The development of Russian nationalism under Gorbachev (1985-91) Timothy Michael Spence V UNIVERSITY ' : :. "f' PhD Thesis V LONDON / • School of Slavonic and East European Studies ProQuest Number: 10011299 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10011299 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Abstract This thesis examines the development of Russian nationalism under Gorbachev, with special reference to new political organisations. Nationalism is defined as a combination of sentiment, political principle and movement. The political principle 'holds that the political and national unit should be congruent'. For Russia, this was not a straightforward matter: some considered the political unit to be a greater (imperial) Russian state; whilst others considered it to be a Russian national state (based on the RSFSR). In addition, the Russian language has two terms to define the national unit:russkii sindrossiiskii narod. Russian nationalism existed to a limited degree in the Soviet Union before 1985. Glasnost and perestroika reduced the limitations on expressions of Russian nationalism and provided an opportunity for opinions to coalesce, resulting in the appearance of organised movements. At first, most Russian nationalists welcomed this change, although some soon started to display elements of caution - they were worried about possible threats to their conceptions of the Russian state. This work aims to show that Russian nationalism under Gorbachev was not a unified movement, but a collage of opinions attempting to define the Russian state and its national values. The thesis examines: the development of new groups connected with Russian nationalism; the relationship between Russian nationalism and the centre; the issues which became Russian nationalist causes; and the tendencies which became apparent in Russian nationalism. The thesis contends that Russian nationalism can be divided into three tendencies: imperialist nationalism, concerned with the maintenance of a greater Russian/Soviet state; isolationist nationalism, which sought to establish a specifically 'Russian' state, untainted by foreign influence and separated from the non-Russian Union republics; and liberal nationalism, which respected other republics' independence, was receptive to foreign influence and, yet, was concerned with the Russian national identity of a new Russian state. C ontents Introduction Chapter 1: The Meaning of Nationalism Nation and Nationality A Russian/Soviet Understanding of 'Nationalism' Chapter 2: A Classification of Russian Nationalism 19th century - Slavophilism and Pan-Slavism Twentieth century - National Bolshevism From Brezhnev to Perestroika Classifications of Russian nationalism under Gorbachev Chapter 3: The Development of Russian Nationalism Part I: The Evolution of Russian Nationalism 1985-1988: Searching for a Cause 1988-1990: Organised Movements Spring 1990 - August 1991: Russian Nationalism Moves to Centre Stage August 1991 - End 1991: Reacting to the Break-up of the U nion Part II: Gorbachev/the Centre and Russian Nationalism Chapter 4: Russian Nationalist Issues Environment The Russian \Tllage The Search for National Identity and the Definition of the Russian Character Demographic Problems Territorial Issues Russian Orthodoxy Xenophobia Russian National Sovereignty and New Russian Institutions Chapter 5: Imperialist Russian Nationalism: Groups and Parties Connected with the Tendency Internationalists Conservative revivalists Populists Unifiers Pamiat' Anti-Communist Fringe Umbrella Organizations and Blocs Chapter 6: Liberal Russian Nationalism: Groups and Parties Connected with the Tendency Democratic Russia Movement Democracy and "enlightened patriotism' Democracy and therossiiskoe state Rossy Chapter 7: Isolationist Russian Nationalism: Groups and Parties Connected with the Tendency Solzhenitsyn Organizations Conclusion Bibliography Introduction The aim of this work is to show how Russian nationalism manifested itself in Russia during the Gorbachev period (1985-91) with particular reference to the groups which adopted it as a political cause. I believe that there are three tendencies within Russian nationalism which were given the opportunity to express themselves clearly under the influence of glasnost and perestroika: imperialist, isolationist and liberal Russian nationalism. One or two texts have referred to the terms 'imperialism', 'isolationism', 'separatism' and 'liberal democracy' in relation to Russian nationalism, but no one has made this exact distinction between the tendencies in Russian nationalism. I start with a discussion of nationalism, which seems to be frequently ignored when Russian (or any) nationalism is discussed. There is no agreement as to what constitutes nationalism, but Gellner's idea that it is a political principle uniting a political and national unit seems to be popular. Examining the various ideas on the subject, I agree with Gellner's definition, but also believe that a definition should mention the sentiment and the movement which pursue the principle. It is upon these three elements that I base my examination of Russian nationalism. The second chapter looks at the work of other scholars on the subject and enumerates some of the terms which they have used. It concludes with the three divisions of Russian nationalism. The third section of the thesis describes the development of Russian nationalism from 1985-1991, with an emphasis on the organisations and parties which arose. It divides the Gorbachev years into four different time periods, representing: the initial intellectual debate and the appearance of Pamiat'; the emergence of new organisations connected with Russian nationalism; the combination of Russian nationalism with both democratic and conservative forces in opposition to the centre; and Russian nationalism in the aftermath of the attempted coup of August 1991. The issues listed in Chapter 4 represent a fairly broad look at the variety of concerns affecting Russian nationalism. The chapter by no means goes 5 into each issue in great depth, for each issue might merit the examination of a thesis. Some issues might be subject to a deeper analysis than others, but the work only wishes to illustrate the variety of ways in which nationalism was expressed. The section on 'national character and identity' may seem to cover many of the other issues in the chapter, but I have tried to avoid repitition. The search for national identity does link many of the issues, but it also presents some new information. I therefore felt it necessary to include it as a separate category in the middle of the chapter. The last three chapters introduce the reader to a number of groups which expressed or used Russian nationalism as a conviction or a political tool. Chapter 5 deals with the organisations which are connected with imperialist Russian nationalism. This tendency represents the largest area of activity in Russian nationalism and encompasses the largest number of groups, some of which were fairly significant in size and some of which were very small. The groups represent a variety of political views, including: support for Marxism-Leninism; réintroduction of the monarchy; increasing the importance of Russian Orthodoxy in Russian life; and extreme right-wing views. However, all the organisations are guided by their desire to maintain or re-institute the greater Russian state/Soviet Union. Chapter 6 examines briefly the organisations which were most closely linked to liberal Russian nationalism. This includes groups which pursued liberal democracy and a civil society, whilst trying to establish specific Russian features within that society. It also includes the umbrella movement. Democratic Russia, and constituent members, which fought for the institution of a Russian [rossiiskii] national identity through the establishment of Russian state structures. Chapter 7 looks at the most marginal tendency, isolationist Russian nationalism. This tendency combined both separatism and isolationism to create the idea of a specific Russian path untainted by foreign influence and the concerns/burdens of the non-Russian(/Slavic) periphery. It gives a summary of Solzhenitsyn's programme for Russian recovery in isolation from the rest of the world and lists three organisations for whom a belief in the innate qualities of the Russian people was paramount. Chapter 1: The Meaning of Nationalism Nation and Nationality It is impossible to discuss nationalism without having a vague idea about what constitutes a 'nation' or a 'nationality'. Many nationalists believe that humanity is naturally divided into nations, whose peculiar characteristics can be readily identified. However, there are problems with this approach: firstly, today's studies of nationalism indicate that the emergence of nations is a relatively recent political phenomenon and discredit the idea that they might be 'natural' or 'preordained'; secondly, it is difficult to distinguish the unique,