UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, 7th Annual International Postgraduate Conference
Inclusion Exclusion
Saturday 18 February 2:30 – 4:00: Panel K1: Perceptions of the Nation in Russia and
UkraineAlisa Voznaya (St Antony’s
College, Oxford): ‘*A Bid for Autonomy: The Implementation of
Ethnonationalism in Tatarstan and Chechnya.’
The sudden and chaotic dissolution of the Soviet Union revived ethnonationalism, formerly repressed through the propaganda machine of the communist regime, within the successor states. During the era of Soviet rule, non-Russian republics and autonomous regions were restricted in their policy-making decisions, and were instead viewed as objects of central policy. As a result of this political strategy on the central government’s behalf, following the dissolution of the USSR the leaders of the successor states found themselves ill-prepared to transform ethnonationalism into civic nation-building.
The Russian Federation faced the most complicated ethno-political challenge. Russia inherited territory that was vastly ethnically various, just as its predecessor, the USSR. Inspired by the example of seceding autonomous republics, leaders of autonomous regions within the Russian Federation saw the collapse as an opportunity to become sovereign states. Had Russia allowed for such a massive secession, the new state would surely have collapsed. This paper will concentrate on two major secessionist movements within Russia: the Tatar organization to gain sovereignty and the Chechen movement for separation, and the central government response in dealing with these similar movements. What factors divide the two movements from mild to militant in their goal for secession? The paper will concentrate on addressing the particular historical and socio-economic background that influenced the sense of injustice that resulted in defensive nationalism, the allocation of resources that presented the secessionist movement with advantageous leverage, and difference of objectives in the secession movement.
Currently, separatist movements in the Russian Federation have neither achieved their goals of full sovereignty or failed entirely in their negotiations with the central government. With the reassertion of hegemonic nationalism within Russia in the past few months, it remains to be seen whether the building of the new Russian state will be founded on inclusion or exclusion.
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