By Vestnik Kavkaza
A month ago, Premier Medvedev admitted at the first session in 2013 of the committee on socio-economic development of the NCFD that the district’s economy cannot be encouraged by federal investments only. Experts views on development of the North Caucasus territories differ, depending on their professional spheres: international relations, state service, or business. “There are serious obstacles preventing implementation of effective policy in the North Caucasus,” the chairman of the committee on economic development of the Public Chamber Valery Fadeyev says. “The social space of Russia is still discussing the topic of whether the North Caucasus is needed to Russia. We shouldn’t ignore this topic. We should develop clear, convincing, nonfalsifiable argumentation why the talks on possible separation of the North Caucasus or its part are pernicious for all participants of the process. We should have doubtless social consensus on this issue.
The problem of economic development of the North Caucasus is being solved by far too simple methods. A certain cash inflow from the center to the North Caucasus influences positively the situation, but all of us want something different. We cannot see an active and deep economic development in the republics of the North Caucasus. Social problems cannot be solved while there is no any economic fundament, any clear economic activity, production, salaries, and revenues. Crime and separatism cannot be suppressed through the use of force. It won’t happen, until the majority of population is involved into a positive economic activity.”
Speaking about steps which can be taken in the North Caucasus to smooth over differences and improve the situation, the head of the Center of Economic Studies of Regions RAMCOM, Denis Sokolov proposed betting on the areas which are already developing economically. “There are opportunities for establishing a coalition, players, businessmen, leaders of ethnic organization, leaders of religious organizations, municipal officials – those who are interested in following the law, good working of the court system, fulfillment of court verdicts, and relying on the good-working court system by fundamental economic institutes (property, contract protection, heritage, salaries, and social support). We should rely on local communities which can be supporters of the state in establishing of these institutes and their management.
The state shouldn’t ignore its potential supporters and should legitimize positive activities of various organizations which are working on the territory of developing centers. The interest which unites macroeconomics and microeconomics for creating a system of collective security and developed institutes is an interest of attracting investments and development of new technologies,” Sokolov said.
Political scientist Yana Amelina called talks on separation of the North Caucasus from Russia “talks of impotents”: “People who love their country cannot say that. Who stands behind these people? It is easy to find out; the organization of the campaign unveils its inspiration. It is interesting what the goal of the campaign is. People who do it live not only in Russia, but also abroad. There are no social movements, religious organizations in the North Caucasus, which would support the idea, except for a group of radical Islamists who are not talking about separation of the Caucasus from Russia, but about transformation of the North Caucasus within the RF.
The current economic policy in the North Caucasus is ineffective, and it has to be changed. However, the main point in the Caucasus is not economy. The key issue is ideology. Why do we need this state? What principles will it have in the future? This is the most important, while economy is not a basis, it is a superstructure. The main reason for many problems in the North Caucasus is absence of state ideology.”
According to the chairman of the Spiritual Department of Muslims of North Ossetia Khadzhimurad Gatsalov, the idea of separation of the Caucasus from Russia belongs to provocateurs: “They impose a destructive potential on people. We want to see the powerful and strong Caucasus. Revival of Russia means revival and improvement of the Caucasus. The Caucasus which Russia adjoined is not the Caucasus which we have today. The geopolitical situation in the world has changed. The Caucasus used to be a periphery of Russia, but today, I think, it is a platform for the Russian state. The Caucasus is a launching ground which protects Russia. At the same time, the economic policy in the Caucasus should be changed. Ideology is the main pillar of state relations, including the Caucasus. We should help the religious culture which we are discussing to gain a platform which would encourage economic and other changes in Russia, including the Caucasus.”
Maxim Shevchenko, famous journalist, political analyst, believes that “Caucasian civilization creates a special human type, as well as Russian civilization, or Finno-Ugric civilization, or Tibeto-Buryat civilization; this is a type charged with certain competitive human qualities. From time immemorial in Russia two trends competed: the first trend is the formation of citizenship through the formation of the nation, the second trend is the formation of the state through the strengthening of management resources. The time has come in our country, when the formation of citizenship becomes evident in the agenda. Therefore, the question is how to reconcile the different ethnic, cultural and human characteristics of the peoples of our country in a diverse and rich region like the Caucasus.”
The main problem of political instability and extremism in the Caucasus, according to Shevchenko, is the fact that “for the 1990 - 2000s the Caucasus turned into a zone - not everywhere, but in some areas it is obvious - of the uncontrolled violence. Violence is allowed to everyone - law enforcement agencies, government agencies, criminal organizations, terrorist structures. In some regions of the Caucasus killing a man is easier than agreeing with him… You talk to people - and people call the names of criminal leaders of criminal groups linked to the authorities, with the security forces, and say.Senior members of the Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor's Office cover drug trafficking, illegal alcohol production, prostitution. People know everything. We live as though it exists in a virtual space, in the movie.”
Discussing Islam in the context of exaggerating the situation in the North Caucasus, Shevchenko said: “It is just like discussing Northern Ireland, whether the cause of the fact that the IRA blew up a hotel in Brighton, killing 240 people, a car on the streets of Manchester , killing 54 people, and killed a bunch of cops and military, is Catholicism. Is the Catholic faith wrong? Are the Irish specific Catholic extremists who practice a particularly extremist version of Catholicism, Catholic Wahhabism? You can, perhaps, put forward such a theory. It seems to me that after all the reason was originally the national social one - oppression of Catholics of Northern Ireland. Today one of the leaders of the combat wing of the IRA, is a member of parliament. The question is: how to bring the traditional structure of society in the Caucasus today, in some regions, in Islamic regions, into a legal political real space of the Russian Federation. If the Muslims of Dagestan, in particular, it does not matter what they profess, whether they are followers of tarikats or some other areas of Islam that are common among people of Dagestan, maintain a single legal framework, and say it, and in this field exercise their religious rights, including some regional characteristics, it seems to me that this solution of the question is in the same way.”
“The relationship of the Caucasus with a large territory of Russia is a relationship of the human factor, of restoring economic ties, which were destroyed during the Soviet era, the decriminalization of the region in every sense - the decriminalization of the elite of the region, the decriminalization of security forces , decriminalization of so-called opposition, which uses terrorist criminal methods and which is linked in some regions with the authorities, with the security forces, we have evidence of this. Cessation of illegal production of alcoholic beverages, traffic of drugs - we have information on Dagestan in particular. Termination of land speculation, land grabbing from agricultural use, under various pretexts, which raises serious conflicts in the Stavropol region, for example. That is, the restoration of state sovereignty over the Caucasus region in democratic Russia - this is the main factor in the fight against extremism, terrorism, banditry, criminality, violence, etc.,” Shevshenko concluded.
