The June 8th Pact: A Partnership Agreement between Great Russia, ROD, DPNI and NAROD
The June 8th Pact: A Partnership Agreement between Great Russia, ROD, DPNI and NAROD
From the June 2008 conference "A New Political Nationalism"
At the conclusion of a June 2008 conference titled “A New Political Nationalism” four nationalist organizations signed a “Partnership Agreement”. The conference was held at the Cosmos Hotel in Moscow. The conference organizers were: Andrey Savelyev of the political party Great Russia; Konstantin Krylov of the Russian Social Movement (ROD); Alexander Potkin aka Belov of The Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI; and Alexey Navalny who was representing the political coalition the Nationalist Russian Liberation Movement (NAROD).
Alexey Navalny is by far the most prominent organizer. His organization NAROD was a loose political coaltion made up figures across the politcal spectrum. (In my previous newsletter I published an English Translation of NAROD’s Manifesto.) Navalny was NAROD’s primary representative at this conference, other members who took part included Pyotr Miloserdov and Pavel Svyatenkov. I haven’t found evidence that every member of NAROD endorsed the association with these other nationalist organizations.
The June 8th Pact did not signal the creation of an unstoppable political juggernaut. The conference and this agreement are little more than footnotes in history. They are, however, helpful as a window into understanding the context around Alexey Navalny’s nationalist views that have been making headlines recently.
Presented below is an English Translation of the pact signed by the conference organizers. A copy of the original Russian text can be found here. I will be publishing a piece profiling the conference’s less famous organizers, their organizations, and their relationship to Navalny shortly after this post.
The figures in the nationalist scene around Navalny are little known and little discussed outside of Russia. When this subject started making headlines I thought it might be helpful to provide a little more information in English so readers. Hopefully I can help people judge for themselves and decide what they think of these figures, their views and Navalny’s association with them.
There are two academic sources that cover the subject of “New Nationalism” in Russia and related subjects. “The New Russian Nationalism” (JSTOR) edited by Pål Kolstø and Helge Blakkisrud, and Marlene Laruelle’s compilation of articles “Russian Nationalism: Imaginaries, Doctrines, and Political Battlefields” (free ebook version). As academic texts they cover these issues dispassionately, I would recommend them for anyone interested in reading more in depth.
POLITICAL DECLARATION
From the Conference Organizers
“A New Political Nationalism”
The attempts of government structures at forming a functioning state, have completely fallen through. Even some representatives of the ruling elite are not satisfied with the present system of corruption, e.g. those that value the continued existence of Russia. The Kremlin is well aware that it has reached a dead end.
The omnipotent power of the bureaucracy can only be limited by strong political institutions. It is necessary to hold free elections for the Russian parliament. It is necessary to restore the presidency as an institution that relies on the direct support of the people. We don’t hold any illusions about Dimitri Medvedev. However, under certain conditions, we are ready to support him in the matter of restoring a strong institution of presidential power. These conditions are: the restoration of political competition, the limitation of bureaucratic omnipotence, and the curbing of corruption among the ruling elite within the framework of building the nation state.
The democratization of Russian politics is necessary, but it is not enough on its own. Democracy works only within the framework of a nation state, which is founded upon the historical and cultural unity of the country's population.
The nation alone – ties those in power to their population with bonds of solidarity and mutual obligations, and establishes citizens as the owners of their own country. The nation that created our country is the Russian nation. Russia will either be a Russian nation state, or it will be the helpless victim of oligarchical, bureaucratic, and criminal clans.
Those in power exploit patriotic rhetoric as a cover for their implementation of policy that produces limited opportunities for millions of citizens, and unlimited enrichment for a few hundred nouveau-riche. However, “the formation of the nation state” is not mere demagogeury. It is the realization of our priorities: historical and cultural education; overcoming social inequality; economic and technological modernization; and the demigrantization and decriminalization of society.
The Nationalist movement is called upon to lobby for these priorities. The task of promoting these priorities is hindered both by Kremlin controlled pseudo-nationalists, who pass off the anti-nationalist policies of the authorities as the “Rebirth of Russia”, as well as by marginal groups who declare themselves to be nationalists, but in actuality are little more than bands of gopniks, capable of disrupting any serious movement from within.
We are creating a new type of Nationalist Movement. We are determined to fight for our goals by political methods. We are turning to all nationalists with a call to engage in this political fight alongside us. We are extending our hand to all our comrades-in-arms and all like minded people. We are turning to the more active portion of the Russian Nation – educated urbanites, independent, self sufficient and responsible people with a call to support us in our fight for justice and national unity.
The Political party “Great Russia” (Velikaya Rossiya)
The Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI) (Dvizheniye Protiv Nelegalnoy Immigratsayii)
Nationalist Russian Liberation Movement (NAROD) (NAtsionalnoye Russkoye Osvoboditelnoye Dvizheniya)
Russian Social Movement (ROD) (Russkoye Obshestvinoye Dvizheniye)
The June 8th Pact
(Partnership Agreement)
The political party “Great Russia”, the Movement Against Illegal Immigration, the Russian Social Movement, and the movement “NAROD” (hereafter referred to as “The Parties”), out of the necessity for coordinating the activities of the Russian nationalist movement in our contemporary circumstances, have agreed to the following:
The Parties will preserve their organizational independence and self-sufficiency.
The Parties mutually undertake a relationship based on principles of respect, openness, trust, and decision making based in solidarity on questions relating to joint activities.
The Parties have agreed to coordinate their cooperation with local and central authorities, and to inform each other of any such contacts.
The Parties have agreed to enact a practice of mutual consultation in cases of cooperation with various social and political structures.
The Parties have agreed on the necessity of planning and holding joint events, in response to the tasks and goals which stand before the Russian nationalist movement today.
The Parties acknowledge the necessity of actively participating in elections, for various levels of government, and have agreed to mutually coordinate their efforts in this direction.
The Parties have agreed to jointly fight Russophobia in all of its forms, and in particular – to oppose the unjust application of article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation against activists from the Russian nationalist movement.
For the realization of the proposals laid out above The Parties have established The Nationalist Infobureau, which is tasked with:
The exchange of information
The coordination of activities
The monitoring of instances of Russophobia
Signed:
The 8th of June, in the year 2008
The Political party “Great Russia”
Party Chairman Andrei Savelyev
The Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI)
Acting head of DPNI, Alexander Belov
Nationalist Russian Liberation Movement (NAROD)
Movement Co-chair Alexey Navalny
Russian Social Movement (ROD)
Movement Chairman Konstantin Krylov
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