Dialogue about Russia's role in world history is necessary

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the 1917 October Revolution, which became one of the most significant events of the 20th century that changed not only the course of Russian history, but also geopolitical map of the world. "100th Anniversary of Revolution in Russia: Modern Assessments of Historians, Political Scientists and Diplomats" is a theme of the International Diplomatic Seminar, aimed at holding thematic discussions in different countries of the world, including Russia, about the role and place of Russia in world history, culture and diplomacy, as well as in modern system of international relations. This project paid particular attention to problems of cultural and civilizational interreligious dialogue.

The International Diplomatic Seminar is becoming a scientific platform that allows open discussion of international problems and expansion of international scientific ties. As the rector of Russia's Diplomatic Academy Yevgeny Bazhanov said, any major historical event throughout the history of mankind causes controversy. He named three reasons why scientists decided to create this project.

"The first reason is that remembering the past is our duty. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin said that not remembering our past is akin to barbarism. This is our motivation, that's why we decided to create this particular project and why we decided to pursue similar projects, which are associated with history, in the future."

The second reason is that remembering history is interesting.

The third reason is that remembering the past is useful, even if we don't reach consensus on any issue. We still learn from it. Those lessons are both positive and negative. It helps us to avoid mistakes to some extent. I think that it's better to resolve problems without revolution, through evolution and actions, withough resorting to bloodshed or violence. We will continue to work on such important projects, because this topic is interesting, useful and important," Yevgeny Bazhanov said.

Natalia Maslakova-Clauberg, head of the "International Diplomatic Seminar" project, said that during the development of this project, no one expected what opportunities it could create: "There is an opinion in Europe that there were two big and significant revolutions in world history - the Great French Revolution and the 1917 Russian Revolution. Europe has always wanted to realize the idea of democratic liberal values. It was created by theoreticians of the French Revolution, it was picked up by Russia, and in spite of everything, this project was realized in Russia in 1917. Today's Europeans are not only historical inhabitants of Europe, but also descendants of immigrants, including those who left Russia... This revolution split Russian world. After holding seminars in Europe, we realized that descendants of white immigration want to be heard."

She said that today there are many opinions regarding two main figures - Nicholas II, the last emperor, and Vladimir Lenin, not only as theoretician of the revolution, but also head of the Soviet state: "There are heated debates.There are a lot of Trotskyists in France, as well as those who support monarchical liberal idea and believe that Russia chose a wrong path. Today, in conditions of the ongoing anti-Russian propaganda, it's necessary to maintain dialogue about the role of Russia, its culture and its potential in world history. When we were in France, we managed to hold a moleben in the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery, pay tribute to the descendants of those who wanted to return to Russia, but simply couldn't. There are about 15 thousand graves. We were shocked by the attention and interest in Russian history. As a result, this dialogue could icrease interest of European audience in Russian history."