Yashin Advocates For Secession Rights In Russia's Federal Treaty

Ilya Yashin, a Russian opposition figure who was exchanged in a historic prisoner swap between Russia and the West in August, says Russia needs a new federal treaty that allows for regions to secede from the federation. Speaking to RFE/RL in Warsaw, Yashin looked to clarify previous public statements regarding non-ethnic-Russian regions within the Russian Federation that sparked an outcry among Russian activists abroad, as well as his vision of governance if he were to come to power. "We need a new federal treaty, written from scratch," Yashin said, adding that such a treaty "must include mechanisms for secession." He also pointed out that current Russian law lacks such provisions, but emphasized that if he and his team gained power, they would ensure that these mechanisms were part of a new federal agreement. Yashin’s political journey has been tumultuous. He was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison in December 2022 for expressing his thoughts on the Russian Army’s alleged atrocities against civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha in 2022. In August, after the prisoner swap, he was sent to Germany. Yashin's controversial statement in September regarding the possible consequences of Russia's collapse sparked furious backlash, particularly from regionalists and national liberation movements and activists, most of whom are currently outside of Russia. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.