At the end of last week, the deputies of the Dagestan People’s Assembly demonstrated a rare civic principled position for regional parliaments in Putin’s Russia.
With 37 votes against, 29 in favor and 9 abstentions, they rejected the bill on «Cossack nationality» pushed by Moscow’s deputy «head of the republic» Sergei Melikhov.
It is truly remarkable that even in a republic with an almost exclusively Muslim population, the authorities are trying to legislate privileges for such a strange phenomenon as «Cossackhood».
The proposed law provides for state support for «the creation of Cossack societies, centers of Cossack culture, museums, creative groups; support for patriotic and physical education of Cossack youth, etc.». But who are they?
If they are militarized formations within the state security structures or those fulfilling the functions of private security companies associated with them, what kind of distinctive culture can they have? And why not create cultural centers for paratroopers, tankers, or riot police?
If we are talking about a nation with its own culture, why is it necessary to pass a law specifically supporting this nation and not all nations in general? Besides, unlike Kuban or Don, Dagestan is not one of the great «republic-forming» peoples, like the Avars, Dargins, Kumyks, etc.
But it is particularly pleasing that there was a deputy — boxer Sultan Ibragimov, who reminded that the so-called «Cossack community» had opposed the construction of a mosque in Novocherkassk, and declared that after that the Muslims in Dagestan would not understand the acceptance of such a law.
Of course, it can be argued that the Cossacks opposed the construction of a mosque on their land. Well, the Muslims opposed the support of Cossack centers on their land! In fact, these «Cossack societies» opposed the construction of mosques not only in Novocherkassk. They held such pickets in many places, and in 2002 the atamans of the Great Don land declared that they would fight against the construction of mosques all over the Don land.
At the same time, they have the audacity to create their own Cossack formations and entire colonist settlements in Muslim regions, even with the support of their authorities (https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=35824).
Is it any wonder that with such an approach they will oppress Muslims on «their» land and at the same time spread to Muslim lands, probably to fight against mosques there as well?
Therefore, in this case, the deputies of the Dagestan People’s Assembly made it clear that in a Muslim republic they will treat any group the same way they treat Islam. If the leaders of all Muslim republics behaved in the same way, then in Moscow alone, with its ten million inhabitants, instead of 5 overcrowded mosques, there would be at least 50, and the needs of Muslims — immigrants from these Russian republics — would be met in other regions.
But unfortunately, the actions of the deputies of the Dagestan People’s Assembly are still the exception rather than the rule. (In the photo — Cossacks at one of the pickets against the construction of a mosque)