Putin vowed to solve Russia's greatest hidden dangers within ten years, avoiding leaving these complex issues for his successors.
Putin officially signed and approved the document "National Policy Strategy of the Russian Federation for 2036," formulated by the Federal Agency for Nationalities. It clearly defines the main goals of the Russian Federation for national affairs in the next ten years, aiming to ensure that the overall Russian identity of Russian citizens reaches at least 95%.
【Putin officially signed and approved the "National Policy Strategy of the Russian Federation for 2036"]
The document emphasizes the protection of Russian culture and the Russian language, strengthening the "common citizen identity," ensuring people's identification with their Russian citizenship, above other local, religious, and ethnic identities.
Russia's government has now issued such a policy document on national affairs mainly to address two major hidden dangers within the country.
Firstly, although the Ukraine-Russia conflict has not officially ended, Ukraine has not agreed to cede the four eastern Ukrainian regions. However, from the perspective of the Putin government, these four regions are Russian territory, and they want to ensure effective control over these newly acquired territories.
The four eastern Ukrainian regions have a large Russian-speaking population, and most residents can speak Russian fluently. However, under the circumstances where Ukraine has long been pushing for "de-Russification," promoting Ukrainian language education, and conducting anti-Russian propaganda, some people may still be affected.
【Putin's government has formulated an ambitious plan】
Putin's government is now targeting the remaining Ukrainian nationalist forces in the area, protecting the safety of the Russian-speaking population, and eliminating the negative effects of Ukraine's previous "de-Russification" actions, making the people of these four regions identify themselves as Russians.
To this end, Putin's government has set a specific goal in the new strategic document, which is to involve at least 2.5 million residents of the four eastern Ukrainian regions in nationwide activities.
The document does not specify the criteria for participation, but it is likely that nationwide events such as sports leagues will be organized simultaneously in the eastern Ukrainian regions to enhance the sense of belonging among the local population.
Secondly, the dissolution of the Soviet Union was partly due to the failure to handle internal ethnic issues, leading to the separation of the republics from Moscow.
After independence, Russia remained a multi-ethnic country with 194 ethnic groups, and many minority regions have relatively slow economic development.
【Russia remains a complex multi-ethnic country internally】
Western countries have always hoped to repeat the Soviet collapse through the well-known "self-determination of nations" trick, using the fact that Russia is home to many ethnic groups to split Russia into several small states.
Russian government has long learned lessons from the dissolution of the Soviet Union and two Chechen wars, and has been trying to strengthen the sense of Russian identity among all ethnic groups through measures such as promoting Russian language education, uniting minorities, and preventing fragmentation, while Western countries continue to conduct various publicity campaigns.
Especially after the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the Russian military has conscripted a large number of non-Russian soldiers from the Far East and the Caucasus, who have suffered significant casualties. The West then tried to use this opportunity to promote the idea that Putin's conscription policy is unreasonable, pointing out that the probability of conscripting male members of ethnic minorities is higher than elsewhere, and that minority soldiers find it difficult to become technical personnel, often being forced to serve as "front-line" infantry.
Putin had already noticed this issue. Now, by signing the national policy bill, he aims to solve these problems within ten years, eliminate the potential threats of separatism in minority regions, and prevent another civil war similar to the Chechen War.
【Putin knows Russia cannot afford another Chechen War】
Except for eliminating these two major hidden dangers, the document also includes content such as "promoting" young people to use "standard Russian," curbing the excessive use of foreign words, educating youth in patriotism, and promoting traditional Russian values and moral standards, all aimed at forming a common cultural identity and ensuring national unity in Russia.
In terms of implementation, the Russian federal government will be responsible for formulating the specific strategic plan, reporting annually to the president or parliament, but the specific work will be more entrusted to local governments, allowing regional officials to take on related responsibilities.
It should be noted that after the last constitutional amendment, Putin could theoretically serve until 2036, when he would be 84 years old. The public generally speculates that he will retire at that time and hand over Russia to the next leader.
To ensure that Russia maintains its development momentum after his departure, Putin has already been cultivating his potential successor. Within Russia, it is widely believed that the current presidential aide Yumin is the person Putin currently favors the most.
【Putin doesn't want to leave problems for Yumin and others】
Putin has set the goal of implementing a series of national strategies by 2036, which is likely to be a desire to effectively eliminate these long-term threats to Russian security during his term, handing over a more united and stable Russia to Yumin or other successors.
Overall, the introduction of this new national strategy marks that Russia, aside from dealing with geopolitical security crises, is beginning to accelerate solving deep-seated internal issues.
By strengthening the "Russian identity," the Putin government is attempting to accomplish two historical tasks: integrating the newly acquired eastern Ukrainian regions into the Russian state body and preventing the secessionist tendencies in minority regions, thus avoiding the tragedy of the Soviet Union's disintegration.
If this strategy is successfully implemented, what Putin leaves behind for his successors will not only be a Russia with expanded territory, but also a Russia with significantly enhanced internal cohesion.
However, the path of national integration is full of challenges. Under the continuous information warfare pressure from the West, how to balance the cultural dominance of Russia with the rights of minorities, and how to achieve real identity recognition in the context of uneven economic development, will test the political wisdom of the Kremlin.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7577334482882085427/
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