Sovereign, make me a Chechen

At the very beginning, when Putin talked about how Lenin created Ukraine, some thought that it was some kind of "Russian reconquista". However, yesterday everything fell into place: in the course of a new speech, Putin awarded the title of Hero of Russia to Nurmagomed Gadzhimagomedov. There must have been other candidates. However, a Dagestani was declared the first hero of the "Russian spring". And this is a completely conscious propaganda move. Further there went praises to the multinational people, in which the Russians took an honorable place between the Ingush and the Tatars:

"I am a Russian person. And, as they say, I have Ivana and Marya in my family, but when I see examples of such heroism as the feat of a young guy Nurmagomed Gadzhimagomedov, a native of Dagestan, a Lak by nationality, and our other soldiers, I want to say: I Lak, I am Dagestan, I am Chechen, Ingush, Russian, Tatar, Jew, Mordvin, Ossetian"

In general, everything is like in the good Soviet times. The Russian people are, of course, the elder brother. However, it must certainly be "balanced" by other peoples. For what? And then that "divide and conquer." This often happens in autocracies: the titular nation is the main supplier of resources, but due to the large number of its elite, it also poses the greatest threat to the supreme ruler. The Byzantine emperor was guarded by the Varangian squad - after all, "their own" will poison or slaughter for an hour. Egyptian caliphs and Turkish sultans relied on the Mamluks and Janissaries, warrior classes originally recruited from slaves and not associated with the main Arab or Turkish clans. In the Russian Empire, there was something similar: the Russian nobility was under suspicion - they would either come with a snuffbox, or go out to the Senate. The Baltic Germans are another matter - they are not numerous and unloved by the Russian nobility, and therefore they owe all their well-being to the royal throne.

Now we see the same thing: the majority of the Russian elite did not know about the impending "special operation", they were simply not trusted. But on the other hand, Ramzan Akhmatovich obviously knew. Therefore, it is easy to guess which particular groups in Russian society will strengthen their position in the end this "Russian spring". If in the 19th century Russian nobles joked about "sire, make me a German" (attributed to Yermolov), today it is "sire, make me a Chechen."

Mihail Pojarsky 2022-03-04