On November 22 the Higher School of Economics (Moscow) hosted a roundtable discussion entitled “Russian World: Unification Issues and Development Prospects”. The event was organized by the Russkiy Mir Foundation in the frame of the Fifth All-Russia Congress of Political Scientists and was attended by historians, political scientists and sociologists from Russia and abroad. Among the key discussion points were: Russia’s image, as seen by Russian diaspora; organization and unification of the diaspora; political interpretation of history in Russia and abroad etc.
Alexander Naumov, Advisor to the Executive Director of the Russkiy Mir Foundation, was the first to address the audience. He defined the foundation’s activities as a “soft political power”. Promotion of the Russian language and culture is the key goal of Russia’s foreign policy, since it will enhance Russia’s image. However, Russia’s foreign policy lacks the soft power components, regardless of such strong elements as the Russian culture and 150 mln Russian-speaking individuals residing all over the world. Alexander Naumov believes that the key task for today is to unite the Russian diaspora and to establish a united Russian World. This goal can be achieved through diplomacy and application of soft power methods. At this point, importance of Russkiy Mir’s activities becomes apparent, since the foundation not only promotes the Russian language abroad, but also fosters formation of a unified Russian diaspora.
Markku Kangaspuro, Director of Research of Aleksanteri Institute of the University of Helsinki (his report was entitled “Political Interpretation of History from European Point of View: Comparison of Various Interpretations of the Second World War”), was talking about Karelia. The USSR annexed this territory, a national symbol of Finland, after the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939 - 1940. Lawfulness of such actions is still a subject of heated arguments in Finland. In his report Markku Kangaspuro concentrated on details of this old conflict and on whether it was rational or not to keep discussing the issue.
Julia Baskakova, analyst of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM), presented a research entitled “Russia’s Image as Seen by the Russian Diaspora”. The data for the research was complied between 2008 and 2009 at request of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Julia Baskakova defined the diaspora as a community confronted by a number of problems, rather as a “soft power”. According to her, relocation to Russia is seen as the most desirable and the most hard-to-achieve task.
The research covered the Russian diaspora of the CIS countries and Germany, and focused on how these people manage to adjust to new conditions and on whom they consider as a genuine representative of a Russian diaspora etc.
According to those surveyed, all Russian-speaking people residing abroad are members of the Russian diaspora. In their view, Russia must support its diaspora (especially people, who are eager to relocate to Russia), but up to now has not been doing it efficiently.
The majority of respondents are satisfied with own financial status, i.e. do not feel inferior to the indigenous population of a country they are living in. However, in everyday life the respondents are confronted with certain anti-Russian nationalistic sentiments. The interviewed compatriots, especially those of senior age, do not take any effort to adjust to new conditions and have poor command of a local language. Younger respondents and the Russian diaspora of Germany sound more positive on the subject.
Russia-related news draw interest of the older audience, whilst younger respondents are less likely to keep updated on Russia’s news. A majority of respondents approve of the Russian policy. The most popular politician is Vladimir Putin. Consequently, Russia’s image, as seen by the local Russian diaspora is quite positive.
Yuri Bocharov, an official of Haifa City Council told about Russia’s image, as seen by Israel residents. According to him, in Israel the image of Russia in formed by private mass media, due to a lack of state newspapers and websites, and is far from being positive. Newspapers are a key source of information for the country’s indigenous population, whilst television is favored by USSR and Russian-born people. In general, Israeli media focus on
Russian oligarchs, rather than on politicians. The Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are the most frequently cited Russian politicians (the latter is most often mentioned in a negative light). In general, Russia is seen as a “Pro-Arabian monarchy populated by oligarchs”.
The closing report was made by Alexei Zaitsev, representing a Department of Philosophy and Sociology of Kaluga State Pedagogical University. He told about the Russian community of Moldavia and problems encountered by it. According to Alexei Zaitsev, a lack of Russian opinion leaders and influential Russian organizations prevents the local Russian community from uniting.
At the end of the discussion Alexei Gromyko, Director of European Programs for the Russkiy Mir Foundation, briefed the event participants on the key foundation’s activities.
The roundtable discussion enabled its participants to get a deeper idea about life of compatriots in the countries with the most populated Russian diaspora (except the U.S.) and proved to be an efficient communication platform. According to Alexei Gromyko, all event-related materials will soon be published and offered to all interested parties.
