Ingérence «locale» dans les négociations frontalières sino-russes : Le cas des cosaques du Primorié

Abstract

“ Local” interference in Sino-Russian border negotiations : the Case of the Primoria Cossacks. This article addresses the influence of the local communities in Primoria on the territorial negotiations in the Russian Far East. The analysis focuses on the post-Soviet transition period from 1993 to 2001 when the region of Primoria experienced diverse movements that were hostile to the transfer of land to China. Based on an analysis of the press and witness accounts of stakeholders who were directly involved in these mobilisations, the author attempts to determine the nature of the interactions of these mobilised groups with the regional authorities. This examination leads us to consider the central role of the institutional stakeholders in the organisation and management of the Cossack movements at this period, with the aim of legitimising their position in relation to the Federal centre.