Valeria Romashenko, exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Ukrainian lessons
The crisis in Ukraine which shook up Europe made many countries look at Russia in a different way. It suddenly raised its head and clearly and aloud stated its priorities, which hadn’t happened in the last 20 years. Moreover, concerning Crimea, it acted in the only possible way for it, fulfilling its legal right for historical justice and showing great political will. The Western mass media are now competing in making analyses and forecasts and are trying to understand what has happened. How could Russia, which wasn’t considered in making decisions on world reconstruction, become a key player which makes global historic decisions?
The answer is simple. Russia has passed the phase of internal huddle and defined its place in the world by itself. It has chosen a path of its development. This historic phenomenon has many times taken place in the Russian history. The phenomenon cannot be understood by pragmatic Western minds. However, there is a rational explanation for this.
Of course Russia’s transformation wasn’t sudden. We didn’t wake up suddenly in the morning in a different country. We are the same, as well as our country. Accumulated problems still need to be solved. But the tragic Ukrainian events became an indicator for us, whatever consequences they would bring. They enable us to look carefully at the processes which are happening in our own country. No state in the world can ake effective steps in the international arena without the assurance that everything is in order inside the country. The North Caucasus became a real challenge for Russia and its internal policy.
The North Caucasus is a challenge
The Caucasus has always been one of the most important strategic crossroads of Eurasia and a sweet pot for conquerors from various parts of the world. However, the truth is that the region has beenw closely connected with Russia for many centuries.
The North Caucasus suffered much: two Chechen wars, separatism, radicalism and terrorism. As a consequence, it suffered an economic decline, a huge amount of social problems, and great mistrust toward the federal authorities. By the end of the 2000s, when Russia saw an economic boom and gained desired stability, the problems of the North Caucasus mismatched the situation in the rest of the country. Considering this, the federal government decided to correct the situation.
However, global foreign events influenced the process. The crisis of 2008, which touched on all spheres of the country’s life, made the government postpone setting certain tasks for the region. By 2010 Russia overcame the crisis, and the necessity of changes in the Caucasus became obvious again.
One of the most important decisions was the establishment of the North Caucasus Federal District in 2010. It included Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Chechnya, and Stavropol Territory. Experts had different views on the step. There were many suggestions on reconfiguration of the district, prospects of their development, problems, and so on. But many experts agreed that only a person who was raised and worked in the Caucasus could govern the NCFD effectively.
A federal approach in regional scales
The Kremlin made a sudden decision, on the one hand. Alexander Khloponin was appointed the plenipotentiary envoy of President in the NCFD. He was a well-known, but unexpected person. At the same time, the majority of political scientists approved the appointment. The situation in the North Caucasus demanded decisive actions. The government needed a leader who had a state way of thinking and could make decisions, considering the development of the whole country.
It would be logical to mention the cancellation of direct elections of governors and their appointment from the federal center. Any representative of the region would try to put everything in order within the boundaries of his own territory. However, an absolutely different approach was needed. The region had to begin to develop together with the country, holding reforms which would be a part of the changes which were happening in Russia in general. The leader of the district should be a person who could communicate not only with the heads of the regions, but also with the federal center. And Moscow had found such a leader.
To be continued
