ANALYSIS

Why Russian nationalism now threatens Russia's future

by Paul Goble
RFE/RL Newsline

Russian ethno-nationalism, which arose in response to the nationalism of non-Russian groups, now represents a threat not only to the rights and freedoms of all citizens of the Russian Federation but also to the territorial integrity and even future of that country, according to a Moscow commentator on ethnic issues. In an essay posted on politicom.ru on April 11, Sergei Markedonov, a senior specialist on ethnic relations at the Moscow Institute of Political and Military Analysis, argues that there are three interrelated reasons behind the rise of Russian nationalism and the dangers it poses for all concerned.

First, he points out, never before in Russian history have ethnic Russians formed such a large percentage of the population of the state that bears their name. According to the 2002 census, Russians now make up more than 80 percent of the population of the Russian Federation, far more than during the times of the Soviet Union or the Russian Empire.

As a result, and in response to the rise of nationalism among both the peoples of the now-independent former Soviet republics and the non-Russians within the Russian Federation, ever more ethnic Russians - some polls suggest more than 60 percent, Mr. Markedonov says - now support the slogan "Russia for the Russians." That approach not only contributes to the exacerbation of tensions between ethnic Russians and other groups like the Chechens, with whom the Russians have been locked in conflict, but also dramatically increases the number of groups that Russians now view as their "ethnic opponents," thus setting the stage for more clashes.

Second, Russian ethno-nationalism has become the province of extremist groups because neither liberal human rights activists nor the Russian government itself have been either willing or perhaps able to speak up on behalf of ethnic Russians in many cases.

On the one hand, many liberal democratic leaders typically have felt that they must "give preference to" non-Russians' claims as against those of ethnic Russians. And on the other, the Russian government has acted more like a wicked "stepmother" than a loving "mother" in its relations with ethnic Russians in the former Soviet republics.

As a result, Russian nationalism has most often been defined not by moderates but by extremists whose hostility and violence toward minorities and whose statism, anti-Westernism and isolationism combine to undermine the future of Russians and non-Russians alike - and even that country as such.

And third, instead of offering a moderate variant of Russian nationalism, one consistent with the country's constitutional freedoms and developmental requirements, Mr. Markedonov argues, the Russian government has alternated between ignoring or condemning Russian nationalism as such or seeking to exploit it for its own political goals.

By failing to address Russian nationalism head-on during most of the 1990s, Mr. Markedonov says, the Russian government has allowed it to grow to its current dimensions and in a way in which its most extreme and violent forms have increasingly assumed center stage.

And by playing with Russian nationalism, by viewing it as a potential ally to fight the ethno-nationalism of non-Russian groups, the Moscow analyst continues, the Russian authorities are seeking to "put out a fire with gasoline," thereby creating a situation with "a domino effect" they are unlikely to be able to control.

By approaching Russian nationalism in this way, Mr. Markedonov points out, the Russian authorities have simultaneously encouraged the national extremists themselves and cowed many more moderate Russians into thinking that the government in fact supports what the radicals do.

At present, the Moscow commentator concludes, many people in Russia are comforting themselves by noting that extremist Russian nationalism is not a single thing but rather a congeries of various ideas and factions. But that situation may not continue if the Russian government and Russian moderates do not act soon.

Paul Goble is the former publisher of RFE/RL Newsline and a longtime Soviet nationalities expert with the U.S. government. He is currently a research associate at the EuroCollege of the University of Tartu in Estonia.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, May 28, 2006, No. 22, Vol. LXXIV

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