"LONDON, I'M STAYING"

In the referendum on 18 September Scotland voted to remain part of the United Kingdom - 55.3 per cent (2,001,926) citizens declared that they were opposed to independence.The turnout was 84.59 per cent, one of the highest in all the referendums worldwide. The supporters of independence only won in four districts - the cities of Dundee and Glasgow, in North Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire. Glasgow, the largest city voted for secession, while Scotland's capital, Edinburgh, was opposed to it.

Scotland's first minister, Alex Salmond, stated that he acceptedthe democratic verdict delivered by the people of Scotland; he called upon the whole of Scotland to follow his example, and, after thanking those who had voted for secession, stated that he would step down from his post. Moreover, those to whom Salmond expressed his thanks were quite a few; 1,617,989 (45 per cent) voted for independence.

Yes, after 307 years of the union with London, the Scots had a bloodless and conflict-less chance to create their own state, but nevertheless they decided to retain the country that is made up of four nations" and the British identity based not on ethnic community, but first and foremost on civic values. British Prime Minister David Cameron and other British politicians put it just like that. Now they are celebrating yet another victory, precisely that the voice of the people has been heard which means that "British democracy is alive and well".

The threat had not been anything to joke about. Great Britain might have become simply Britain, losing not only a huge territory and five million people, but also quite a large portion of GDP, control over considerable reserves of oil, sources of renewable energy and drinking water, a huge share of the fishing industry, access to naval bases, including all the submarine fleet bases, many valuable cultural and historic tourist attractions. But the  most important thing would have been the enormous blow to the self-esteem of the United Kingdom which did in principle rule half the world not so long ago, It is not therefore surprising that even Elizabeth II could not bear the tension and broke her royal silence. During her stay at her Scottish residence, Balmoral. Her Majesty took a walk to the local church where she chatted with members of the public, having advised them to "think very carefully" [before casting their votes]. Many well-known people supported the queen such as the musicians Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, the actresses Helena Bonham Carter and Judi Dench, the writer J. K Rowling, super-model Kate Moss, and footballer David Beckham. David Cameron went up to Scotland and persuaded its inhabitants not to take irreversible steps.

It cannot be denied that the Scots' pleasure promised difficulties even for Brussels, which would have had to be faced with the secession of part of one of its members and would have had to think what to do next - whether to accept an independent Scotland into its ranks or renounce the fish, oil and naval bases… Therefore the joy of the European officials is quite understandable. This result is true to a single, open and stronger Europe,the head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso stressed. The president of the European parliament, Martin Schultz, acknowledged quite honestly that he had sighed a sigh of relief. Against this backdrop, it will be interesting to see what Brussels' reaction will be to the referendum on Great Britain leaving the European Union, which London is promising to hold in 2017. The experts believe that, if Scotland had become independent by that time, the Euro-sceptics would have had a better chance. But that is, as they say, a part from another opera.

Great Britain has remained unified. But it has changed for ever all the same. Before he resigned, Alex Salmond made it clearly understood that Scotland should be granted more powers, and its status as such should be boosted. Cameron hastened to agree and reported that a project will be published at the beginning of next year for a further deepening of self-rule. Scotland will get greater freedom with regard to issues of tax, spending and welfare. In actual fact, these are the functions of an independent state, but one without its own foreign policy, army and currency. Incidentally, the process of expanding the powers will also apply to Wales, England and Northern Ireland [Ulster].

You see, quite a few people did vote for independence. It is difficult to ignore the opinion of more than 1.5m people, and the gap between the supporters and opponents of Scottish secession is not all that big. It is na?ve to think that Scottish nationalism will be absorbed by the long-drawn-out sounds of the bagpipes. Nor can anything stop the descendants of [leader in the Scottish wars of independence] Sir William Wallace [1270-1305] from somehow initiating another referendum in the future. It is noteworthy that, according to sociologists' data, the typical opponent of Scottish independence belongs to the middle well-to-do or upper class, while the supporters of secession were mainly representatives of the working class. Young people, especially young men, were much more energetic in their support for the idea of "separating from Britain".

Whereas London has avoided this threat, as least for the time being, but has distanced itself from it, things are not looking so rosy for other European capitals, especially Madrid. The Western media have been vying with each other to report on the problems of areas in the European Union beset with outbursts of separatist demands, ranging from really alarming ones to those that owe their "their independent colours" to the fantasies of journalists and bloggers. Here are just a few of them:Catalonia, the Basque Country, the Canary Islands and Galicia in Spain, the Veneto, Sardinia and SouthTyrol in Italy, Corsica in France (the National Liberation Front of Corsica is a terrorist organisation), Flanders in Belgium and Denmark's Greenland.

The Catalans and Basques, who have their own language and cultural identity, are a cause for particular alarm at the moment. A demonstration was staged in support of independence in Barcelona on 11 September, Catalonia's national day, which is marked at the monument to the siege of Barcelona, which led to their loss of autonomy. In June thousands of Basques formed a 123-km-long human chain in the action on their right to hold a vote on independence. The Catalans want to hold their own referendum like the Scottish one on 9 November, but the government of Spain has banned it. Madrid can be understood, as Catalonia is the most economically developed region in the country. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has particularly stressed that in their referendum the Scots made a choice "in favour of integration, stability and security, as opposed to isolation and a lack of confidence tomorrow". But the Catalans think differently. Just like the Basques, the general secretary of the Basque Nationalist Party, which governs the Basque Country, Antoni Ortuzar, who has returned from Edinburgh, stated that the referendum in Scotland will not affect the Basque people's will to be free.

The Scottish referendum is by no means the only case of this type. It is sufficient to recall the plebiscite on independence in the Canadian province of Quebec, but all the same what has happened in Great Britain has evoked serious concern. In Europe they are talking about the return of nationalism and are trying to understand the reasons for this. It is most likely connected to external factors such as globalisation, the pressure imposed by international institutions and corporations. On the one hand, the European Union has united the countries, but on the other, it has appropriated some of their sovereignty. Add to this the economic disorders and the problems of migration. So, people are trying to escape, but they do not know where to go.

But it is possible to try to answer the question "Who are they trying to get away from?" It is unlikely that they are fleeing from the central government, their common country and history. It is most likely because an attempt is being made to make them simply a citizen without taking into account that they are a Scotsman, an Englishman, a Catalonian or a Basque, as well as making them have equal rights with the migrant from a completely different country which is alien to them. From that point of view the contradiction is no longer so shocking that Great Britain wants to retain its identity "based not on ethnic community, but on civic values", but would at the same time not be averse to slipping away from the embrace of a united Europe.

What is most noteworthy of all is that in the Western media they kept on talking about the threat of a nation state existing, and hardly ever about the fact that the referendum in Scotland did in fact recognise the supremacy of the right of nations to self-determination by means of a referendum. Firstly, it is not clear what threat they are talking about, for those dreaming of the independence of the nation are not preparing to live according to a clan system, but in that same nation state. Secondly, as far as the right to self-determination is concerned, naturally no-one has abolished it. Nor has anyone countermanded the fact that self-determination cannot be based on aggression, occupation, genocide, ethnic cleansing and war crimes, nor can it be conducted without the consent of the central government. Incidentally this is just what the referendum in Scotland splendidly showed.