Упрощенная HTML-версия
Author : Yu. Bulatov
Dean, School of International Relations, Moscow Institute of International Relations, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Professor, Doctor of Science (History)
The Russian Empire which looked as a unitary state was. in fact,
apolyethnic state which united over 150 peoples and nationalities.
The official documents of that time contained no information
about nationality/ethnic affiliation of the holder - it was estab-
lished by religion, language and culture.
State power in Russia was supranational; it was based on the prin-
ciples of inherited power and social estates rather than on Rus-
sians' ethnic awareness. It should be said that official ideology
lacked any ethnic components.
At all times, the empire's nationalities policy was highly pragmatic and tolerant when dealing with non-
Russian peoples; the center had its own political aims while until the early 20th century it remained un-
concerned with administrative-territorial integration. This explains why in the 18th and 19th centuries,
peoples of Siberia, the Volga area, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, the Transcaucasia, etc. never filed official
documents to demand separation: they were obviously satisfied with being parts of the Russian Empire
and aware of the advantages of belonging to a unified multinational state:
- Guaranteed security of life and property within the unified empire;
- Conditions conducive to social and economic progress;
- Access to world culture and civilization.
Ethnic paternalism of the Bolsheviks was aimed at liquidating suppression of non-Russian peoples
and leveling out the living standards of all Soviet peoples. This one-way movement from the center to
periphery proved to be inadequate even though it is still alive in the practice of the federal Center albeit
under a different name: donations of the federal center to subjects of the Russian Federation.
Russia and the West European empires practiced different methods of governance in the national areas.
Having united sociums at different stages of social, political, economic and cultural development into
one state the Russian Empire had to select the best form of governance: either European (metropolis
- colonies) or Asian (blending the national fringes with the empire). Russia opted for the latter.
It should be said that while spreading far and wide, the Great Russian ethnos never engulfed other peo-
ples. All peoples and nationalities living on the territory of Russia have preserved their identities.
The slogan "For the faith, the czar and the fatherland!" addressed, first and foremost, to the Orthodox
Christians of the Russian Empire inspired members of many peoples of Russia: Armenians, Ossets,
Kabardians, Estonians, Letts, Ingushes, Chechens, etc. fought in the regular army and irregular units. I
should say that World War I revealed the best qualities of the Russian super-ethnos: collectivism and
communal spirit, defensive nationalism and spontaneous internationalism. An active involvement of
the peoples of Russia in World War I set up a basis for even stronger consolidation of the Russian
super-ethnos within a single multinational state. The revolutionary events of 1917 suspended the process
for a while.
http://interaffairs.ru
World War I: Who Fought for Russia