Talk:Separatism in Russia

Major and minor movements
What exactly is the criteria for a separatist movement to be considered major because I think most of these are pretty minor. Charles Essie (talk) 21:00, 21 January 2023 (UTC)


 * i think it should go like this:
 * 1) historical context (such as tatarstan, chechnya, tyva, ect.)
 * 2) support from the elites
 * 3) support from the people (such as protests)
 * 4) Mentions in academic sources (considering there are not a lot of them) Dictatorialkarelian (talk) 18:28, 16 February 2023 (UTC)
 * also representation on free nations of russia forum, while some of the minor movements are also represented there, there is little to no historical background to them, so movements like the batlic republic or ingria can be considered major because of their historical context in the 90s. Dictatorialkarelian (talk) 18:30, 16 February 2023 (UTC)

Overblown
I'd like to first say that I'm no expert on the matter but I am a regular watcher of Russian regional politics and my favourite topic of focus is regionalism in Russia so take what I write how you will. Apologies for it being so long.

First of all, separatism and autonomy should not be in the same list here. I don't know about you all, but when I hear "separatism", I think independence. This article should clearly be divided between actual separatist movements and those advocating for simple autonomy. The two words should not be in the same sentence since their meanings are very different.

Second, some of these sources are horribly outdated and do not reflect the current state of affairs in Russia. Some provided are from Putin's early reign or even during the 1990s, when the topic of secession was nominally possible but in reality was hardly brought up except by fringe groups or experts in a theoretical concept. Newer sources tend to come less from independent outlets or academics that provide insight on such movements and more from pro-government sources that use "separatism" as a scare tactic by taking popular movements out of context. In Khabarovsk, for example, the protests in 2020 were never about separatism and nobody mentioned it except pro-Putin zealots who wanted to tarnish the protests in the eyes of the general public. Comments by propagandists like Solovyov are less about pointing out actual separatism and more just scaring the population by making something that is non-existent appear real, giving us outside viewers the false impression that these movements actually exist, which they don't. The protests in Komi and Arkhangelsk similarly are being misconstrued as separatist when the issues they were protesting were simply arbitrariness from Moscow. Not every regional protest is automatically separatist. That would be like calling the Black Lives Matter protest in the US "black nationalist". One last thing I'd like to add is that the Tatarstan referendum of 1992 had been horribly taken out of context. It was never about independence. While some believed it to be due to the poor wording of the question, Tatarstan officials made it clear it was to simply legitimize their "sovereignty declaration" of 1990 which advocated for more autonomy.

Third, some organizations mentioned are erroneous on the topic at hand. Mari Ushem, for example, was never separatist in nature and remains so. Its sole purpose is to promote Mari culture and language. The organization had been captured by Mari El government loyalists a long time ago and is very pro-Moscow, hence why it hasn't been persecuted like the All-Tatar Public Center or Bashkort. Speaking of the latter two, those organizations no longer exist. They've been outlawed and their leaders are now either in prison or in exile, evaporating their influence in Russia entirely. I'd also like to note that Vadim Shtepa has never been a separatist. He's made clear both in his Region Expert blog and on Radio Svoboda that he advocates true federalism or for a confederation and admitted that there is zero support in the republic for a truly independent Karelia.

Lastly, almost every entry on this list is minor. None of these movements have a presence in Russia and all talk on these issues are brought up by small groups of people or even just individuals with virtually no standing or audience in the country. The Post-Russia Forum likes to be big and pompous with "declarations of independence" and the sort but in reality this organization is just a motley collection of said individuals with no influence in Russia. Propaganda over the years have zombified the Russian population to the point that absolutely nobody would support any of these movements. The only entry that has a genuine separatist movement is Ichkeria, which has a functioning, if decentralized, government-in-exile and a base of support abroad, though given the totalitarian nature of Kaydrov's Chechnya, we'll probably never know the true extent of their influence in the republic itself, if there is any. ProjectHorizons (talk) 05:17, 18 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Well, I would suggest to include everything claimed to be separatism in at least a couple of 3rd party RS (claims by Solovyev do not qualify as such). Historical organizations - yes, include. "Minor" or not - that depends on the coverage in RS. If an organization arguably was not separatist, but it was viewed and prosecuted by Moscow as such, then I would say - yes, include. That is actually on the subject. Advocating a confederation of states in Russia is something debatable, but a serious change and arguably could be mentioned on this page. My very best wishes (talk) 20:01, 6 September 2023 (UTC)

Vandalism by 91.193.172.137
For the past month or two 91.193.172.137 has been vandalising the page by adding unsourced movements and at times removing big chunks of the page, can this IP be blocked from futher editing of the page? Dictatorialkarelian (talk) 06:16, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

Which movements should and shouldnt be included
Which ones should be included:

1) Movements in the republics, as they have special rights within the Federation (as long as the information about them is not from the 90s or earlier)

2) Movements that have/had political influence (such as the Ural Republic (the most famous attempt to create a Russian republic), the Batlic Republic (one of the few allowed separatist parties) and Siberia (long history of separatism))

3) Movements that have/had cultural influence (such as Ingria (acknowledgement by popular Russian artist, Ingria is also part of branding of the Leningrad Oblast and Saint-Petersburg), Pomorie (claims of separatism are one of the primary reasons why the Russian state doesnt support Pomor culture and language))

4) The movement has an active militant organization (Chechnya, Bashkortostan, Karelia (unverified), Ingushetia (unverified), Ingria (claimed))

5) Movements that are mentioned in scientific literature or journals (such as Pomorie, Siberia, Far-East, movemenets in the Republics, ect.)

