Russia for Russians
Encyclopedia
Russia for Russians is a political slogan and nationalist
doctrine
, encapsulating the range of ideas from bestowing the ethnic Russians
with exclusive rights in the Russia
n state to expelling all non-Russians from the country. Originated in the Russian Empire
in the latter half of the 19th century, the slogan has been variously interpreted since then. It has become increasingly popular in modern Russia, and endangered the stability of the multi-ethnic society within Russia.
, or Tsar
Alexander III of Russia
. Gringmut authored one of the first publications to use the slogan. He proclaimed “Russia for Russian” as a slogan of the Russian Monarchist Party, which, he wrote, “clearly sees that if Russia is left to the people of alien stock and religion, and to foreigners, – not only will not be the Autocracy, but Russia herself.” Another version attributes the notion to Alexander III who declared that “Russia should belong to Russians, and all others dwelling on this land must respect and appreciate this people.” According to General Aleksey Kuropatkin
, Alexander chose “Russia for Russians” as his watchword. General Skobelev is also reported to have said that “I want to inscribe on my banner: “Russia for Russians and in a Russian way,” and raise this flag as high as possible!”
In the last decades of the 19th century, some Russian political movements proposed reclassifying “Russia” as an ethnic or even racial category. They advocated “Russia for Russia” and believed that Russians deserved more rights than other nationalities in their “own empire” as they were responsible for creating and maintaining the state in the first place. Non-Russians were denounced by such exclusive nationalists as grossly ungrateful for the benefits they had received from Russian rule. Although these sentiments caught the minds of some intellectuals in the latter part of the 19th century, right-wing xenophobic organizations were set up only during the Russian Revolution of 1905
, when political parties were finally legalized. They made “Russia for the Russians” their battle cry, yet were determined to preserve “one and united Russia” through the Russification
of the non-Russians. The first hostile “other” to be targeted were the Jews
and “Russia for Russians” was soon augmented with the slogan “Beat up the Yid
s and save Russia!”.
, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party
, considered the “Russia for Russians” slogan to have been “a slogan of disunity… [and] not creative but destructive.” In 1909, Milyukov addressed the Russian State Duma
on the issue of using Ukrainian
in the court system, attacking Russian nationalist deputies: “You say “Russia for Russians,” but whom do you mean by “Russian”? You should say “Russia only for the Great Russians
,” because that which you do not give to Muslim
s and Jews you also do not give your own nearest kin – Ukraine
.”
Another notable politician, Prime Minister Sergei Witte
, warned Tsar Nicholas II
against his flirtation with these ideas because it would disrupt the delicate ethnic balance in the Russian state. The slogan was also rejected by the moderate nationalist Nikolai Berdyaev
who viewed it as “pagan nationalism” and contrasted it with the messianist
“Christian nationalist” notion “Russia for the World”.
Opposition from protagonists of a multi-ethnic empire like Witte and indifference of most Russian workers and peasants of pre-World War I
Russia to such sentiments rendered the project of a Russian ethnocracy abortive without even being properly launched.
Pamyat
staged a series of noisy manifestations and passed out handbills that read “Russia for Russians!” and “Death to the Yids!”
With the outbreak of a second war in Chechnya
in 1998 and growing antipathy to “strangers” in Russia after Vladimir Putin
’s advent to power, the proportion of those who subscribe to the maxim “Russia for Russians” began to increase, partly as a reaction to the crisis and instability and uncertainty of the 1990s as well as growing public discontent with the influx of migrants from Central Asia
, the South Caucasus
, and China
. Thus, the overall number of its supporters rose from 46% in 1998 to 58% in 2005. By “Russians”, the respondents frequently mean exclusively ethnic Russians, and preferably with a "Slavic Face
” appearance, not Russian citizens. This slogan has become a prominent feature at nationalist manifestations during the annual Unity Day
holiday. The victims of ethnic and racial violence also reported hearing chants of "Russia for Russians" during attacks.
