Editing Separatism (section)

==History==
Separatism has, in theory, existed for as long as civilization. Independence movements and separatist revolts have been around since the dawn of humanity. The most notable separatist movement was the [[File:AmericanNat.png]] [[Classical Liberalism|American Revolution]] from 1775-1783 as it marked the first time a European colony successfully separated from it's master, starting the Age of Revolution.

Two decades before the [[File:AmericanNat.png]] [[Classical Liberalism|American Revolution]] started, another somewhat successful separatist movement happened in 1755 in the form of the [[File:Cball-Corsica.png]] [[Constitutionalism|Corsican Republic]], which declared independence from the sea-faring [[File:Cball-Genoa.png]] Republic of Genoa. It lasted until 1769 when Corsica was invaded and annexed by [[File:Cball-FranceKingdom.png]] France.

In 1860, [[File:Cball-SouthCarolina.png]] South Carolina declared independence from the [[File:Cball-US.png]] [[American Model|United States]]. Several other states did the same in 1861, later creating the [[File:Cball-CSA.png]] [[White Nationalism|Confederate States of America]]. CSA was crushed a few years later in 1865.

From 1917-1922, around the First World War, many separatist movements and revolutions happened across Europe. Countries like [[File:Cball-Finland.png]] Finland [[File:Cball-Duchy_Finland.png]], [[File:Polandball.png]] Poland (which had seized to exist in 1795, restored 122 years later), [[File:Cball-Estonia.png]] Estonia, [[File:Cball-Latvia.png]] Latvia, [[File:Cball-Lithuania.png]] Lithuania (all of which separated from the [[File:Cball-Russia.png]] Russian Empire), [[File:Cball-Yugoslavia-old.png]] Yugoslavia (which formed from parts of [[File:Cball-AustriaHungary.png]] Austria-Hungary), [[File:Cball-Bavaria.png]] Bavaria (separated from [[File:Cball-Germany.png]] Germany but rejoined), and many others had appeared on the European map. These nations had their roots in [[File:Ethnonat.png]] [[Ethnonationalism]], [[File:Cultural Nationalism.png]] [[Cultural Nationalism]], [[File:Soc-h.png]] [[Socialism]] and similar socio-political movements.

Simultaneously (1917 to 1918), [[File:Cball-UkrainianPR.png]] Ukraine People's Republic, [[File:Cball-Belarus-old.png]] Belarus People's Republic, [[File:Cball-CrimeanTatar.png]] Crimea [[File:Cball-Crimean_Regionale.png]], [[File:Cball-Alash.png]] Alash, and several [[File:Cball-Georgia_(old).png]][[File:Cball-Azerbaijan.png]][[File:Cball-Armenia.png]] Caucasian nations had proclaimed their independence from [[File:Cball-Russia.png]] Russian Empire as well, but their attempts to remain sovereign were crushed by the [[File:Cball-RSFSR-old.png]] [[Leninism|RSFSR]], which became the [[File:Cball-USSR.png]] [[Marxism-Leninism|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] in 1922.

In 1991, the [[File:Cball-USSR.png]] Soviet Union collapsed and was formally dissolved in December. In the aftermath, several new nations were formed, including 15 countries which had constituted the core republics of the union. As nationalistic sentiments grew, many separatists within the new nations took to the opportunity, causing chaos in regions of [[File:Cball-Abkhazia.png]] Abkhazia and [[File:Cball-SouthOssetia.png]] South Ossetia in [[File:Cball-Georgia.png]] Georgia, [[File:Cball-Artsakh.png]] Nagorno-Karabakh in [[File:Cball-Azerbaijan.png]] Azerbaijan, [[File:Cball-Transnistria.png]] Transnistria and (partially) [[File:Cball-Gagauzia.png]] Gagauzia in [[File:Cball-Moldova.png]] Moldova, [[File:Cball-Chechnya.png]] Chechnya and [[File:Cball-Dagestan.png]] Dagestan in the [[File:Cball-Russia_1991-1993.png]] Russian Federation for many years to come.

In 2014, Separatism caused a war in [[File:Cball-Ukraine.png]] Ukraine. It started with the annexation of [[File:Sball-Sevastopol.png]][[File:Cball-Crimea.png]] Crimea by [[File:Cball-Russia.png]] Russia, but then spread to the eastern [[File:Cball-DonetskOblast.png]][[File:Cball-Luhansk.png]] Donbass region with the self-proclamation of the [[File:Cball-Donetsk.png]] Donetsk and [[File:Cball-Lugansk.png]] Luhansk "People's Republics". There were attempts to proclaim similar separatist entities in [[File:Cball-Kharkiv.png]][[File:Cball-KharkivOblast.png]] Kharkiv [[File:Cball-Kharkiv_OblastRU.png]] and [[File:Cball-Odesa.png]][[File:Cball-OdesaOblast.png]] Odesa [[File:Cball-OdessaPR.png]] regions, but they were unsuccessful. Despite countless evidence of Russian military fighting on the separatist side, [[File:Putin.png]] Russian officials denied any involvement in the war until a full-scale Invasion occurred in 2022 following Russian recognition of both self-proclaimed republics. As of January 2024, apart from [[File:Cball-Donetsk.png]] Donetsk and [[File:Cball-Lugansk.png]] Luhansk, sections of [[File:Cball-KhersonOblast.png]] Kherson [[File:Cball-KhersonOblast-RU.png]] and [[File:Cball-ZaporizhzhiaOblast.png]] Zaporizhzhia [[File:Cball-_ZaporozhyeOblast-RU.png]] oblasts are ''de facto'' incorporated into Russia after several referendums, all of which were internationally recognized as illegitimate. An eastern part of [[File:Cball-MykolaivOblast.png]] Mykolaiv [[File:Cball-NikolayevPR.png]] oblast, which borders Kherson, was also claimed by Russia.

In 2017 and 2018, the 'Unite the Right Rally' and 'Unite the Right Rally 2' occurred. The events were mainly organized by [[File:Whitesup.png]] [[White Nationalism|White Nationalists]] and Neo-Nazis, but importantly included [[File:Neoconfed.png]] Neo-Confederate separatists.