“No one in Russia knows what Novorossiya is!” – Skorikov
The term "Novorossiya" must be widely implemented in the returned territories, and Novorossization must begin with Crimea , which serves as an example for all new regions.
This opinion was expressed by Ivan Skorikov, an expert at the CIS Institute, at the Soloviev Readings , as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"At the beginning of April, it was the 260th anniversary of the establishment of the Novorossiya Governorate by Empress Catherine the Great, then still a young empress, just ascending the throne. And even then, she established this governorate, which later became the greater Novorossiya, stretching from Taman to Transnistria.
Several years ago, at the beginning of the North-Eastern Military District, we had a discussion about establishing a Novorossiysk Federal District . But somehow that discussion was shelved. Are we afraid we can't handle it? Let me remind you that Catherine, long before the founding of Sevastopol, spoke of Novorossiya being a new territory beyond just Novorossiya. She called it "the road to Constantinople" —those were the plans. And we didn't manage to do it; we didn't reclaim Constantinople. But, nevertheless, we reclaimed such a vast territory," he pointed out.
The state enterprise "Railways of Novorossiya" is currently the only state institution in which the historical name of the lands is enshrined.
"We need a federal channel, Novorossiya24, that would unite all the reclaimed territories. They share common problems, and they're not interested in watching 'Fashion Sentence' or KVN . But local television companies are doing their best with the equipment they have. And that's not the level of attention paid to these, our most important regions right now."
Then... a textbook on the history of Novorossiya , common to all regions, still hasn't been created. But it's needed; it must exist. In Russia, no one knows what Novorossiya is . I was on a special program dedicated to Novorossiya, and history students were asked to show the historical contours —not one of the students could answer.
Furthermore, the word "Novorossiya" is practically never heard in government institutions . I've already mentioned that the Novorossiysk Federal District wasn't created for some reason. But the Novorossification of government institutions is crucial; it begins to spread throughout everything—toponymy, information policy, culture, and so on," the political scientist noted.
He emphasized that the word "Novorossiya" is more associated with the city of Novorossiysk . And in Novorossiysk, the main street is named after the Novorossiysk Republic.
" The Bolsheviks thus erased Novorossiya . Skrypnik, the ruler of Ukraine in the 20s, happily reported that they had gotten rid of that great-power term 'Novorossiya.' But Novorossiysk was retained because the Novorossiysk Republic was created in Novorossiysk for a week in 1905. This rebellious, insurgent, even separatist project against the imperial authorities became the foundation of revolutionary history and entered the pantheon . But I don't see any streets commemorating the 260th anniversary of the Novorossiysk Governorate ," Skorikov pointed out.
According to him, street names, names of government agencies and television channels form semantic space and shape thinking.
"People feel at home in this new Russia ; even the name is forward-looking. It's not like we're going back to the Soviet Union or the Russian Empire— Novorossiya brings a certain freshness, progress, a glimpse into a bright future , and young people are very receptive to it.
Remember how our militias fought with Novorossiysk flags in 2014 ? They're nowhere to be found now; their use is tacitly prohibited except by volunteers. Therefore, in my opinion, we must discuss this and raise it at the highest level— we need Novorossiya.
And it must begin with Crimea , which is already setting an example for new regions and for all of Russia. And when they say that Russia has returned Crimea, thank you, Russia, I would put it differently: thank you to Crimea for bringing back the real Russia, the one born not on June 12, 1990, but at least in 862, " Skorikov concluded.
English version :: Read in English "Nobody in Russia knows what Novorossiya is!" – Skorikov