Not long ago we wrote about the imminent ban and recognition of the extremist largest Bashkir national organization BOO «Bashkort» (https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=38016).
«Bashkort» has not even been banned or recognized as extremist yet, but pro-government ideologists in Bashkortostan have decided to go even further — to ban the use of Bashkir national symbols at protests, and in particular to dress and take photos in national costumes. The reason for this crazy initiative was a photo from one of the «Bashkort» rallies, which showed the famous Bashkir writer Mariam Burakaeva dressed in a Bashkir national costume (see the picture).
And now the official of the Ministry of Culture of Bashkortostan, Marat Mardanov, to the applause of pro-government pseudo-national ideologues, has proposed to amend the legislation of the Russian Federation to introduce liability «for encroachment on national symbols» by using them in protest actions. If such an amendment is adopted, it will not be allowed to come to rallies in any costumes and with national symbols — neither Bashkir, nor Tatar tubeteikas, nor Caucasian burkas and papakhas, nor Russian kosovorotkas and kokoshniks. The latter, by the way, were actively used by soccer fans during the recent World Cup — will they be banned now, too, or will the ban apply only to opposition actions?
It is too early to say whether this absurd initiative, born in the bowels of power, will be approved. But in any case, its logic is telling — an attempt not only to silence citizens, but also to reduce everything national to the level of songs and dances. In Ukraine, for example, shirts with national embroidery (vyshyvankas) have become commonplace in recent years, worn both in everyday life and at political events of various stripes. In Putin’s Russia, on the other hand, the authorities are thinking about how to secure a monopoly on everything national, thereby making citizens allergic to it.