Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum

The Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum (FNRF or FSNR; Russian: Форум свободных народов Пост-России, romanized: Forum svobodnykh narodov Post-Rossii) is a forum founded by opposition activists, regional and separatist movements in Russia, as well as foreign sympathizers, which advocates for the disintegration of the Russian Federation.[2] It was registered in Poland.[3]

Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum
Форум свободных народов Пост-России
AbbreviationFNRF (English)
FSNR (Russian)
Coordination Council[1]Rafis 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

According to its own statements, the forum aims to fight for the "decolonization, de-occupation, decentralization, de-Putinization, denazification and demilitarisation of Russia".[4]

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

History

First forum

The first Free Nations of Russia Forum was held on 8-9 May, 2022 in Warsaw, Poland. The event was organized by the Solidarity of Journalists Foundation. The forum was attended by former State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev, as well as representatives of several regionalist and separatist movements within Russia, such as those of Bashkortostan, Chechnya and Siberia.[5] At the first forum, the Free Russia Forum, another gathering of Russian opposition, was openly criticised, with journalist Vadim Shtepa claiming that the latter was dominated by "centralist thinking."[6][7] Also participating in the forum was Belarusian opposition politician Pavel Latushko, MEP and former Polish Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller.[8]

The forum participants called for, among other things, the dissolution of Russia and claimed that overt linguocide, ethnocide, and genocide were being committed by the government of Russia against non-Russians, both in Ukraine and Russia.[9]

Second forum

The second forum was held in Prague, Czech Republic on 22–24 July 2022.[10][11] The forum was attended by Ponomarev, Klimkin, and former Chechen leader Akhmed Zakayev, among others. The forum adopted a declaration calling for Russia to be declared a terrorist state and decolonized.[12] A map was published on the forum, where Russia is divided into 34 states, including an independent Chechnya and Siberia.[13][14][15][16]

Third forum

The third forum is expected in Gdańsk, Poland on 23–25 September 2022. Its focus will be "liberation from the Kremlin empire and return to native European penates" of the "old-new" states of the western region of present-day Russia.[17]

Political positions

The Free Nations of Russia Forum has been cast by its members as a federalist alternative to other opposition forums, such as the Free Russia Forum, and has promoted the dissolution of Russia into a new federation or confederation. Members of the Forum have called for units consisting of Russian ethnic minorities within the Armed Forces of Ukraine while also expressing Ukraine's resistance to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine as a model for minorities within Russia.[6]

Criticism

Political scientist Alexander Kynev said that the "little-known [separatist or confederalist] participants of the Forum, who have little understanding of the mood inside the country, presented a gift to Russian propaganda, which already periodically repeats that the enemies of Russia want to split and destroy it."[14] 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.[18]

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".[15]

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.[19][20]

The FNRF was also criticized for labelling the other Russian opposition groups (especially the Freedom of Russia Legion) as "imperialist".[21]

Marlène Laruelle wrote that Western politicians should not confuse the radical statements of political exiles with the views of Russian citizens, including those of the FNRF with its call for the "liberation of captive nations", a phrase dating back to the imperial era and the CIA-backed Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations; she also argued that advocating for a breakup of Russia is a false strategy that would be "catastrophic for international security" and stems from a lack of knowledge of what "holds Russian society together in all its diversity".[22]

Member organizations
Federal Subject Proposed state Organization Faction Reference
Adyghea Circassia Separatists [23]
Arkhangelsk Pomorie Represented as a part of the Karelian National Movement Separatists [24]
Astrakhan Unification with Kalmykia Oirat-Kalmyk People's Congress Separatists [25][26]
Bashkortostan Bashkortostan Bashkort Movement, Bashkir National Political Center Separatists [23][27]
Buryatia Buryatia Free Buryatia Foundation Federalist [28]
Central Federal District Zalessian Rus' Separatists [29]
Chechnya Ichkeria Ichkerian government Separatists [23]
Chuvashia Chuvashia or Volga Bulgaria Free Idel-Ural Separatists [23]
Far Eastern Federal District Far Eastern Republic Separatists [29]
Ingushetia Ingushetia Committee of Ingush Independence Separatists [24]
Kaliningrad Baltic Republic Kaliningrad Public Movement, Respublika Movement Separatists [30]
Kalmykia Kalmykia Oirat-Kalmyk People's Congress Separatists [25]
Karelia Karelia Karelian National Movement Separatists [25]
Komi Komi Separatists [25]
Krasnodar Kuban Separatists [23]
Leningrad Ingria Free Ingria, Ingria without borders Federalists and Separatists [28][25]
Mari El Mari El Free Idel-Ural Separatists [23]
Mordovia Erzyan Mastor Erzya National Congress, Free Idel-Ural Separatists [25]
Pskov East Krivia Krivian Platform Separatists [24]
Rostov Oblast Cossackia Separatists [23][24]
Sakha Sakha Free Yakutia Separatists [28]
Smolensk Smalandia Smalandia Separatists [25]
Siberian Federal District Siberia Separatists [23]
Tatarstan Tatarstan Free Idel-Ural, All-Tatar Public Center, Ittifaq Party Separatists [23]
Tuva Tuva Separatists [29]
Udmurtia Udmurtia Free Idel-Ural Separatists [29]
Ural Federal District Ural Republic Separatists [29]

