Siberian regionalism

The Russian revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876) supported the idea of an autonomous Siberia in the hope it would become a democratic state, prosperous within a union with United States and leading to the collapse of Imperial Russia.^[4] Local thinkers and settlers saw Siberia as means of escape from the oppression of the Russian Empire, and as the seed of a possible free and democratic country that would spread freedom across Asia.^{[citation needed]}

In the end of the 19th and at beginning of the 20th century, Siberian regionalists led by Potanin and Yadrintsev formed a legal opposition to

After the February Revolution, the development of oblastnichestvo gained momentum, as on May 21, 1917, when the Oblastniks convened their first general meeting in Irkutsk, where they heard and discussed the report delivered by I.I. Serebrennikov "On the autonomy of Siberia". In August, the Oblastniks convened the Conference of Public Organizations based on the decision of Tomsk Provincial People's Assembly as of May 18, 1917.^[6] On August 5, 1917, the Conference approved "The Regulations for the Autonomy of Siberia" and heard the report by P.A. Kazantsev "On the Siberian National Banner", which it also unanimously approved:

The National Siberian Banner shall be a combination of two colours: white and green. White colour means Siberian snow, whilst green colour – Siberian

Provisional Government of Autonomous Siberia

from four political factions:

1. The Socialist-Revolutionary Party
   delegated:
   • P.Ya. Derber to be the Chairman of the Government,
   • Colonel A.A. Krakovetsky to take the Ministry of Defence,
   • A.Ye. Novosyolov – Minister of Internal Affairs,
   • N.Ye. Zhernakov – State Controller,
   • Ye.V. Zakharov, S.A. Kudryavtsev and M.B. Shatilov to be ministers with no charge.
2. The Oblastniks delegated:
   • P.V. Vologodsky to become the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
   • V.M. Krutovsky – Minister of Public Health,
   • G.B. Patushinsky – Minister of Justice,
   • I.I. Serebrennikov – Minister of Supply and Food,
   • I.A. Mikhailov – Minister of Finance,
   • L.A. Ustrugov – Minister of Railways.
3. The ethnic minorities delegated:
   • V.T. Tiber-Petrov to take the position of the Minister of Native Affairs,
   • D.G. Sulima – Minister of Exterritorial Peoples,
   • E.D. Rinchino – Minister of Public Education,
   • G.S. Neometullov to be a minister with no charge.
4. Mensheviks delegated:
   • M.A. Kolobov to become the Minister of Trade and Industry
   • I.S. Yudin to become the Minister of Labour.

Only a handful of them agreed to take part in the Government. Fairly soon, most of the ministers had to flee to the Far East and stayed there until July, when they went to Vladivostok after it was liberated from the Bolsheviks by the Czechs.^[6]

Meanwhile, on May 27, 1918, Colonel A.N. Grishin-Almazov, who undertook his best efforts to unite the officer resistance against the Bolsheviks, ordered a full scale uprising, which proved to be a total success, as the Whites managed to defeat the Reds and cleared many Siberian cities of their presence. On June 13, 1918, colonel A.N. Grishin-Almazov issued an order to form the West Siberian Army (later to become Siberian Army). In a matter of months, he managed to accumulate over 10,000 volunteers across Siberia and Urals, which allowed some of the Siberian ministers headed by P.V. Vologodsky to come back.

Provisional Siberian Government

On June 23, 1918, Vologodsky formed a new Provisional Siberian Government instead of the previously elected Government of Autonomous Siberia, which had virtually no influence and authority whatsoever. He took the chair and ministry of foreign affairs assisted by many of his former member ministers I.I. Serebrennikov, who again became the Minister of Supply, while I.A. Mikhailov was chosen to be the Minister of Finance and M.B. Shatilov – the Minister of Native Affairs. Colonel A.N. Grishin-Almazov was appointed Minister of Defence.

Under the control of the regionalists, there was a short-term state formation, so-called "Siberian Republic".^[2][6] On July 11, 1918, the Provisional Siberian Government published the Declaration, declaring its authority over territory of Siberia, and restoration of the Russian state as the ultimate goal of the Siberian government. Decision on the status of Siberia was left to the future All-Russian and Siberian constituent assemblies.

