By Vestnik Kavkaza
Yesterday the Global Russian People’s Council opened in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral. The major social forum was founded in 1993 when the Russian state was passing through an internal crisis which had almost ended with a civil war. Today the crisis is imposed on Russia from abroad. The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill stated at the opening ceremony that today is a difficult time, when a bloody internal conflict is taking place at the center of Russian Orthodoxy. The topic is one of the main issues discussed at the Global Russian People’s Council. Its motto is “The unity of history, the unity of the nation, the unity of Russia.”
“2014 opens a new chapter in world history. The chapter is difficult and dramatic. It marks the end of the so-called post-Soviet world. The world turned out to be fragile. There was no stable order which would be based on mutual understanding and mutual respect of people of different cultures and civilizations. Those who think they are winners of the Cold War make everybody think that the way of development which has been chosen by them is the right one; moreover, that it is the only possible way of humanity’s development. Dominating in the global information space, they impose their understanding of economics and state structure on the world,” Patriarch Kirill said.
Sergei Naryshkin, the speaker of the State Duma, agrees with the Patriarch: “The main topic of the current forum is the unity of history, the unity of the nation, and the unity of Russia. This unity is being attacked by foreign forces at the moment. They don’t wish our country and our supporters all the best. But we know that Russia has great potential for resisting foreign threats and pressure. Furthermore, we have a sense of common destiny. This was confirmed by the Crimean referendum, the people’s support of the desire by Crimea’s residents to be free and to reunite with Russia. This was confirmed by people’s aid to victims of the punitive operation against the peaceful population of Donbas and consolidation against the sanctions, which were a direct instrument of political and economic intimidation of Russia and the Russian people.”
According to the last population census, about 200 peoples and ethnic groups live in Russia. Almost 78% of the total population are Russians, who play a determinative role in the country’s destiny. Ethnic cultures develop on Russian territory, unlike the cultures of nations which are included in the EU. This was pointed out by Taimuraz Mamsurov, the head of North Ossetia: “There are essentials which deserve to be repeated all the time. One of them is that Russia exists as a Caucasus power. I mean that the Caucasus territories are an integral part of Russia. Despite all the difficulties, sometimes tragedies, the Russians are the constructor of Russian civilization; they didn’t create a melting pot for ethnic groups. Each of the nations which belong to Russia has its past, common presence and common future.”
“Many ethnic groups of Russia gained written language due to the Soviet Communist authorities.The Soviet ethnic policy provided unity of the country in difficult times of dissolution,” Gennady Zyuganov, the leader of the Communists, said. He reminded that in the Soviet era “labor was respected, there was class education, care about a person; property was all-national; labor groups made significant decisions; the most privileged class was children. There was care for the elderly, women; industry was developing; there was care for the factories, fields, scientists. This was the basis for multinational unity. The Soviet power gave written languages to all ethnic groups, even to minor ones. Let’s rely on it and move forward. But today the main idea has been voiced. What is the nation which forms the state? The Russians. What is the language which provides the unity? The Russian language. I stand for respect for all nations, all languages, traditions, and cultures. It could be a basis for variety, while variety could build the unity which we need today so much. Considering the key role of the Russian nation, we should remember that all ethnic groups should have equal rights, equal opportunities and be equal under the law. And everything will be alright in this case.”
