non-Russian minority.
There were rumors earlier this year that Putin would combine these two this year to restart that effort (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/04/another-sign-this-time-in-altai.html); but as has happened in other cases, something has gotten in the way, this time protest against Moscow’s moves against local self-government.
The people of Altay Republic have taken to the streets and even blocked a highway to protest that Kremlin move (themoscowtimes.com/2025/06/13/kremlin-backed-reforms-spark-protests-in-russias-altai-republic-a89441 and novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/06/12/na-altae-mestnye-zhiteli-perekryli-trassu-vo-vremia-protestov-protiv-glavy-regiona-andreia-turchaka-news).
Like the Shiyes anti-trash dump protests which detailed plans to consolidate regions in the Russian North, these protests almost certainly will delay any amalgamation in the Russian east lest Moscow appear to reward or buy off a federal subject whose population protests against what the center is doing.
At the very least, these protests will delay any move to unite the two federal subjects – and that delay by itself may cause the Kremlin to put off at least for a time plans to combine any other pairs of regions and republics, a lesson to other federal subjects that may be under threat of losing their status.
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