In a 2006 opinion poll published by the independent Russian Public Opinion Research Center
(VCIOM), 34% of the respondents approved the slogan on the proviso that by “Russians” is meant all citizens of the Russian Federation, 23% said they would not object to the idea if implemented within “reasonable limits”, 20% (mostly in Moscow
and St. Petersburg) believed the realization of this concept – without any restrictions – was long overdue. The notion was disapproved of by 23%, of whom 12% feared difficulties with the West, and 11% of whom described it as “true fascism”. At the same time, supporters of the slogan diverged regarding what “Russians” meant – all those who had been brought up in Russian traditions (39%), those who labored for Russia (23%), only Russians “by blood” (15%), those who spoke Russian as a native language (12%), or Russian Orthodox Christians (7%).
Human rights groups have sounded the alarm, reporting that the sentiment is increasingly translated into violence against foreigners. Alexander Brod
, director of the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights
(MBHR), has argued that polling data indicate that 60% of Russia’s adult population adheres to an ideology he has described as "Russia for Russians and all misfortune is from non-Russians.” Lyudmila Alexeyeva
, chairwoman of the Moscow Helsinki Group
, has accused the top Russian officials of promoting the notion. She cited as an example Krasnodar
governor Alexander Tkachyov, who has vowed to drive “the aliens and dissenters" out of his region. The MBHR published, in 2005, a report monitoring xenophobia during the Moscow local elections and argued that a number of political parties adhered to xenophobic slogans, such as “Russia for Russians” and “Russian faces in the Russian capital”, in their election campaigns. For example, the Rodina
party and its leader Dmitry Rogozin
made illegal immigration and a “Moscow for Muscovites!” platform a centerpiece of their election campaign.
An investigation ordered by a Russian court concluded that slogan "Russia for Russians" does not fuel ethnic hatred . The investigation was conducted in connection with a case of assaulting a teenager who was almost killed near his school. The attackers shouted "Russia for Russians!" , while beating the boy.
On July 28th 2010, a court in Russia demanded an ISP block access to YouTube
because the site hosted “Russia for Russians,” which is considered by many to be an extremist video
Russian nationalism
Russian nationalism is a term referring to a Russian form of nationalism. Russian nationalism has a long history dating from the days of Muscovy to Russian Empire, and continued in some form in the Soviet Union. It is closely related to Pan-Slavism...
doctrine
Doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
, encapsulating the range of ideas from bestowing the ethnic Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
with exclusive rights in the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n state to expelling all non-Russians from the country. Originated in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in the latter half of the 19th century, the slogan has been variously interpreted since then. It has become increasingly popular in modern Russia, and endangered the stability of the multi-ethnic society within Russia.
Origin
The original “Russia for Russians” idea has variably been ascribed to a Black Hundreds ideologue Vladimir Gringmut, General Mikhail SkobelevMikhail Skobelev
Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev was a Russian general famous for his conquest of Central Asia and heroism during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. Dressed in white uniform and mounted on a white horse, and always in the thickest of the fray, he was known and adored by his soldiers as the "White...
, or Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
. Gringmut authored one of the first publications to use the slogan. He proclaimed “Russia for Russian” as a slogan of the Russian Monarchist Party, which, he wrote, “clearly sees that if Russia is left to the people of alien stock and religion, and to foreigners, – not only will not be the Autocracy, but Russia herself.” Another version attributes the notion to Alexander III who declared that “Russia should belong to Russians, and all others dwelling on this land must respect and appreciate this people.” According to General Aleksey Kuropatkin
Aleksey Kuropatkin
Alexei Nikolayevich Kuropatkin was the Russian Imperial Minister of War who is often held responsible for major Russian drawbacks in the Russian-Japanese War, notably the Battle of Mukden and the Battle of Liaoyang.-Early years:Kuropatkin was born in 1848 in what is now Pskov, in the Russian...
, Alexander chose “Russia for Russians” as his watchword. General Skobelev is also reported to have said that “I want to inscribe on my banner: “Russia for Russians and in a Russian way,” and raise this flag as high as possible!”
In the last decades of the 19th century, some Russian political movements proposed reclassifying “Russia” as an ethnic or even racial category. They advocated “Russia for Russia” and believed that Russians deserved more rights than other nationalities in their “own empire” as they were responsible for creating and maintaining the state in the first place. Non-Russians were denounced by such exclusive nationalists as grossly ungrateful for the benefits they had received from Russian rule. Although these sentiments caught the minds of some intellectuals in the latter part of the 19th century, right-wing xenophobic organizations were set up only during the Russian Revolution of 1905
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
, when political parties were finally legalized. They made “Russia for the Russians” their battle cry, yet were determined to preserve “one and united Russia” through the Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
of the non-Russians. The first hostile “other” to be targeted were the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and “Russia for Russians” was soon augmented with the slogan “Beat up the Yid
Yid
The word Yid is a slang Jewish ethnonym. Its usage may be controversial in modern English language. It is not usually considered offensive when pronounced , the way Yiddish speakers say it, though some may deem the word offensive nonetheless...
s and save Russia!”.