See also

References
  1. https://freenationsrf.org/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=6 Координационный совет
  2. sdp.pl, Redakcja portalu (2022-05-08). "Kонференция Форум Свободных Народов России". SDP (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  3. "Russia Labels Poland-Registered Forum As An 'Undesirable Organization'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  4. "Форум свободных народов России". Форум свободных народов России (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  5. "В Варшаве Форум свободных народов россии дискутирует о депутинизации рф". MY.UA (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  6. "Руслан Габбасов: "Идет неприкрытый лингвоцид и этноцид"". RFE/RL (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  7. Team, Editorial (2022-05-02). "8 мая в Варшаве пройдет "Форум народов свободной России"". Dictaphone.org.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  8. sdp.pl, Redakcja portalu (2022-05-08). "Rosja musi przegrać, aby wygrać swoją przyszłość. Relacja z Forum Wolnych Narodów Rosji". SDP (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  9. "Мы должны брать у украинцев пример того, как воевать с империей: в Варшаве собрались лидеры коренных народов РФ". Новости США, России, Украины, Беларуси и в Мире (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  10. "Сегодня в Праге состоится открытие "Форума свободных народов России"". Чехия Онлайн 420on.cz (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  11. "Рафис Кашапов: "Наша борьба за независимость ещё не начиналась"". RFE/RL (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  12. "Форум вільних народів Росії ухвалив декларацію про деколонізацію РФ". PolskieRadio.pl. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  13. "Форум свободных народов России "разделил" РФ на 34 страны". МедиаБрест (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  14. Кынев, Александр (3 August 2022). "Демократия вместо распада. Александр Кынев – о России регионов". Радио Свобода (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-08-14.
  15. "🤡 "Форум свободных народов" представил проект раздела России". СВТВ Либертарианское СМИ (in Russian). 2022-07-24. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  16. Кынев, Александр (3 August 2022). "Демократия вместо распада. Александр Кынев – о России регионов". Радио Свобода (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  17. "В Гданьске в конце сентября состоится III Форум народов свободной построссии". www.ukrinform.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  18. Shtepa, Vadim (2 December 2022). "I do not want to participate in this parody". Region Expert (in Russian). Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  19. Новости, Р. И. А. (2022-07-25). "Кадыров высмеял прошедший в Праге форум свободных народов России". РИА Новости (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  20. ""Не хватает Нарнии": Кадыров высмеял форум свободных народов России". NEWS.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  21. "National minorities of Russia call to decolonize, denuclearize "imperial, terrorist" Russian state". 26 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  22. "Putin's War and the Dangers of Russian Disintegration". Foreign Affairs. 9 December 2022.
  23. Coalson, Robert (2023-01-06). "Coming Apart At The Seams? For Russia's Ethnic Minorities, Ukraine War Is A Chance To Press For Independence From Moscow". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  24. Imperial Russia: Prospects for Deimperialization and Decolonization 31/01/2023 European Parliament, retrieved 2023-04-16
  25. "Политики и эксперты обсудят в польском Гданьске независимость Карелии, Ингрии, Кёнигсберга и других регионов России". RFE/RL (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  26. "Калмыцкое государство, Ногайская республика или "Поволжский Евросоюз"?". RFE/RL (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  27. "Спикеры". freenationsrf.org (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  28. ""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 2023-04-16.
  29. "IV Форум свободных народов постРоссии проведут в шведском Хельсингборге — что известно". Freedom (in Russian). 2022-11-25. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  30. "БРП: история с продолжением". Регион.Эксперт (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-04-16.
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