Greetings all!
This piece represents a conglomeration of work which
I feel I may have overdone, in view of the length of time I used to write it. My
return piece concerns the growing trend of Russian nationalism, a right-wing
philosophy has been essentially the national policy of the Kremlin. This week’s
quote comes from Éamon de Valera, an Irish Taoiseach and political leader whom
I mostly respect for his leadership of the anti-treaty IRA, rather than his
rampant social conservatism.
Russia
for Russians: A Brief History
Russian nationalism has been a mix of historic
attitudes and Orthodox Church support for centuries now. In the past, tsars
manipulated the xenophobia of Russian peasants generally to stoke support for
non-Western varieties of modernization or expansion. Given that Russia was
harshly dealt with by Mongol invaders, it’s not hard to see where a general
dislike of foreigners may have originated.
A radical sea change began with the October
Revolution in 1917. Suddenly, the entirety of Russia (and soon, the Soviet
Union) was now under the leadership of an internationalist
and a communist, Vladimir Lenin. For the first time in decades, the goal of the
state was no longer that of territorial expansion to the detriment of
non-Russian citizens. And while the Civil War was no laughing matter for
minorities and Russians alike, the fact stood for a brief time that nationalism
would no longer be a facet of Russian life.
However, Lenin died long before his visions of
communist society could truly be realized. And after his death, the single most
divisive figure in Soviet history came to the helm of the Union: Joseph Stalin.
Rapid industrialization and an enormous war effort gave Stalin a reason to co-opt
nationalism, and given it certainly did help improve morale and drive
during those times. However, Stalin still had full grasp of the situation, and
thus monstrous anti-immigrant riots were understandably uncommon during his
years in power.
Soviet leaders after Stalin did relatively little to
stop nationalism in the U.S.S.R., although none truly exploited it for much
gain, either. Khrushchev embarked on “de-Stalinization,” but this didn’t mean
very much, honestly, especially given how Brezhnev somewhat re-Stalinized the country
during his term. By the time the Union fell apart, the nationalist tide was not
calm, but was not particularly strong at least.
Yeltsin had other issues to deal with besides
nationalism while he was in power (like a violent
constitutional crisis and the worst
depression any country has ever seen). Putin, however, has taken great
advantage of nationalism since he became president over a decade ago, mostly a
result of the booming oil/gas-based economic recovery.
Off
the Rails
Russia has now experienced a serious and
debilitating economic contraction in both past decades, each time inciting
violence and stirring anti-immigrant attitudes. This is expected; in crisis,
the extremes of the political spectrum always have the most to gain, and
nationalists are always extreme in some way or another. What has not been
expected is that Putin is losing
control of the beast he has cultivated. For a very long time now,
nationalism has been a traditional characteristic of the incumbent government.
Now that nationalists have become a focus of the opposition
(sorry about the lack of English on this link; I had a Russian friend read me
this one), the country is facing a dangerous problem. To be specific,
xenophobic anti-regime activists with a persecution complex.
Why
are they anti-Putin now?
It can be hard to say exactly what inspires some
nationalists to change sides. Much of it can be pegged to the nature of a
country in which the economy is a capitalist oligarchy, yet the government is
not much more than a dominant-party dictatorship. The forces of free expression
are controlled in very unique ways per situation in Russia, to the point that
any nationalist can find an excuse to be angry whether the economy is high or
low. If Russia is doing great, the Islamic migrants are stealing the burgeoning
wealth of the people without Russians even seeing it. If Russia is suffering,
it’s because the Islamic migrants stole from Russians so much the economy
collapsed.
Some of the blame is squarely on Putin in this
debacle. While he’s been carefully playing puppeteer with the Pinocchio that is
the Russian government and society, he has forgotten to plan far enough ahead.
Make no mistake, Putin makes for an excellent autocrat; there’s a reason he
took top spot on Forbes'
most powerful people list this year. However, he doesn’t have complete
control over a country much larger than America and one that is still very
populous. He must be aware by now that any force played up by dictatorship has
the chance of turning upon itself. If this wasn’t the case, Saudi Arabia would
have almost no terrorism problems (hint: they have many).
And lastly, new Russian anti-LGBT laws have done
much to stir up tension and violence, something which is never pretty when
associated with migrants from the Caucasus. These laws have encouraged
infighting and the stoking of an already poor relationship with homosexuals
(Russia has never mixed well with gay people, if you couldn’t guess). Instead
of cementing his grip on power, these stringent anti-gay codes have given Putin
widespread condemnation and thereby enforced the “persecuted” feelings of
violent nationalists.
What
Can Be Done?
I’m not writing a section on why oppositional Russian
nationalism is a problem. If there are ever protesters ready to kill brown
people just because they feel like it, that is a problem no matter what.
Stopping this where it starts is of much greater
import, especially now. Unsurprisingly, much of the duty to curb xenophobia is
on Putin’s hands. He’s got control now, therefore it is in his best interest
and that of Russia to keep people from starting race riots in Moscow. For
Putin, cutting down on anti-immigrant attitudes helps him maintain the peace
and cuts short a pillar of oppositional thought, given that he will now forever
have trouble monopolizing nationalism. For the nation, immigrants are a boon to
the labor force and therefore the economy, especially given Russia’s low
birth rate and high
discrepancy in male-to-female life expectancy. Without immigrants to
Russia, labor becomes expensive and scarce, and the economy drags. This is
essentially why most all anti-immigrant arguments in Western countries are
hogwash; without new workers to fill the gap between tons of old people and
less-frequently reproducing young generations, a nation will always experience
rough economic times.
Lastly, domestic and foreign opposition to Russian
nationalism must be swift and heavy-handed in its approach. Anti-Putin leaders
like liberal Alexei
Navalny and communist Gennady
Zyuganov must take the time and put in the effort to ensure that
nationalism is thwarted. Nations must press Russia to stomp on those who stomp
on migrants, and it can’t just be the Western world telling Russia what to do;
they won’t listen. China must urge Russia to change, Belarus and Kazakhstan
must urge change. And they must be willing to punish the authorities with the
cutting of ties (especially economic ones) in order to make their point.
Conclusion
That is all for this week, and I hope none of you
mind that I had to use a Russian link just once for this. As always, I can be
reached through the comments or my email at zerospintop@live.com. My Facebook,
Twitter, DeviantArt, Google+, Tumblr, Youtube, and Reddit accounts can also be
used if needed. Good night, and this is KnoFear signing off.
