Russian Twitter hates Kamil Galeev and his long threads explaining Russian dysfunction. What’s really funny is the argument that is invariably used to discredit Galeev. “He’s Tatar!” Galeev’s Russian detractors exclaim as if it were a really convincing argument of why Galeev’s insights are useless.
The Russian Federation holds many territories with people who differ ethnically, religiously, culturally, and linguistically. Within Russia, people you’d call “ethnic Russians” consider themselves to be “the title nation.” That’s an official term. I learned it from N who uses it completely seriously. In Ukraine we have different ethnicities but nobody is “the title nation.”
The Russian “title nation” deeply despises everybody who isn’t part of it. There’s absolutely no chance that Galeev hasn’t experienced endless manifestations of contempt from the representatives of the “title nation.” I have, even though unlike Galeev I don’t look different from “ethnic Russians.”
Taking all this into account, can anybody explain why it’s so unrealistic to give all these abused, despised and mistreated ethnic groups a possibility to seek sovereignty outside of the cruel and contemptuous rule by the inept and corrupt “title nation”?
The last remaining old empire should go, ceding place to nations. This is particularly important to remember today when we celebrate the very idea of nationhood.
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