On April 16 and 17 the Regional Conference of Russian Compatriots was held in the capital of Hungary. The heads and representatives of coordinating committees of Russian compatriot councils from 33 countries of Europe and also Turkey and Israel gathered in Budapest for the occasion. The Russkiy Mir Foundation was represented by Alexey Gromyko, Director of European Programs.
The welcome remarks were delivered by Russian Ambassador to Hungary Alexander Tolkach, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department for Working with Compatriots Alexander Safronov, Head of the Compatriot Affairs Department of Rossotrudnichestvo Pyotr Kuprikov, Deputy Executive Director of the Foundation for Support of Compatriots’ Rights Mikhail Vladimir and Director of the Moscow House of Compatriots Nikolai Zhadnov-Lyutsenko.
In his remarks at the event, Alexey Gromyko emphasized that the European region over the past 20 years has emerged as territory that is home to the largest portion of the Russian diaspora. More than 10 million Russian speakers live here. With the help of the Russkiy Mir Foundation in this region of the Old World 37 Russian Centers have been created; from 2007 to 2012 40% of the foundation’s grants have gone to European organizations and projects; and, dozens of Russkiy Mir Cabinets have been set up.
A wide variety of topics were discussed during the conference: the concept of the Russian school abroad, ways to consolidate the compatriot community, issues concerning legal support, interaction with the authorities of the countries where compatriots reside, and pursuing a legal status for the Russian language in Europe.
As a result of the two days of the conference’s work, a resolution was developed and adopted. The resolution addresses the further reinforcement of cooperation between Russia and the European segment of Russkiy Mir. On the sidelines of the event, the Russkiy Mir Foundation’s representative held a number of meetings with the head of compatriot coordination councils of various European countries.
Alexey Gromyko
