Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum
Форум свободных народов Пост-России
AbbreviationFNRF (English)
FSNP (Russian)
Coordination CouncilRafis Kashapov (Free Idel-Ural)
Andrius Almanis
Pavel Mezerin (Free Ingria)
Inna Kurochkina (Ichkeria government-in-exile)
Founded8 May 2022 (2022-05-08)
Split fromFree Russia Forum
IdeologyAnti-Putinism
Indigenism
Regionalism
Separatism
Factions:
Federalism
Confederalism
Decentralization
Website
freenationsrf.org

The Free Nations of Postrussia Forum (FNRF or FSNR; Russian: Форум свободных народов Построссии, romanized: Forum svobodnykh narodov Post-Rossii) is a forum founded by Ukrainian restaurant business owner Oleg Magaletsky,[1] exiled Russian separatists, as well as foreign sympathizers, which advocates for the disintegration of Russia.[2] It was registered in Poland.[3]

On 17 March 2023, the forum was designated an "undesirable organization" in Russia.[3]

Description

The forum participants set as their goal the disintegration of Russia into several independent states.[4] At the 2nd forum; the deimperialization, decolonization, deputinization, denazification, demilitarization, and denuclearization of Russia were named as topics for discussion,[5] and the forum participants “appealed to the national and regional elites of the UN countries with a call to begin the creation of national transitional governments in exile”.[6]

According to the French historian and sociologist Marlene Laruelle, the calls of the forum participants for the “liberation of enslaved peoples” refers to the slogan “prison of nations” from the times of the Russian Empire and to the CIA-sponsored Anti-Bolshevik bloc of peoples during the Cold War.[7]

Participants

Post-Russia map

American historian and political scientist Alexander Motyl and the publication “Current Time” names Ilya Ponomarev, a former State Duma deputy who now lives in Ukraine, as the organizer for one of the groups active in the forum.[4][8]

According to the publications Meduza and Novaya Gazeta, the organizer of the forum is Ukrainian entrepreneur, owner of a restaurant business[1] and Euromaidan participant Oleg Magaletsky.[9] He states that the forum has two goals: to prepare people inside Russia for the idea that its collapse is necessary, and to reconcile the West with this. According to him, the forum’s sponsors change every time: either European public organizations or philanthropists from Ukraine.[1]

The forum is attended by separatists of the national republics of Russia as well other regions, such as the Leningrad (“Ingria”), Kaliningrad and Pskov regions.[9]

Among the regular forum participants:

  • Ilya Ponomarev
  • Ruslan Gabbasov (“Bashkir National Political Center”),[10]
  • Rafis Kashapov (Free Idel-Ural movement),
  • Pavel Mezerin (Free Ingria movement),
  • Maxim Kuzkhmetov (Free Ingria movement).

Forum participants are criticized as not representing the residents of these regions.

Criticism

Russian political scientist Alexander Kynev writes that the forum was held by “certain forces abroad, who have little understanding of the mood inside the country, who do not take into account the extremely negative memories of the majority of its inhabitants” about the collapse of the USSR, and with their program to create national states in the place of Russia, they presented “a gift to the Russian propaganda, which already periodically repeats that Russia’s enemies want to fragment and destroy it". He also condemned the very idea of the collapse of Russia, since this, in his opinion, would lead to “wars, territorial disputes and ethnic cleansing”.[6]

French historian and sociologist Marlene Laruelle writes that Western politicians should not confuse the radical statements of political exiles like the Forum of Free Peoples of Russia with the opinions of Russian citizens. She condemned the advocacy of some Western politicians for the disintegration of Russia as a false strategy that would be “a disaster for international security” and which stems from a misunderstanding of what exactly “holds Russian society together in all its diversity”.[7]

American historian and political scientist Alexander Motyl wonders whether the forum participants represent anyone, and also writes that “political emigrants around the world have a long history of loud statements that ultimately lead nowhere". At the same time, he notes that in some cases political emigrants did gain power - for example, Lenin and Trotsky, Ayatollah Khomeini, Ho Chi Minh, Mahatma Gandhi - and therefore “it would be premature to reject the Forum as a meaningless conclave of emigrants”.[4]

Russian political scientist Fyodor Krasheninnikov wonders what relation the forum participants have to the Russian opposition, and claims that they “represent no one but themselves, no one knows them [in the regions]".[11]

Russian economist and political scientist Vladislav Inozemtsev, who took part in the 5th forum at the invitation of the organizers from the European Parliament, believes that the forum “exists only thanks to the efforts of the Ukrainian leadership". In his opinion, it may happen that the border territories - Chechnya, Ingushetia or Tuva - will secede from Russia, but “there has not been a single case in history where a mononational state was divided without occupation”.[9]

