Interview by Daria Melikhova, exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
An expert in the information work of strategic intelligence, linguist, psychologist and writer Alexander Ibragimov, nicknamed Achley and Radov, was born in Makhachkala, worked in organizations of alumni of the Military Institute for Foreign Languages, specialists of national security, Orthodox businessmen and military Islamic scholars of Russia. Alexander Ibragimov described his vision of the situation in Dagestan in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza.
- What do you think about Ramazan Abdulatipov as the head of Dagestan?
- Ramazan Abdulatipov is a big politician, a thinking, reasonable man who has a great federal-level political experience. He was the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council and headed the Council of Nationalities since 1991. He may bring his skill to Dagestan. I have hopes that Abdulatipov will purification, restoration of justice, that the ideas he expressed in his books, concerning Russian solidarity, would be realized in Dagestan. Dagestan is a small model of our enormous Russia and if these models succeed in Dagestan, they will most likely work in the all-Russian terrain.
- What solution for terrorism can you see?
- The global-scale problem cannot be solved by some acts in a single moment. It is a subject for a high level of discussions. The fight against terrorism is part of the agenda of all forums of heads of states. The recent terrorist attack in Nairobi is one of the examples. Victory over terrorism will be achieved when, firstly, the principle of social justice is restored; secondly, when maintenance of those gangs of murders and suicide bombings become economically disadvantageous; thirdly, when we manage to say with full confidence that we have filled the vacuum of ideas and world perception. This is why people use such methods. It is because that do no know the truth. It is an issue closely related to the degradation of the education system, yet, it is a multi-factor task.
Unfortunately, I cannot inspire any optimism. The problem of terrorism will not be solved quickly. It cannot be solved by force only. It is a complex of goals that need accomplishing. I believe that they will be solved and, if God wills, as some forecast, it will be accomplished by 2021.
- Do you think one of the reasons why young people join with militants is a lack of social lifts?
- Social lifts are still there, but the justice that encouraged people to search for those social lifts disappeared. People are left in a certain system of disorientation. Social lifts certainly exist. People visit Moscow, write dissertations, make careers and achieve things in Dagestan. Success has been associated with the purchases of luxurious cars or promotion to high-ranking positions in some systems these past years for some reason. The greatest social lift for me is to turn from a boy into a man. They have been turning into them for ages by simply working, farming, raising children and feeding the family. There are many real, wonderful families that do just that in Dagestan. Maybe this is why Dagestan is the republic of youth with over 50% of young people. People work, give birth, bring children up, raise them and they are fascinating children. I have recently returned from the Crane Festival. It is held annually in Dagestan, when the Gamzatov Hearings take place. I was invited as a writer. You should have seen the performances of children, pupils who were preparing for the festival. They are perform great dances, songs and make ceramics.
- You mean that creativity is flourishing in Dagestan?
- Actually, a lot of attention is paid to it. Theaters and libraries work. Theaters stage amazing plays. I have met local artists. They sing songs in different languages. We have a new star in Dagestan. The most popular Dagestani singer is an Afro-American. He is not really an American, but he is black. His name is Pierre. He arrived in Dagestan, he sings songs, learns texts in the Dargin, Kumyk and the Avar languages. Everyone likes him and he gets invited to weddings.
A collection of poetry has recently been published. It is outstanding. Just look at the artists! So, in terms of creativity in Dagestan, just let people express it.
We believe that Dagestan will open its own film studio in the near future to make highly-artistic films using examples. Do you remember the They Met in Moscow film? It is probably the last film where a Dagestani was heard. We will film a remake of it.
***
Ibragimov believes that there is “a real information war going on to destroy Russia as a state. In 1991, the USSR collapsed. It seems as though that load was forgotten, but have we started to live better? Has Russia become richer? According to the level of industry, we still have not reached the level of 1990, we lost 4.5 million square kilometers of territories, comparably with the European Union, and about 150 million people. It is hard to solve the problems with the existing population. We must put all our strength into creating information shells of positive power. We need reliable, impartial information about events in Dagestan, image of Dagestan. It is not just militants, wahhabis, terrorists. The face of Dagestan is scientists, engineers, doctors, it is a huge layer of workers who win their bread in hard work. It would be enough to visit districts. But people do not visit districts, it is easier for them to search through the Internet. This is why we should form our communities and blogs that would give positive examples of events. Then, there will be negative and positive examples, but the picture will be complete. A monodirectorial reflection of events will doubtless give an unpleasant picture.”