On November 3, 1918, the Provisional Siberian Government sacrificed own independence for the sake of consolidation of all possible forces to fight against the Bolsheviks. Thereby it merged with the

Ufa Directory, forming Provisional All-Russian Government.^[6]

Modern movements

In 2014, an artist,

Western Siberia provides most of Russia's oil and gas, but the region gets very little benefit since the taxes go to Moscow.^[12][13]

The Sibir Battalion, a unit in the Ukrainian International Legion, formed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine and claims to be fighting for the independence of minorities in Siberia, namely Yakuts and Buryats. The unit uses the flag of the 1918 provisional government.^[14]

See also

• Autonomous administrative divisions of Russia
• List of active separatist movements in Asia

References

1. ^ Smith-Peter 2018, p. 17.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Watrous 1993, pp. 113–132.
3. ^ Slezikini, Y. Arctic Mirrors: Russia and the Small Peoples of the North, Chapter 4, pages 95–130, Cornell University Press
4. ^ Mark Bassin "Imperial Visions: Nationalist Imagination and Geographical Expansion in the Russian Far East, 1840–1865
5. ^ Yadrintsev, Nikolai Mikhailovich (1892). Siberia as a colony: in regard to geographic, ethnographic and historical repests Сибирь как колония: в географическом, этнографическом и историческом отношении [Sibir' kak koloniya: v geografichesom, etnograficheskom i istoricheskom otnoshenii] (in Russian) (2, corrected and expanded ed.). Saint Petersburg: И.М. Сибиряков. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Sushko 2009, pp. 174–179.
7. ^ The A.S. Pushkin Tomsk Regional Universal Scientific Library: Siberian Oblastnichestvo. Chronicle
8. ^ The flags of the national entities in Russia in 1917–1920
9. ^ V.V. Zhuravlev (2000) The National Symbols of the "White" Russia
10. ^ ^{a b} Maynes, Charles (5 August 2014). "As Snowden looks on, Russia cracks down on Internet freedom". PRI. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
11. ^ Goble, Paul (2020). "Siberian Regionalism Is a Growing Threat to Moscow".
12. ^ ^{a b} Luhn, Alec (5 August 2014). "Russia bans Siberia independence march". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
13. ^ "Meanwhile, at the Other End of the Empire ... Putin Scrambles to Squash Siberian Autonomy Movement". 5 August 2014.
14. ^ AFP (October 25, 2023). "Ukraine Presents New Unit Formed By Siberian Volunteers". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2023-10-30.

Bibliography

• Anisimova, Alla; Echevskaia, Olga (2016). "Reading Post-Soviet (Trans)formations of Siberian Identity through Biographical Narrative," REGION: Regional Studies of Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia 5, no. 2. pp. 127–148.
• Anisimova, Alla; Echevskaya, Olga (2018). "Siberian regional identity: self-perception, solidarity, or political claim?". In Edith W. Clowes; Gisela Erbslöh; Ani Kokobobo (eds.). Russia's Regional Identities: The Power of the Provinces. Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series. London; New York: Routledge.
  ISBN 978-1-138-20102-6
  .
• Balzer, M. M. (1999). The Tenacity of Ethnicity: A Siberian Saga in Global Perspective. Princeton University Press
• Curtis, K. (1985). The Soviet State: The Domestic Roots of Soviet Foreign Policy. Royal Institute of International Affairs.
• von Hagen, Mark (2007). "Federalisms and Pan-movements: Re-imagining Empire," in Russian Empire: Space, People, Power, ed. Jane Burbank, Mark von Hagen and Anatoli Remnev. Indiana University Press, 494–510.
• Hanson, Gary (1974) "Siberian Regionalism in the 1860s," Topic 27: 62–75.
• Kovalaschina, Elena (2007). "The Historical and Cultural Ideals of the Siberian Oblastnichestvo," Sibirica 6, no. 2: 87–119.
• von Mohrenschildt, Dimitri (1981). Toward a United States of Russia: Plans and Projects of Federal Reconstruction of Russia in the Nineteenth Century. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.
• Smith-Peter, Susan (2018). "The Six Waves of Russian Regionalism in European Context, 1830–2000". In Edith W. Clowes; Gisela Erbslöh; Ani Kokobobo (eds.). Russia's Regional Identities: The Power of the Provinces. Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series. London; New York: Routledge. pp. 14–43.
  ISBN 978-1-138-20102-6
  .
• Sushko, Valentina A. (June 2009). "Сибирский национализм и борьба за власть в крае (март 1917 — ноябрь 1918 г.)" [Siberian nationalism and the struggle for power in the region (March 1917 – November 1918)] (PDF). Вестник Томского государственного университета [ Tomsk State University Bulletin] (in Russian). 323: 174–179.
  ISSN 1561-7793
  .
• Tishkov, Valery (1997). Ethnicity, Nationalism and Conflict in and after the Soviet Union: The Mind Aflame. Sage Publications Ltd.
• Watrous, Stephen (1993). "The Regionalist Conception of Siberia, 1860 to 1920". In Galya Diment; Yuri Slezkine (eds.). Between Heaven and Hell: The Myth of Siberia in Russian Culture. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 113–132.
  ISBN 978-0-312-06072-5
  .

External links

• The A.S. Pushkin Tomsk Regional Universal Scientific Library: Siberian Oblastnichestvo. Chronicle
• The flags of the national entities in Russia in 1917–1920
• V.V. Zhuravlev (2000) The National Symbols of the "White" Russia
• Siberian regionalism: a growing threat to Moscow at Jamestown.org