I recently blogged that the Yes, Californa secession campaign is being run by a 30-year-old American who lives and works in a city on the edge of Siberia.
Now, even before all the required signatures for the ballot measure have been collected, the chief secessionist says that a California embassy has opened in Moscow, Russia.
California gained an embassy in Russia last weekend, at least in the eyes of those who have promised to seek a statewide vote on secession, nicknamed “Calexit,” in 2018.Louis Marinelli, a San Diego resident who is the leader of the group promoting an effort to turn the state into an independent country , organized the Moscow event that was publicized on social media.”We want to start laying the groundwork for a dialogue about an independent California joining the United Nations now,” he said in an email Monday.
This move will surely add to the tensions between the two countries, as “Russian hacking” has been blamed for Donald Trump’s presidential election victory almost continuously for the past two weeks. And given the source of funding for Marinelli’s group, progressives in California who have held onto the belief that the alleged cyber attack made a difference in the November vote totals are going to have trouble reconciling a vote for the Russian-backed secession measure.
…Mr. Marinelli’s efforts have already secured Russian support in the form of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia, a Kremlin-funded group that claims to be “opposed to the global dominance of transnational corporations and supranational trade and financial institutions,” according to its website.Alexander Ionov, the president of the movement, helped bankroll Mr. Marinelli’s relocation to Russia earlier this year, The Moscow Times reported. Next, according to the newspaper, his group will assist in operating the unofficial embassy.“It’s not an official embassy, but a people’s embassy, between our nations,” Mr. Ionov told Life, a Russian tabloid.
Official or not, the movement and its leader are not being embraced by everyone.
I suspect that if Marinelli has his way, the California national flag will feature a hammer and sickle. Given our state’s progressive policies, one might be already hidden in the background.
However, we are “unofficially” socialist. I suspect when the details of the Kremlin connection are revealed, and Californians unhappy with Donald Trump realize they will not succeed by seceding, that the “Yes California” movement will be full of “No.”
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