Criticism
From the very beginning, the slogan and the idea of the empire ruled by Russians were very controversial regarding what “Russians” meant. One of the outspoken critics of the notion, Pavel MilyukovPavel Milyukov
Pavel Nikolayevich Milyukov , a Russian politician, was the founder, leader, and the most prominent member of the Constitutional Democratic party...
, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party
Constitutional Democratic party
The Constitutional Democratic Party was a liberal political party in the Russian Empire. Party members were called Kadets, from the abbreviation K-D of the party name...
, considered the “Russia for Russians” slogan to have been “a slogan of disunity… [and] not creative but destructive.” In 1909, Milyukov addressed the Russian State Duma
State Duma of the Russian Empire
The State Duma of the Russian Empire was a legislative assembly in the late Russian Empire, which met in the Taurida Palace in St. Petersburg. It was convened four times between 1906 and the collapse of the Empire in 1917.-History:...
on the issue of using Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
in the court system, attacking Russian nationalist deputies: “You say “Russia for Russians,” but whom do you mean by “Russian”? You should say “Russia only for the Great Russians
Great Russia
Great Russia is an obsolete name formerly applied to the territories of "Russia proper", the land that formed the core of Muscovy and, later, Russia...
,” because that which you do not give to Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s and Jews you also do not give your own nearest kin – Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.”
Another notable politician, Prime Minister Sergei Witte
Sergei Witte
Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte , also known as Sergius Witte, was a highly influential policy-maker who presided over extensive industrialization within the Russian Empire. He served under the last two emperors of Russia...
, warned Tsar Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
against his flirtation with these ideas because it would disrupt the delicate ethnic balance in the Russian state. The slogan was also rejected by the moderate nationalist Nikolai Berdyaev
Nikolai Berdyaev
Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev was a Russian religious and political philosopher.-Early life and education:Berdyaev was born in Kiev into an aristocratic military family. He spent a solitary childhood at home, where his father's library allowed him to read widely...
who viewed it as “pagan nationalism” and contrasted it with the messianist
Messianism
Messianism is the belief in a messiah, a savior or redeemer. Many religions have a messiah concept, including the Jewish Messiah, the Christian Christ, the Muslim Mahdi and Isa , the Buddhist Maitreya, the Hindu Kalki and the Zoroastrian Saoshyant...
“Christian nationalist” notion “Russia for the World”.
Opposition from protagonists of a multi-ethnic empire like Witte and indifference of most Russian workers and peasants of pre-World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Russia to such sentiments rendered the project of a Russian ethnocracy abortive without even being properly launched.
Modern Russia
The notion “Russia for Russians” resurfaced again later in the 1980s when the ultra-nationalistRadical nationalism in Russia
Radical nationalism in Russia refers to some far-right and some far-left extremist nationalist movements and organizations. Of note, the term "nationalist" in Russia often refers to radical nationalism. However, it is often mixed up with "fascism" in Russia. While this terminology does not exactly...
Pamyat
Pamyat
Pamyat is a Russian nationalist organization identifying itself as the "People's National-patriotic Orthodox Christian movement." The group's stated focus is preserving Russian culture.- History :...
staged a series of noisy manifestations and passed out handbills that read “Russia for Russians!” and “Death to the Yids!”
With the outbreak of a second war in Chechnya
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
in 1998 and growing antipathy to “strangers” in Russia after Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
’s advent to power, the proportion of those who subscribe to the maxim “Russia for Russians” began to increase, partly as a reaction to the crisis and instability and uncertainty of the 1990s as well as growing public discontent with the influx of migrants from Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, the South Caucasus
South Caucasus
The South Caucasus is a geopolitical region located on the border of Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia also referred to as Transcaucasia, or The Trans-Caucasus...