Vadim Shtepa, a leading Russian regionalist and one of the founders of the organization, withdrew from the Forum in December 2022, condemning it as a "parody" which, instead of performing serious analytical work on de-imperalization, focused on "loud" and "empty" declarations of independence by emigrants that would have no practical effect on their respective regions.[12]

On the website of "SVTV", the publication of the politician Mikhail Svetov, there was a message about "state security agents who gathered ... a forum to remind you that if not Putin, then a civil war" and "painted a contour map without really thinking about the meaning of the proposed reforms".[13]

On July 25, the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov ridiculed the Free Nations of Russia Forum, held in Prague. He thanked the "pseudo-liberals" for confirming the words of the Russian leadership about attempts to disintegrate the country.[14][15]

Reaction of the Russian authorities

In November 2022, the head of the Center for the Resolution of Social Conflicts, Oleg Ivanov, called on the Russian special services to “initiate criminal cases of treason, put traitors on the wanted list and submit requests for their extradition to Interpol” against participants in the Forum of Free Peoples of Russia and the Congress of People's Deputies. He also suggested “remembering the precepts of the famous Soviet intelligence officer Pavel Sudoplatov", that is, committing murders of political emigrants abroad.[16]

On March 17, 2023, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office declared the forum an "undesirable organization". According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, “the organization’s activities pose a threat to the foundations of the constitutional order and security of the Russian Federation", and its leaders “call for violation of the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation and come out with separatist nationalist slogans”.[8]

At the beginning of August 2023, the Russian Foreign Ministry lodged an official protest with the Japanese Embassy over the holding of a meeting of the “Forum of Free Peoples of Post-Russia” in Tokyo. Allegedly due to the propaganda of separatist ideology. Moscow considered that assistance to the Forum constituted an act of interference in the internal affairs of Russia. The ministry also recalled that many participants in the meeting are recognized in Russia as extremists and foreign agents. “Such a practice, capable of completely destroying the remnants of normal relations dismantled by the Japanese government, must be stopped immediately, and Japanese apologists of terrorist ideas must suffer a well-deserved punishment", says a note of protest published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The diplomatic department warned their Japanese colleagues that if such a “provocation” were repeated, they should prepare for the “most sensitive” retaliatory steps from the Kremlin.[17][18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "«Я обязательно выучу названия этих 34 государств» В Европейском парламенте прошел «Форум свободных народов России». Его участники хотят разделить страну на несколько десятков государств. Репортаж «Медузы»". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  2. ↑ sdp.pl, Redakcja portalu (8 May 2022). "Kонференция Форум Свободных Народов России". SDP (in Polish). Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Russia Labels Poland-Registered Forum As An 'Undesirable Organization'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Motyl, Alexander J. (13 February 2023). "Will the non-Russians rebel?". The Hill. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "«Деимпериализация и депутинизация»: в Праге прошел Форум свободных народов России". Radio Prague International (in Russian). 25 July 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  6. 1 2 Кынев, Александр (3 August 2022). "Демократия вместо распада. Александр Кынев – о России регионов". Радио Свобода (in Russian). Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  7. 1 2 Laruelle, Marlene (9 December 2022). "Putin's War and the Dangers of Russian Disintegration". Foreign Affairs. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Генпрокуратура РФ признала "нежелательным" выступавший за "депутинизацию" и деколонизацию страны "Форум свободных народов ПостРоссии"". Настоящее Время (in Russian). 17 March 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 "Продукты распада. Сепаратисты из национальных республик и регионов начинают демонтаж Российской Федерации: репортаж Ильи Азара из Брюсселя". Новая газета Европа. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "«Это не наша война. Украинцы нам ничего плохого не делали». Башкирские националисты объявили о создании вооруженного сопротивления". The Insider (in Russian). Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "«Важно не само событие, а реакция на него». Почему репортажи о «Форуме свободных народов России» вызвали гнев одних и смех других". ЭХО (in Russian). 7 February 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  12. ↑ Shtepa, Vadim (2 December 2022). "I do not want to participate in this parody". Region Expert (in Russian). Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  13. ↑ "🤡 "Форум свободных народов" представил проект раздела России". СВТВ Либертарианское СМИ (in Russian). 24 July 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  14. ↑ Новости, Р. И. А. (25 July 2022). "Кадыров высмеял прошедший в Праге форум свободных народов России". РИА Новости (in Russian). Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  15. ↑ ""Не хватает Нарнии": Кадыров высмеял форум свободных народов России". NEWS.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  16. ↑ "Кремлевские аналитики призывают убивать политэмигрантов за рубежом". Крым.Реалии (in Russian). 15 November 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  17. ↑ "МИД выразил протест Японии из-за "Форума свободных народов постРоссии"* в Токио". ЗакС.Ру (in Russian). Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  18. ↑ "Россия выразила протест посольству Японии в связи с проведением "Форума свободных народов пост-России"". Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (in Russian). 7 August 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
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