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The “Peoples' Congresses” in Russia: Failure Or Success?

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The “Peoples' Congresses” in Russia: Failure Or Success? The “Peoples’ Congresses” in Russia: Failure or Success? Authenticity and Efficiency of Minority Representation Alexander Osipov ECMI WORKING PAPER # 48 August 2011 ECMI- Working Paper The European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) is a non-partisan institution founded in 1996 by the Governments of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the German State of Schleswig-Holstein. ECMI was established in Flensburg, at the heart of the Danish-German border region, in order to draw from the encouraging example of peaceful coexistence between minorities and majorities achieved here. ECMI‟s aim is to promote interdisciplinary research on issues related to minorities and majorities in a European perspective and to contribute to the improvement of interethnic relations in those parts of Western and Eastern Europe where ethnopolitical tension and conflict prevail. ECMI Working Papers are written either by the staff of ECMI or by outside authors commissioned by the Centre. As ECMI does not propagate opinions of its own, the views expressed in any of its publications are the sole responsibility of the author concerned. ECMI Working Paper #48 European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) Director: Dr. Tove H. Malloy © ECMI 2011 2 | P a g e ECMI- Working Paper The “Peoples’ Congresses” in Russia: Failure or Success? Authenticity and Efficiency of Minority Representation This paper addresses the phenomenon of public fora which are designed to re present certain ethnic groups and are set up through popular vote. The academic and practical interest in such “congresses” results from the fact that over time it has been shown that these endeavors have: (1)proven to be viable and durable organization structures for about two decades; (2)secured flexibility in their establishment and functioning;(3) provided for mass participation in public discussions and voting; (4) avoided “identity trap” and most complexities related to setting qualifications and the selection of eligibility criteria for the participants; (5) been a bridge between minority activists and public authorities. At the same time, the real practical outcomes, the ability to act independently and visibility of the “congresses” on the political landscape are far from being obvious, and this raises questions about the reasons for such doubtful achievements and the very meaning of “representation” in such a context. Alexander Osipov, August 2011 ECMI Working Paper #48 I. “CONGRESSES” IN THE well as the system of local Crimean Tatar 1 FRAMEWORK OF NON- Mejlises . At the present time in the post-Soviet states, elected bodies convened on behalf of TERRITORIAL AUTONOMY certain ethnic groups are mostly to be found in Russia. In Russia, “the congresses of peoples” in The idea of “congresses” of ethnically defined terms of their scale, symbolic status, and the “peoples” or ethnicity-based representative amount of resources involved are in fact a much assemblies emerged in the Russian Empire in the more significant endeavor than so-called early 20th century and then became popular national-cultural autonomy (NCA). While NCA within the former USSR in the late 1980s - early in Russia is merely a deteriorated version of 1990s. The most famous undertaking of this non-profit non-governmental organization kind was the Kurultay (Congress) of Crimean (NGO) in the sense that their procedures of Tatar people established in 1991 along with the establishment are more complex and the rights Crimean Tatar Mejlis, the permanent 2 are limited vis-à-vis “ordinary” NGOs , representative and self-government body, as 3 | P a g e ECMI- Working Paper “peoples‟ congresses” are a flexible, durable and can be found in the academic literature on this relatively efficient form of organization and topic.6 Two of them emerge most frequently. participation in public life. According to the first one, NTA is understood as While publications dedicated to NCA in Russia a general principle according to which people are relatively numerous3, virtually no scholar has belonging to a particular ethnicity can carry out addressed the phenomenon of “congresses”. activities related to their interests as members of Although proceedings of the major “congresses” an ethnic group by using different forms of have been made public, the very theme has only organization independently, and without any been briefly mentioned in individual articles and government intervention. According to the other monographs issued in Russia only4. interpretation, NTA is to be regarded as a Moreover, it follows from the above that particular form of organization on ethnic “peoples‟ congresses” have not been well grounds. This interpretation is often traced back studied empirically. Thus, this paper should be to the Austro-Marxist theorists Karl Renner and viewed rather as an occasion to raise relevant Otto Bauer, who are often called the founders of questions than to provide all answers. This the idea.7 Austro-Marxists offered to organize phenomenon invites to address the following “nations” as vertically integrated corporations two puzzles. First, “congresses” as a working which are granted certain functions and public scheme are promising in terms of minorities‟ competences related to education, cultural self-organization and representation while they affairs, linguistic regulations, and partly to social are devoid of many of the drawbacks inherent in security. A corporation (or “national union”) other models. The real “congresses” have as was assumed to be based on individual mentioned above been successful in the formal membership of persons belonging to the sense, yet they have not gained a significant respective ethnic groups, to operate through public visibility and remain known only to a bodies elected by the respective group‟s popular handful of academics and to the direct vote, and to have a guaranteed share in public participants. Second, the gap between, on the resources for its activities, in particular, through one hand, the formal success in creating imposing taxation on group members. The view mechanisms of representation and participation, that NTA requires the organization of the entire and, on the other hand, questionable substantive ethnic group as a single structure with an elected effectiveness shows the need to re-examine the representative body is seen quite frequently in nature and criteria of what might be termed the literature, and may be viewed as a lasting “mobilization” and “representation” of ethnic effect of Austro-Marxism. groups. In what way can the theme of “Peoples‟ congresses” in theory fit both of these “congresses” be associated with the issues of major interpretations of NTA. On the one hand, non-territorial autonomy? “Autonomy is a they can be understood as a collective activity device to allow ethnic or other groups claiming a serving to express and promote interests based distinct identity to exercise direct control over on ethnicity. On the other hand, each “congress” 5 affairs of special concern to them” . In general, is designed as a single organizational framework the concept of non-territorial autonomy for an ethnic group as a whole, and it forms a (hereinafter - NTA) is blurred, which is reflected representative structure based on general in the fact that several different interpretations elections. In many cases, “congresses” receive certain amounts of public resources - they are 4 | P a g e ECMI- Working Paper given state funding and they participate in public meaning of representation poses an analytical decision-making. All these elements resemble problem and generates controversies in the Austro-Marxist NTA, at least in the formal social sciences as well as in policy-making.11 sense. The broad topic of representation is divisible into four smaller issues that are labeled as II. “CONGRESSES” AND THE “symbolic”, “descriptive”, “formalistic” and NOTIONS OF REPRESENTATION “substantive” representation. In particular, descriptive representation means the extent to AND PARTICIPATION which the representative resembles (usually by belonging to the same social category) those All the initiatives described below combine the being represented, but has nothing to do with tacit assumption that ethnic groups are integral how the representative actually behaves.12 social entities which exist independently of 13 Formalistic representation relates to territory as associations of individuals who are authorization and accountability in procedural able in principle to organize, govern and terms. Substantive representation is about the represent themselves. Accordingly, the degree to which the trustees‟ activities respective organizational forms are supposed to adequately and completely represent their play two roles: to represent ethnic “interests” for 14 constituency‟s interests. Ethnicity-based the larger society and for the government and to representation has emerged as an especially undertake guidance of ethnic groups‟ internal complex issue which posits a challenge both to affairs. This approach reflects a vision of theorists and to policy-makers alike. Broadly ethnicity which Rogers Brubaker has termed 8 understood representation of groups defined in “groupism” . “Groupism” is not a theory and cultural, ethnic or racial terms has important even not a coherent system of belief; it is not implications for the stability and efficiency of identical to essentialism, which strives to present governance.15 Definitions of ethnicity and the ethnic groups as social entities, embodying a ways it is institutionalized
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