Spain leaves a mark

“Events in Catalonia seem to Russia a reminder of the recent past or a possible threat from the future”

The referendum on the independence of Catalonia is an event in all respects far from the interests of Russians: the intrigue around Catalan separatism cannot be reduced to a set of monosyllabic hashtags (“Obama is a schmuck”, “Trump is ours”, etc.), it is not about geopolitics and not about spirituality, not about America or Ukraine, and in general, the Spaniards and the Catalans are not our friend and not the enemy, but so. And yet: images of clashes on the streets of Barcelona, ​​as they say, blow up social networks and become the first story in the news, and it seems that in some incomprehensible way this concerns all of us. Where does the lad get Spanish sadness?

There are various reasons for this. People belonging to the protest movement will recognize their own experience in the videos from Barcelona: look, the local police in the same way, by the arms, by the legs, drag the protesters into the paddy wagon and beat peaceful people with truncheons - only the demonstrators defend themselves much more fiercely, interestingly, not Does the Catalan "Swamp case" shine for them? (Based on the experience of previous manifestations, we can assume that no, it does not shine). Supporters of the “Russian world” see the Catalan referendum as a reflection of events in Crimea and Donbass, it seems that the success of the movement for secession from Spain can give weight and legitimacy to movements for secession from Ukraine (“Madrid in this case, as Kiev acts,” writes in Learn Eduard Limonov). Then, Catalonia is also an all-Russian resort, not as massive as Turkey or Egypt, but much more civilized: what is commonly called the "European atmosphere" - slowness, authenticity, mutual respect, human diversity and tolerance for this diversity - was first revealed to many of us on holiday on the Costa Brava. And in the shots where people in black helmets beat these unhurried and dignified citizens of old Europe, there is something painful and unnatural, like in a picture of an airplane crashing into a skyscraper.

And in the shots where people in black helmets beat these unhurried and dignified citizens of old Europe, there is something painful and unnatural, like in a picture of an airplane crashing into a skyscraper

One way or another, we intuitively look for a precedent in the Catalan events, a historical example that could confirm our own political choice - yes, it is normal to demand separation from the metropolis (or yes, it is quite acceptable to resist police violence). But maybe it would be more useful to step back a couple of steps - behind the shocking videos from Barcelona there is some story of its own, not like ours today, but reminiscent of memories of the recent past (or premonitions of a possible future).

The movement for the secession of Catalonia, in a sense, was created by General Franco - who dispersed the local authorities, banned education in the Catalan language, ordered the replacement of Catalan names and street names with their Castilian counterparts. After the death of the dictator, the pendulum swung the other way - Catalonia receives an autonomous status and its own government, the Catalan language is restored in rights, names and tablets are returned. In 2006, Catalonia adopts and the Spanish Parliament approves a new "Statute of Autonomy"; It would seem that here it is, the point of balance. But four years later, the Constitutional Court invalidates several articles of the "Regulation" - the priority of the Catalan language, the transfer of courts to regional subordination, the mention of the "Catalan nation" in the preamble of the document. And the spring begins to unwind: a million people who came out in Barcelona to demonstrate for independence, a declaration of sovereignty, new resolutions and demonstrations, and as a result, a secession referendum that will never be recognized by the feds and will serve as proof of the right for secessionists. This evidence becomes especially strong because of the actions of the security forces: more than 700 victims, street violence shocking by the standards of modern Europe, blood on the faces of women and the elderly give the independence movement a completely different status.

There's something suspiciously familiar about that, isn't there? The federal government either suppresses linguistic and cultural autonomies, or grants them limited rights, or tightens the screws again - and the back and forth movement of this pendulum only gives energy and confidence to the separatist movements. The question of the status of autonomy is moving from the plane of democratic procedures into a register of police violence with victims among civilians - and is beginning to be perceived not as an object of political bargaining, but as a sacred value, a cause under which blood flows. Barcelona in a sense is similar today to Vilnius of August 1991, we know how this story ends, and there is no certainty that the democratic institutions of old Europe are capable of turning it in the opposite direction. And even more so, there is no feeling that in the Russian political tradition there are some mechanisms, checks and balances that were not enough for the late Soviet or current Spanish leadership. For various reasons and with different political grounds, we are worried about the Catalan protesters, having absolutely no idea how to moderate such conflicts, when and if one of the Russian regions suddenly remembers old imperial grievances or recently infringed autonomy.