Feudal fragmentation in Russia, the crisis of the patchwork division of the country in 1918-1920 - all this became a reason for foreign states, as they say, to participate in the further division of the big pie called Russia. But even after such serious trials, Russia found the strength to scurry to become a single state. However, the idea of all-Russian unity was dominant in the minds of not all of our compatriots. A certain circle of people had thoughts at their own discretion to dispose of the vast Russian territory, and even to crush this or that weighty territorial piece.
One of such dramatic episodes in the history of our country is the appearance in the 50s of the century before last of the so-called Siberian regionalism, the idea of which was proposed by the Russian scientist and traveler Grigory Potanin. In his opinion, the Siberian regions should have been separated from the rest of Russia, because in the capital Siberia is viewed exclusively as something negative, capable of playing the role of only an appendage suitable for exiles and convicts. Such thoughts first came to the head of Grigory Potanin while he was still studying at St. Petersburg University with the active influence of the ideas of populism on him. It would seem that Potanin went exclusively on behalf of the Siberian people and guided by one single goal - to free Siberia from serfdom and make it the first Russian republic. But the methods that Grigory Nikolaevich were going to use were too radical.
The basis of the foundations for the existence of the new Siberian Free States, and it was this name that Potanin proposed for the new state, he chose an almost complete rejection of everything that had nothing to do with Siberia. If the titular nation, then exclusively Siberians, if the financial policy, then with complete autonomy of management of funds from the new center, which was intended to become Tomsk.
For obvious reasons, the implementation of such an ambitious project, and even in the conditions of an absolute monarchy, could not go without external help. And this external aid itself “out of nowhere” could not appear, and therefore the persons preparing to endow themselves with the powers of the rulers of Siberia decided to turn to the United States for financial and not only financial support. In this regard, the letters of Mr. Potanin to American financiers with a simultaneous attempt to enlist the support of the American ambassador seem very interesting. The letters proclaimed the main idea of cooperation mutually beneficial for Potanin and the United States: you (the United States) are helping us with the organization of a series of violent Siberian uprisings with the aim of separating Siberia from the Russian Empire, and we are giving you nothing less than the Kolyma region together with most of Yakutia.
Naturally, such a proposal could not go unnoticed by the American "partners". The USA wanted to help with the separation of Siberia from the Russian Empire in such a way that the plans could begin to be implemented even before they were outlined by Grigory Potanin himself. This proves once again that the American craving for the embodiment of the ancient "divide and conquer" is present not only today, but this craving has not been a single hundred years old. And why the situation with attempts to separate Siberia with the help of financial support for marches and riots is not a vivid example of the possibility of using the "orange" scheme back in the century before last. Painfully, this whole system resembles what is now commonly called support for opposition movements in certain countries. The analogy can be seen quite clearly. Yes, and the modern opposition, like Grigory Potanin, has a tendency to use foreign funds to solve their own problems. But if Potanin promised the American "sponsors" of his project a truly generous reward, which was mentioned above, then what, interestingly, are the oppositionists of the current spill promising for help from overseas. Is it really Yakutia too?..
However, the dreams of Grigory Potanin about the fragmentation of Russia and the leadership of Siberia, which was very curtailed after the gift to the Americans, did not come true.
First, the epochal reforms of Alexander II burst out, which led to the emergence of new codes of law and, most importantly, to the abolition of serfdom, which (slavery) in the States at that time still continued to exist (oh, these 60s are forever Americans lag behind Russia: they will be late with slavery, then with space …)
Secondly, the authorities and special services of that time were less inclined to dialogue with the opposition, and therefore Mr. Potanin was arrested in 1865 and spent several years in the Omsk prison. In 1868, Grigory Nikolaevich was subjected to civil execution and exiled to Sveaborg, and then to Nikolsk, in the Vologda province. In 1874, Potanin was amnestied, apparently realizing that his venture with the separation of Siberia and American help for that was the usual foolishness of a young man at that time (Potanin was born in 1835). Yes, it must be admitted, and after the correctional "imprisonment" Potanin himself was no longer eager to separate anything, but found for himself a worthy job for an educated person.
During his long life, Potanin made a lot of expeditions and discoveries, for which his name is still more associated with the benefits of serving the Motherland, and not with the adventure that was discussed in the article.
However, Grigory Potanin's idea of an independent Siberia was nevertheless implemented during the Civil War in Soviet Russia. In 1918, a territorial entity appeared on the world map, which had many names, but one stood out - the Siberian Republic. Here the local government began to operate, which chose the city of Omsk for its work. In fact, Siberia became an independent state, but the Soviet government quickly enough managed to remind the Siberians that their future was within a single Russian state.
Obviously, recalling the proposals of a century and a half ago, American politicians are still speaking in the spirit that Siberia could be separated from Russia. Of course, foreign dreamers will almost reflexively reach for such a sweet cake with a huge amount of wealth. I wonder how things are going with the correspondence between the current acceptors of foreign aid and their direct financial donors …