, and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Thus, the overall number of its supporters rose from 46% in 1998 to 58% in 2005. By “Russians”, the respondents frequently mean exclusively ethnic Russians, and preferably with a "Slavic Face
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
” appearance, not Russian citizens. This slogan has become a prominent feature at nationalist manifestations during the annual Unity Day
Unity Day (Russia)
Unity Day, Day of People’s Unity or National Unity Day was celebrated in the Russian Empire until 1917 and in Russia from 2005. Held on November 4 , it commemorates the popular uprising which expelled the Polish-Lithuanian occupation force from Moscow in November 1612, and more generally the end...
holiday. The victims of ethnic and racial violence also reported hearing chants of "Russia for Russians" during attacks.
In a 2006 opinion poll published by the independent Russian Public Opinion Research Center
VCIOM
All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion, VTsIOM, [established in 1987; till 1992 – All-Union Center for the Study of Public Opinion] is the oldest polling institution in the post-Soviet space and is one of the leading sociological and market research companies in Russia.-General...
(VCIOM), 34% of the respondents approved the slogan on the proviso that by “Russians” is meant all citizens of the Russian Federation, 23% said they would not object to the idea if implemented within “reasonable limits”, 20% (mostly in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and St. Petersburg) believed the realization of this concept – without any restrictions – was long overdue. The notion was disapproved of by 23%, of whom 12% feared difficulties with the West, and 11% of whom described it as “true fascism”. At the same time, supporters of the slogan diverged regarding what “Russians” meant – all those who had been brought up in Russian traditions (39%), those who labored for Russia (23%), only Russians “by blood” (15%), those who spoke Russian as a native language (12%), or Russian Orthodox Christians (7%).
Human rights groups have sounded the alarm, reporting that the sentiment is increasingly translated into violence against foreigners. Alexander Brod
Alexander Brod
Alexander Semenovich Brod is a Jewish-Russian human rights activist.He is a member of Public Chamber of Russia and a director of the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights...
, director of the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights
Moscow Bureau for Human Rights
The Moscow Bureau for Human Rights is Russian human rights monitoring non-governmental organization, which is headed by Alexander Brod.The Bureau publishes monitoring materials of the violation of human rights in Russia, carries out educational programs, holds press-conferences...
(MBHR), has argued that polling data indicate that 60% of Russia’s adult population adheres to an ideology he has described as "Russia for Russians and all misfortune is from non-Russians.” Lyudmila Alexeyeva
Lyudmila Alexeyeva
Lyudmila Mikhailovna Alexeyeva is a Russian historian, human rights activist, founding member of the Moscow Helsinki Watch Group, and one of the few veterans of the Soviet dissident movement still active in modern Russia.-Soviet period:...
, chairwoman of the Moscow Helsinki Group
Moscow Helsinki Group
The Moscow Helsinki Group is an influential human rights monitoring non-governmental organization, originally established in what was then the Soviet Union; it still operates in Russia....
, has accused the top Russian officials of promoting the notion. She cited as an example Krasnodar
Krasnodar Krai
-External links:* **...
governor Alexander Tkachyov, who has vowed to drive “the aliens and dissenters" out of his region. The MBHR published, in 2005, a report monitoring xenophobia during the Moscow local elections and argued that a number of political parties adhered to xenophobic slogans, such as “Russia for Russians” and “Russian faces in the Russian capital”, in their election campaigns. For example, the Rodina
Rodina
Rodina or Motherland-National Patriotic Union was one of the four parties that controlled seats in the Russian legislature in 2003-2007...
party and its leader Dmitry Rogozin
Dmitry Rogozin
Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin is a well-known Russian diplomat and popular politician, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia. In January, 2008, he became Russia's ambassador to NATO. He was a leader of the Rodina party until it merged with other similar Russian parties to form the...
made illegal immigration and a “Moscow for Muscovites!” platform a centerpiece of their election campaign.
An investigation ordered by a Russian court concluded that slogan "Russia for Russians" does not fuel ethnic hatred . The investigation was conducted in connection with a case of assaulting a teenager who was almost killed near his school. The attackers shouted "Russia for Russians!" , while beating the boy.
On July 28th 2010, a court in Russia demanded an ISP block access to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
because the site hosted “Russia for Russians,” which is considered by many to be an extremist video