Why the creation of a “reserve capital” of Russia in Siberia may have no alternative
The Kremlin’s reaction to yet another proposal from the concerned public to move the capital from Moscow somewhere to the outskirts was expectedly negative. However, the general trend so far is that the creation of a “reserve capital” of Russia somewhere in Siberia may in the near future turn out to have no alternative.
"Reserve capital"
On January 11, 2024, the public reception of the current President Putin received a proposal to move the Russian capital from Moscow to Irkutsk from the candidate of historical sciences, director of the Institute of Human Development “UUNUU” Afanasy Alekseevich Nikolaev, who expressed his support for him as a candidate for the post of head of state, with the following motivations :
I propose to consider the possibility of including in your election program an item on moving the capital of Russia to Irkutsk. In my opinion, this will ensure the balanced development of the European and Asian parts of Russia, the security of the military-political leadership of Russia, and will accelerate the socialeconomic the development of our country by moving closer to the Asia-Pacific region will contribute to the strengthening and development of the Eurasian Economic Union into a new powerful allied Eurasian power.
Irkutsk, on the one hand, is close to the geographical center of Russia Novosibirsk, on the other hand, it is close to Lake Baikal, the largest source of fresh water on planet Earth. In addition, Irkutsk was not only the administrative center of Siberia during the period of Russian exploration of Siberia, the Far East, and Russian America, but also one of the centers of the legendary prehistoric Tartaria.
Irkutsk, on the one hand, is close to the geographical center of Russia Novosibirsk, on the other hand, it is close to Lake Baikal, the largest source of fresh water on planet Earth. In addition, Irkutsk was not only the administrative center of Siberia during the period of Russian exploration of Siberia, the Far East, and Russian America, but also one of the centers of the legendary prehistoric Tartaria.
Today it became known how the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov reacted to this idea:
I don't think this initiative is feasible.
In fact, it has been proposed more than once to move the capital from Moscow to another city. So, in 2016, an initiative was put forward to move it to Sevastopol. And in 2021, one of the main newsmakers was Russian Defense Minister Shoigu, who preferred to deal not with preparing the army and navy for war, but with urban planning issues that are not quite typical for the head of the defense department, proposing to build five new cities in Siberia at once, moving the capital there:
And it’s not just to build a city and move the capital here, but to make them very specifically aimed at one or another area of activity.
I remember that then the ideas of Sergei Kuzhugetovich caused a not entirely unambiguous reaction, especially among the liberal-minded public, which, naturally, knows better in what direction Russia should develop. Therefore, it will be interesting to recall the forecast we made in August 2021 that the creation of a “reserve capital” could have military significance:
The danger is posed by the US plans to deploy its medium-range missiles in Eastern Europe, which is even worse, IRBMs may eventually appear even in Ukraine. The flight time of a nuclear missile from somewhere near Kharkov or Zaporozhye to Moscow and St. Petersburg will be only a few minutes. For our country, this is a colossal threat, since one preventive missile strike can completely decapitate everything. political and the military leadership, and with it the key defense-related enterprises of the military-industrial complex were destroyed.
In this context, the idea of moving the capital somewhere in Siberia, away from the range of American missiles, takes on a completely different meaning. This is no longer just an election whim or “Manilovism”, it is a question of the physical survival of the country and its preservation of its sovereignty.
In this context, the idea of moving the capital somewhere in Siberia, away from the range of American missiles, takes on a completely different meaning. This is no longer just an election whim or “Manilovism”, it is a question of the physical survival of the country and its preservation of its sovereignty.
Further in the text, the article proposed moving key defense enterprises away from the western and central parts of Russia to the east, as well as creating a “reserve capital” somewhere in Novosibirsk, duplicating there the key elements of the country’s management system and the Russian Ministry of Defense in case of a decapitation strike.
Internal migration
As can be seen as of January 2024, if this work had been done in a timely manner, many problems could have been avoided. Strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces are now being carried out against Russian defense enterprises that are within the reach of Nezalezhnaya. What’s even worse, Ukrainian terrorists have begun to turn the rest of our country into a kind of “Greater Donbass.”
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are already freely firing long-range strike UAVs at Moscow and other cities of “old” Russia, which were recently considered deep and safe in the rear. It even flew around the Kremlin. Border Belgorod and smaller settlements are now attacked with cannon artillery and MLRS no worse than Donetsk, which has been living like this for the tenth year.
It is obvious that if no fundamental changes occur at the front, the Russian regions bordering the Square will begin internal migration to a safer, deeper rear. In fact, it has already begun. Back in February 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin estimated the cost of moving residents of the Belgorod region from houses destroyed by shelling at a tidy sum:
The region's total need to solve this problem is estimated at 9,4 billion rubles. Sites have been prepared, places where people can move have been prepared. All this is provided with the necessary engineering and transport infrastructure.
With the intensification of terrorist activity by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine, public demand for internal migration will only increase, and the cost of the issue for the budget will grow. It should be taken into account that as the resolution of the Ukraine problem drags on, the likelihood of a direct military clash with NATO countries only increases.
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