On February 28, online voting for the “National Online Referendum on Self-Determination of National Republics” ended in russia. Despite the attempts of “roskomnadzor” to block the site of online referendums, votes for secession from the russian federation were held from February 16 in five russian regions at once – in Königsberg (Kaliningrad and region), Ingria (St. Petersburg and Leningrad region), Kuban (Krasnodar region), Siberia and the Urals. 5.634 million people took part in the vote, which is a representative sample.
☝️ The online referendum was organized by activists of regional and national movements outside russia. Among the initiators are Evgeniy Bursanilis (“Raspberry Klin Wedge”), Stanislav Pavlovsky-Suslov and Andryus Almanis (Committee of the Independent Confederation of Siberia). On January 30, the members of the initiative groups announced the holding of online voting during the 5th “Postrosia Forum” in the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels. The initiators of the referendum noted that the residents of the regions of the russian federation have the right to benefit from their location, trade with the countries of the European Union and strengthen their well-being.
The results of online referendums came as a shock to the kremlin.
Koenigsberg: 72.1% for independence from moscow, 27.9% against.
Ingria: 66.2% for independence, 33.8% against.
Kuban: 55.7% for independence, 44.3% against.
Siberia: 63.9% for independence, 36.1% against.
Urals: 68.2% for independence, 31.8% against.
What do the voting results show?
Firstly, the ideas of regional independence took root in the minds of peoples inhabiting modern russia. Both putin and medvedev are forced to admit this, as they simultaneously declared that they see “the threat of russia’s disintegration.” Sighing at moscow, which pursues a colonizing imperial policy in relation to the ethnic regions of the russian federation, the population of the newly created independent states expects to finally use their own wealth and natural resources for their own benefit, and not for a limited circle of people in the kremlin. No wonder the main slogans of the referendums sound like this: “Enough to feed moscow!”, “Enough to die for the kremlin!”, “Vote for the Independence of your republic!” Choose a happy future for yourself and your children!”.
Secondly, russian regions demand not only economic separation from moscow, but also political and territorial independence, which indicates the separatist sentiments of the population of the most developed territories of the russian empire. Also, the events in Ukraine, in addition to the separatist ones, have also intensified anti-war sentiments – in the regions they are trying to stop sending their residents to Ukraine as “cannon fodder” to certain death. Representatives of russian ethnic groups no longer agree that their taxes and money from resource extraction be spent on an aggressive attack on sovereign, independent Ukraine.
Thirdly, the results of voting in five relatively developed regions of russia give every reason to believe that similar sentiments prevail in the more depressed regions of the russian federation. By the way, the organizers of online referendums announced their holding there as well.
What’s next?
The initiators of online voting admit that there is a lot of work ahead to implement the referendum results and define a strategy for recognizing the independence of the new post-Soviet states, and within a month they are going to talk about further plans. After all, the ultimate goal of the “Forum of the Free Peoples of russia” is to change the administrative and territorial structure of the russian federation and the emergence on its territory of a number of free, independent and democratic states that will be able to provide their peoples with a decent standard of living, comfort, rights, well-being and development. And also peace on the continent and, in particular, in Ukraine.
For this, the organizers of the forum are considering the following steps:
1. “Deputinization” – the investigation of all crimes of the putin regime both outside the russian federation and against its own citizens, and bringing their organizers and ideologues to court.
2. Demilitarization and denuclearization of the territory of the russian federation in order to eliminate the risks associated with the possibility of using the remnants of the russian nuclear arsenal in regional conflicts, attempts at international terrorism and other threats to collective security.
❗️The results of the online referendums indicate the beginning of the process of decolonization and de-imperialization, which will allow the various peoples of the russian federation to gain political, economic and cultural independence. putin and his entourage are gradually losing control over the internal russian political processes of the collapse of the empire. Therefore, all prerequisites are created that after the failure of the russian army in Ukraine, the ethnic republics of the russian federation will begin to present ultimate demands to the kremlin.
