1.2. Principles.
On the Notion of "Self-Determination
of Nations"
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In the sphere of international relations
"freedom" was
understood as "freedom from" (see the previous
paragraph).
It would not have been dangerous if a negative definition
had been followed by a positive one (if the deeper meaning
had been "freedom for"). But this did not happen.
It was believed that "self-determination"
would be followed
by the flourishing of the national culture and economy.
This
was assumed not only without proof, but also without
clarification of the meaning.
The thesis of "national self-determination"
has thus become
one of the idols of our intelligentsias mentality.
At the same time it turned out to be very
convenient for our
political elite, which used it as one of the slogans in
their struggle for power. Taking into account that one of
the major problems facing Russia at present is that of
separation of certain republics (in this part it is a direct
continuation of the trends acting since the collapse of
the
Soviet Union), and the fact that the thesis of "national
self-determination" justifies this process, it is necessary
to estimate the value of this thesis.
Certainly, sovereignization in Russia should
not be compared
with the analogous process which took place in the USSR.
It
has its own specific features. First of all, already the
representatives of Russian regions (at least on the level
of
public movements) desire "freedom" from the "Centre"
(Siberia is the most transparent example). Here we can see
the division not according to ethnic, but also economic
principles (hence, the argument from the advocates of
Siberia's separation, the "white-and-green" movement,
is of
economic nature).
Furthermore, the portion of the Russian
population in the
republics which would like to demand independence is high.
Nevertheless, one should think over the concept of "freedom
of self-determination" for the following reasons:
- first, the process of disintegration of
the Union has not yet ended (the matter is not only in the
disintegration of Russia or the federalisation
of Ukraine - the danger lies in the fact that the division
according to the ethnic criterion, of, for example, Russia,
threatens to divide some of the republics - e.g., Sakha
(Yakutia) and Tatarstan);
- second, today Russia (considering the
de facto rather than de jure state of affairs) is a country
without boundaries. The formation of new states has not
finished yet, moreover, we presume that in this respect
no single tendency can be found (this is true for at least
some of the countries). And if so,
if our nations have become "free", one can not
deny the possibility of their new integration on certain
terms. In this respect it would be useful if there were
no intellectual obstacles on the way to integration.
Thus, it is necessary to answer the question
in what respect the thesis of "national self-determination"
will be correct.
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