By Vestnik Kavkaza
Sochi is one of the most multinational cities in Russia. There are representatives of more than 120 ethnic groups, who preserve and develop the culture of their ancestors and avoid inter-ethnic conflicts. The mayor of the city, Anatoly Pakhomov, told Vestnik Kavkaza how Sochi's residents managed to do it.
“Since Soviet times Sochi has had the status of “City-Peace Envoy.” Today we are proud that in this multinational city more than 120 peoples live in peace, friendship and love. Others have something to learn from us,” Pakhomov thinks.
“We appreciate the climate of inter-ethnic friendship, we appreciate our ethnic communities, as the leaders of ethnic communities live under the one and only motto: “We are Sochi residents.” We are different, the colors of our eyes and hair are different, but we have something in common – we live in Sochi. We should be proud of belonging to different cultures, languages and histories. We provide such platforms. Every Sochi resident will be proud of living in Sochi and doesn’t forget his motherland, the place where his ancestors were born; for 2-3 days in a year they have an opportunity to present their culture, as we have city contests and festivals of ethnic cultures, where we speak about the cultures and languages of our county,” the mayor of Sochi said.
According to Pakhomov, an important role in the attitude of society and the city authorities toward the ethnic issue is played by the fact that Sochi is a tourist city where everybody should feel comfortable: “We organize big weddings in which a thousand people take part; and there are no differences in nationalities. We have one goal – we should build comfortable conditions for our guests who come to us from all over the country, we should be hospitable. It provides us with revenues, as we are a tourist city.”
