Why is Assembly of Peoples of Russia needed?

By Vestnik Kavkaza

In Moscow, the 13th Congress of Peoples of Russia on the 15th anniversary of the All-Russian Public Organization "Assembly of Peoples of Russia" and the 6th Congress of the social organization itself were held under the motto "Friendship of Peoples - the Unity of Russia". The forum was attended by 150 representatives from more than 80 regions of the country, as well as representatives of the Presidential Administration, the Ministry of Regional Development, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Public Chamber, prominent scholars and public figures.

“The Assembly of Peoples of Russia was created in quite difficult conditions of deep turmoil and crisis,” Ramazan Abdullatipov, acting head of the Republic of Dagestan, remembers. “Setting up the Assembly proved to be very difficult, but the concept of the national state policy of 1996 was written at the Assembly of Peoples of Russia. As deputy chairman of the government, I could not create the Assembly of Peoples of Russia, because different ministries did not endorse it or there were all sorts of extreme forces which required that this not be done, and so on. Even on the day of its creation, different groups tried to prevent this. The ethnic question and ethnic policies are such a serious matter that they cannot be fully trusted to those in power. There should be control by society, the institutions of civil society. Of course, the Assembly was needed as a lever to establish communication between the authorities and civil society.”

It was 15 years ago that the Assembly and the Congress began their work. Igor Slyunyaev, Minister of Regional Development of the Russian Federation, stated that “during its short history Assembly of Peoples of Russia has acquired the status of one of the largest and most reputable institutions of civil society, the work of which is aimed at strengthening inter-ethnic harmony, promoting the languages and cultures of the peoples of Russia, the patriotic education of youth, of the dignity of every nation and all our citizens. Today, in an era of globalization and active migration processes, it is quite difficult to find a mono-ethnic state. However, among all the ethnic and cultural mosaics of Europe, Asia, North and Latin America, Russia stands alone. Our key feature is the fact that, since its formation, Russia has developed as a multi-ethnic state. Most peoples were formed on the territory of Russia, contributing to the strengthening of our statehood. Today, Russia is inhabited by 193 ethnic groups, which use for communication 277 languages and dialects. The main factor that unites our multi-ethnic state is belonging to the Russian nation. This affiliation has never proposed rejecting other self-identifications - ethnic, cultural, religious. This diversity has always been our unique distinction and at the same time is a strategic resource for development.”

“It is important to secure the country against any attempt to divide the people along ethnic lines,” Vsevolod Chaplin, head of the Synodal Department for Church and Society, said. “For this, it is not enough just to deal with the manifestations of aggressive nationalism, extremism and terrorism. To do this, we must ensure an ongoing dialogue between representatives of different nations. People should not talk in the arena of domestic conflict somewhere in the restaurant or on the street. People need to communicate not only on sites where they insult each other. People need to communicate in those institutions, centers, in those areas that we, as representatives of different nations, should establish for such communication. So far such sites are not enough. There are cultural centers, ethnic centers, associated with certain people. We should have sites for mutual understanding, mutual approach to the representatives of different nations in universities and schools. Having a common Russian culture, having a common linguistic framework, we may create forms for such inter-ethnic communication. I'm sure we will manage to do this. Indeed, the basis is common – the cultural basis, the linguistic basis, the value basis. People cannot help understanding each other. People cannot help feeling respect for each other, even if they at the same time realize that there is a difference in the patterns of behaviour, in the character and culture. This is normal. We are all different. And this difference should be honestly understood, and we should learn to accept it as part of the diversity in which we live.”