Alexei Vlasov exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Due to the political crisis in Ukraine, news on such hot topics as the situation in the North Caucasus has paled into insignificance.
For some time, regional problems, security, socio-economic development and historical contexts lost their impact in a large part of the Russian and world mass media. It seems that this is a good sign in modern reality, as it is no secret that journalists are mainly focused on sensational news – explosions, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and conflicts between elites. If the media stops writing about the region, it means there is no bad news.
In the context of the information break, attempts to stir up an old topic – discussion of political future of the NCFD plenipotentiary envoy Alexander Khloponin – in the Russian media space seems petty. It is no secret that there is a pool of authors and periodicals which are focused on discussion of possible shifts in the NCFD administration, according to a principle described by Mark Twain in the 19th century – if there is no news, concoct it.
At the same time, experts speak not only about the absence of new risks for the power system in the North Caucasus, but also about reduction of many existing risks. This concerns the problem of underground militants, which has been defining an attitude toward the region for many years. Denis Sokolov, a senior scientist of the Russian Academy of National Economy and State Service, notes that in the last two months the armed underground has suffered serious losses in the North Caucasus.
“At the moment there are no serious armed clashes. Many militants were killed or captured. And at the moment the Caucasus is silent. Is it effective and how long will it last? At the moment it is difficult to say, but the situation in the Caucasus has stabilized,” Sokolov emphasized.
In general, the current media picture of the North Caucasus region confirms the absence of a deep understanding of the history and modern reality of the NCFD. It leads to the establishment of “a specific view” on the problem by a part of Russian society. One of the components of it is a campaign supported by some opposition politicians – Stop Feeding the Caucasus!
Obviously, the North Caucasus has always been a difficult region which concerns the Russian authorities. However, it shouldn’t be demonized, as ordinary Russian citizens live there, as in other regions of Russia. It is interesting that the motto “Stop Feeding the Caucasus” is connected with a myth that the Caucasus residents are wealthy, even though it is understandable that the number of wealthy people among the Caucasians is equal to the number of wealthy people among Russians, Tatars, and so on.
In general, there are many myths about the Caucasus: that Caucasus women don’t go outside with a headscarf, that Caucasus residents riot, they lack culture. However, the last myth applies to any nation, as those who are not able to behave appropriately in a society are highly visible; so it is pure nationalism to associate the disadvantage with a single nation.
For example, if we take registered crimes in Stavropol Territory, guests from the North Caucasus republics are not distinguished either in quantity or in quality of committed crimes. Rumours about the riotous behaviour in the Caucasus are explained by the specificity of the modern media. Today we have a generation of journalists who prepare reports and investigations right from their office, combining several news items from the internet.
The non-professionalism or obvious political involvement of journalists and politicians lead to a falsified picture of contemporary life in the region.
Sometimes I want to tell some authors – stop leading people along. For example, this concerns an imposed discussion of the artificial separation of the North Caucasus from Russia. It is not only a wrong practice, but a deadlocked path which leads to the weakening of the internal integrity of the Russian state, as one of its main regions is considered separately from other territories. According to such authors, the mentality, goal-setting and values of the Caucasus' residents are absolutely different from the rest of the Russian population.
