Russia: New Bill On National Identity Generating Protests

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Thursday, 09 March 2006

Russia: New Bill On National Identity Generating Protests

By Robert Parsons

 An attempt by Russia's State Duma to define Russian national identity has
run into trouble with the country's Muslims and national minorities. The
driving force behind a new bill on national identity was President
Vladimir Putin himself, who has argued that Russians and Russia need to
have a better sense of who they are. But when the bill was sent out for
discussion last month by Russia's republican and regional parliamentary
assemblies, it ran into a storm of protest. Deputies in Tatarstan, which
has a large Muslim population, say it's an attempt to strengthen and
formalize the dominant role of Russians in the state and therefore runs
counter to the constitution.

PRAGUE, March 9, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The idea of defining a concept of
Russian national identity is almost as old as Russia itself -- and just as
elusive.Yet Russian leaders cannot, it seems, resist the temptation to
try. In post-Soviet times, Boris Yeltsin made his contribution through the
new constitution of the Russian Federation and the start of a debate on
the Russian national idea. Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of the opposition
Yabloko party, has appealed for a break from the imperial past. The
Russian national idea, he says, should be based on respect.

But such modest ambitions are not in keeping with President Putin's vision
of a muscular new Russia pumped up by petrol and gas. "This is a very
insidious law. ... It appears to compliment the Russian people but
actually it sets the Russian people up against all the other peoples. Then
there is that terrible article where it states that citizens of the
Russian Federation are obliged to know the Russian language. What does it
mean: "obliged"? If they have to imprison me, what will they do?" The
problem is easily enough defined: how to create a sense of shared identity
in a country divided by race, language, religion and, increasingly, class
and wealth? How to give a sense of purpose to a new state that is still
only just emerging from the ashes of the Soviet Union?

Putin's answer is taking the shape of a bill on the fundamentals of state
national policy, which sees its main aim as strengthening the formation of
a united multicultural society. Few, it seems, have any problem with that.
Where some do have a problem, though, is with the "consolidating role"
assigned by the bill to the Russian people ("Russkii narod") in "providing
the unity of the country and strengthening the vertical of power." Perhaps
they sense an echo of the guiding role assigned the Russian people in the
Soviet Union?

Provocative And Unconstitutional?

The proposed legislation has stirred up a hornets' nest of protest in the
predominantly-Muslim republic of Tatarstan, which has grown used to a
considerable measure of autonomy in the years since the Soviet collapse.
On March 3, its State Council Committee on Culture, Science, Education,
and National Affairs flatly rejected the bill. Foat Galimullin, a deputy
in the republican parliament, discussed this issue with RFE/RL's
Tatar-Bashkir Service. "We have already survived that unrealistic
experiment to create a Soviet nation during the era of the USSR,"
Galimullin said. "And now, once more, we have plans to create the Russian
nation. I consider this law provocative in principle and I think that it
should be for sure rejected."

Indus Tahirov, another deputy in Tatarstan's parliament, said the bill was
at odds with the federal constitution, which emphasizes the multiethnic
nature of the Russian people (Rossiskii narod). "The bill cannot be
accepted in its present form, first of all because it is not in accordance
with the norms of international law, secondly because it contradicts the
Constitution of the Russian Federation, and thirdly because it does not
strengthen mutual understanding among the peoples of the country because
of the articles, which especially stand out concerning the Russian
language and the Russian people."

Tahirov and other deputies have taken particular issue with the provisions
of the bill on the Russian language. Tufan Minnullin points out that a
demand contained in the bill that every citizen should know the Russian
language is at odds with the federal constitution. What does "know" mean,
he asks, and what is the punishment to be for not knowing? "This is a very
insidious law. It gives the impression of defending the Russian people,
but in essence it is directed against the Russian people.  It appears to
compliment the Russian people but actually it sets the Russian people up
against all the other peoples. Then there is that terrible article where
it states that citizens of the Russian Federation are obliged to know the
Russian language. What does it mean: "obliged"? If they have to imprison
me, what will they do?"

Kremlin Fears Of New Demographics

It is not just Russia's religious and ethnic minorities who are alarmed.
Russia's Public Chamber -- set up last year as a sort of collective
ombudsman to monitor the work of parliament, as well as federal and
regional bodies -- was dismissive, with one member suggesting the bill
looked liked scraps torn at random from someone's dissertation. The
chamber has set up its own committee to examine the bill, which will
report back in three months. Valery Tishkov is the head of its Commission
on Tolerance and Freedom of Conscience and a leading expert on ethnicity
and nationalism. He told RFE/RL's Russian Service that he sees no place
for a "consolidating role" for the Russian people in the modern Russian
state.

"We should be talking not just about the multicultural, complex
composition of the Russian people, but also about its unity. It is
impossible to create one people out of 100 peoples. We should not be
talking about how to make one nation out of 100, but about the recognition
-- recognition not formation -- of our genuinely existing unity, while at
the same time preserving all our traditions." The fact that this
legislation is already running into trouble suggests how much Russia may
be changing. At the heart of the debate over the new legislation lies the
Kremlin's fear over Russia's demographic future.  Russia is a multiethnic
country, whose large Muslim population is growing as fast as the ethnic
Russian population is shrinking. The country's national and religious
minorities are becoming increasingly aware of their growing weight and
importance in society. The Russian national idea may never be quite the
same again.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty  2006 RFE/RL, Inc.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/03/500C205B-3260-4AB9-A3B0-418718E7D5DA.html