For autonomist movements:

1) Its in a former AO

2) It has a history behind it (such as being an autonomy before, for example Vepsia and Tver Karelia)

3) It has proven support from the population (opinion polls, referrendums, ect.)

Which movements shouldnt be included:

1) Movements that were founded after 2022 and didnt exist before (as of, separatism didnt exist in that region prior to that year, such as the Belgorod Peoples Republic, Volga Republic, Smalandia, ect.)

2) Movements that are only seriously mentioned in the western press (such as the Belgorod Peoples Republic)

3) Movements that are have been inactive for longer than 20 years (such as Abazinia, which gained its autonomy in 2008, NOTE: Disbanded movements can be used for historical context but not as the only proof of separatism in that region)

4) Movements that only exist online (as of, the only proof of their existance is their Telegram channel with 20 subscribers or a Livejournal/VK page)

5) Movements in contested territories Dictatorialkarelian (talk) 18:11, 7 July 2023 (UTC)
 * I would suggest to include everything above that can be reliably sourced. Number 4) in the last list would be an exception, but this is only because such movements can not be reliably sourced (I assume). My very best wishes (talk) 19:49, 6 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree Dictatorialkarelian (talk) 19:51, 6 September 2023 (UTC)
 * The problem though that including some of the organizations or movements currently on the page is not supported by multiple RS. That needs to be checked. My very best wishes (talk) 20:12, 6 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Yeah, a lot of them are fairly new and there isnt much research into Russian separatism aside from Siberia. A lot of them are real movements but there are no sources on them aside from news, which is a shame. After 2014 the topic became a bit taboo so its understandable why there is a problem with RS. Dictatorialkarelian (talk) 20:45, 6 September 2023 (UTC)

Abazinia
https://www.kavkazr.com/amp/29615715.html https://asiarussia.ru/articles/20925/ Would this merit a mention on the article? Rad da writer (talk) 12:41, 23 October 2023 (UTC)


 * Abazinia gained de-jure autonomy in 2015 (with the creation of Abazinsky district). I don't think Abazinia should be mentioned on it's own, considering there arent any big movements represented on any of the forums and groups Dictatorialkarelian (talk) 13:36, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

No sources or unsuitable sources
I removed sentences with no sources such as:

"Separatism in modern Russia was at its biggest in the 1990s and early 2000s. The topic became relevant again after the 2022-2023 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The primary causes of separatism are nationalism in the republics, economic dependency, and geographic isolation."

"The Russian government often uses accusations of separatism in order to hinder development of local cultures and cross-border cooperation."

"Russian government often points at foreign involvement as the primary cause of separatism in Russia, but with the exception of Ukraine, no country directly supported separatists in Russia."

"Most of the movements in this list have existed before the collapse of the Soviet Union. These movements have some levels of support among the local population, diaspora, local politicians, and regional elites. Most of the movements are still small in size and have limited support."

"The main groups pushing for autonomy and separatism within the Northwestern Federal District are Finno-Ugric peoples, but other civic nationalist movements are also prominent in the region. The movements are mainly located in the Kaliningrad, Leningrad and Arkhangelsk Oblasts, as well as in the Karelian and Komi Republics. The movements in the Northwest are influenced by their close proximity to the European Union and NATO."

"Baltic separatism is based on civic nationalism. The movement uses symbols based on the old flag of Königsberg."

"The main difference between the movements lies in their treatment towards ethnic Russians and other non-Finno-Ugric peoples. The Republican Movement of Karelia supports the idea of a multi-ethnic state based on civic nationalism, while the Karelian National Movement opposes Russians and other non-Finno-Ugric peoples involving themselves in Karelian separatist movements and supports creation of an ethnostate."

"In 2023, the Karelian National Movement organized a Karelian battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but later cut contact with them."

"Separatism in North Caucasian Federal District is primarily ethnic. Almost all of the republics have an active separatist movement."

There were too many of these sourceless lines to list them all here.

I also removed unsuitable sources like https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/eng/news/2022/04/7/7137384/ which is an opinion piece from a Ukrainian website that quotes a Slovakian guy who has no background in studying Russia. The site region.expert is another unsuitable source, the site's owner Vadim Shtepa is directly affiliated with the many small post-2022 separatist groups that have only a handful of members. Another example is linking to a YouTube channel that has only 1000 subscribers and no affiliation to a reliable news agency. 65.93.59.71 (talk) 05:51, 25 December 2023 (UTC)


 * Most of the information you removed was is the introduction sections, which were later explained with sourced information, some of the information is explained in the main wiki articles via wikilinks (such as the Republican Movement of Karelia and the Karelian National Movement), Region expert is one of the few news sources that discusses separatism in russia, and while it is clearly ideologically motivated, it can still be used to form a neutral point of view, the 1000 subscriber channel is literally the official channel of the forum and the reference was made before any publications wrote about it Dictatorialkarelian (talk) 21:19, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

Unreliable sources
Almost all of this article seems to be backed up either by Russian news (unreliable), Russian goverment aligned think-tanks (Ремизова 2013), also unreliable, and Vadim Shtepa's writings. The reliability of the last one I cannot assess, but certainly it is too much weight on one person's views. If some separatist movement really is significant, it can and should also be verified from e.g. reliable news outlets (almost completely absent here). Jähmefyysikko (talk) 15:55, 26 December 2023 (UTC)