Russia’s Recognition of Georgian Areas Raises Hopes of Its Own Separatists -- New York Times
MOSCOW — Tatarstan is a long way from South Ossetia. While South Ossetia is a poor border region of Georgia battered by war, Tatarstan is an economic powerhouse in the heart of Russia, boasting both oil reserves and the political stability that is catnip to investors.
But the two places have one thing in common: Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, both have given rise to separatist movements. And when President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia formally recognized the breakaway areas of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent nations two weeks ago, activists in Kazan, the Tatar capital, took notice.
An association of nationalist groups, the All-Tatar Civic Center, swiftly published an appeal that “for the first time in recent history, Russia has recognized the state independence of its own citizens” and expressed the devout wish that Tatarstan would be next. The declaration was far-fetched, its authors knew: One of Vladimir V. Putin’s signal achievements as Mr. Medvedev’s predecessor was to suppress separatism. The Tatar movement was at its lowest ebb in 20 years.
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My Comment: When we look at Russia we tend to see a big unified and homogenious country. The reality is different. Russia is made up of many different and numerous ethnic, cultural, and religious groups .... with most of them not liking the other groups.
The recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia is now opening a can of worms for the entire Russian nation. There are going to be problems ..... problems that the Russian Government has never been good at solving.
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