The regional public movement "Kyyrim" controlled by the Kremlin used the celebration of the forthcoming Day of Russia as an excuse to swear allegiance to President Vladimir Putin. The Russian vice speaker of the regional parliament, Remzi Ilyasov, held a meeting of the organization, after which the members of the "Kyrym" called on the Crimean Tatars to consolidate around the Kremlin leader, "writes Sergey Stelmakh in a column on" Crimea. Realities ".
"We remember and honor our common past, all of us Russians are descendants of those who secured the global peace for many decades. Together we proved to the whole world our consolidation in the hardest times and the ability to withstand the pressure of sanctions and information attacks. And today it is extremely important that Russian society maximally consolidates around the president of Russia Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, which, of course, will become his foundation in the formation of a stable circle of friends of the Russian Federation, "the statement says..
The stylistics of the document is very reminiscent of the CPSU rhetoric in the midst of the Cold War: the "ruling circles" of the United States sought world domination, tried to "redraw the geostrategic map of the world," "subordinate" the United Nations and in every way limit Moscow's influence. And only Russia supposedly could guarantee peace and stability. In "Kyyrim" they are sure that the Russian authorities, having annexed the Ukrainian peninsula, violated the "aggressive" plans of the West.
"At a time when the ruling circles of the United States and the leading countries of the EU are engaged in the preparation of new conflicts, not excluding military intervention, the Russian leadership sees its main task in preserving and strengthening peace, friendship and cooperation between peoples. It is such actions of Russia in foreign policy issues and Crimean events that put an end to US attempts to global domination in the world and the project of uniting the world under the leadership of the United States in conditions of inaction of the UN, "believe the supporters of Remzi Ilyasov.
Soviet predecessors in Moscow also conducted an exclusively "peace-loving" policy, and party agitators called the invasion of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Afghanistan "brotherly help". When it came to what exactly Mr. Putin helped the indigenous people, members of the "Kyrym" could only name the notorious "decree on rehabilitation". From the text of the statement it followed that the Crimean Tatars should be unspeakably happy only from the fact that they were declared Russians.
What actually happens? First, Mr. Ilyasov is trying to rehabilitate himself after a loud failure in the last presidential election in Russia. Crimean Tatars, despite the assurances of officials and leaders of pro-government organizations, massively ignored the vote. Abandonment of indigenous people to come to polling stations became the subject of "analysis" at a meeting of the Russian Public Chamber of the Crimea. The head of the organization Grigory Ioffe categorically rejected the arguments of the Crimean Tatar collaborators, saying that from now on the indigenous people will live "on general grounds". It was a mythical "special status", which allegedly appeared in the Crimean Tatars immediately after annexation. In the translation from the bureaucratic language, this meant that now they will not have any rights at all.
The leadership of "Kyrym", taking laudatory appeals, is trying to replicate among the compatriots the myth that the Crimean Tatars allegedly massively support the Russian president or are ready to take his side under certain conditions. The Crimeans and residents of neighboring Russia are still trying to convince that the indigenous people are "for Putin," and only isolated "extremists".
Secondly, in the autumn of next year the powers of the current Russian parliament of Crimea expire. The main issue that worries Remzi Ilyasov and the leader of the pro-Kremlin organization Inkishaf ("Development" - Ed.. ) Eskender Bilyalova, will the next convocation succeed in keeping the "Crimean Tatar quota" for the vice-speaker and other posts. Held at a meeting of the public chamber "analysis" indicates that the chauvinists who have settled in the Crimean authorities are taking precedence over conditional "internationalists".
Chances are great that next year many Crimean Tatars working for Moscow will be dismissed. Regional authorities initially took a course to build a "Russian Crimea", in which there is no place for either Ukrainians or Crimean Tatars. This is especially true of Speaker Vladimir Konstantinov and people from his entourage. The Russian head of the Crimea Sergei Aksenov, despite the fact that he led the party "Russian Unity", is more pragmatic in national issues than other participants in annexation.
Each Crimean Tatar, involved in the Kremlin's vertical, has its own "professional niche". State Duma deputy Ruslan Balbek constantly communicates with Russian publications, commenting on every step taken by the authorities of Ukraine or the United States, creating the necessary information background. The Russian mufti of the peninsula Emirali Ablaev takes care of the "correct" Crimean Islam and acts in the interests of the Russian siloviki. The head of the so-called "national-cultural autonomy" of the Crimean Tatars Eyvaz Umerov testified in court against the deputy chairman of the Mejlis Akhtem Chiyhoz. Eyvaz Umerov is also known as an associate of Ruslan Balbek and organizer of questionable political actions.
Against this background, Remzi Ilyasov and Eskender Bilyalov - two "weak links". In the time that has passed since the beginning of the annexation, they do not have any special "merits" before the leadership of the republic and Moscow. They could not create a manual national congress or a mass public organization, and they also failed three agitation campaigns: elections to the parliament of the peninsula, to the State Duma of Russia and the election of Vladimir Putin. In all three cases, Crimean Tatars ignored the calls of officials. In the case of personnel reshuffles, Ilyasov and Bilyalov can be sacrificed first, by replacing them with younger and more ambitious figures.
The leadership of Kyrym is trying to enlist the support of the Russian president's administration, to prove its usefulness to the Kremlin. Given the Russian political traditions, the only option is to constantly declare unconditional loyalty to Putin, praise his achievements and mercilessly criticize opponents. Even if at the cost of national humiliation.
Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Join also the TSN group. Blogs on facebook and follow the updates of the section!.