The international academic conference First World War and Its Balkan Connection, organized by the Institute of Contemporary History, Russkiy Mir Foundation and Russian Embassy in Serbia, took place in Belgrade. Alexander Naumov, head of the Analytical Department at the Russkiy Mir Foundation, elaborated on the goals and objectives of the conference.
– Please say a few words about the participants. What were your goals and objectives?
– To begin with, I’d mention the fact that this is already the third major conference during the past year held by the Russkiy Mir Foundation with our partners on the subject of WWI. The given conference has a very high status, given the participation of high-ranked Serbian officials, including parliament’s speaker, several ministers, the Russian ambassador, Byelorussian ambassador, and more than 100 scholars and public figures from more than 10 European, Asian and American nations.
The main goal is, on the one hand, to analyze the Balkan issue – that very ‘powder box’ of Europe on the eve and in the course of WWI – and, on the other hand, to analyze the particulars of the historic memory generation in Russia and in the West, especially in the run-up to the hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of WWI in 2014.
– Commentators note an emphasis on the special role of the Balkan region in the process of Europe’s drifting towards the worldwide slaughter, why?
– The point is that the Balkan region has always been the ‘powder keg’ of Europe. A fire in the Balkans triggered a war which seemed inevitable anyway. But it was after the assassination in Sarajevo, kindling a heated debate (new and interesting versions have been put forward), that the world plunged into the chaos of the so-called Great War which had a profound impact upon the human civilization.
– You mentioned that this was already the third conference. What are the results of the previous two and what do you expect in the future?
– A year ago, on December 8, 2010, with support of presidential administration, the Russkiy Mir Foundation held the conference Russia and Great War, during which an international organization to commemorate the WWI was established. Now we are building on the work done during the year. Our main mission is to co-ordinate the efforts of Russian and Western researchers, statesmen and public figures in the re-creation of an unbiased picture of WWI by 2014.
In Russia this war is totally forgotten. It was absent from the public discourse during the past 70 years. Our task is to avoid possible falsifications in 2014 and to create an objective reconstruction of the historic reality and investigate the causes, the beginning, the course and the aftermaths of the Great War of 1914-1918.
– What do you think is the role of media in this matter?
– I believe media should play an exceptional role, for we can use them to shape the world public opinion and to inform common people on the nature of that war. These efforts are particularly relevant for Russia. While a lot has been said and written about this war in the West during the last 100 years, almost no memorials exist in Russia.
This war is indeed forgotten in this country. Therefore the Russian media must prepare the public opinion during the next couple of years and highlight various aspects of that war. And we’ll continue holding round tables, conferences and various memorial events.
– Vibrant preparations are under way for commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of WWI in 2014. Has the Russkiy Mir Foundation already developed any specific projects? Are you working on anything special?
– Of course, we are. It is the Russkiy Mir Foundation that initiated the establishment of an NGO to commemorate the WWI. It is this civil organization that is taking the lead in memorial and historical events commemorating this war, on the Russian side. Already at the end of this year – early next year a website will be launched via which all who so desire will be able to share information. Thus we’ll be included in the information space needed to create an objective picture and to enliven the memory about this war both in Russia, abroad and in the entire Russian world’s space.
Marianna Ozherelyeva
Source: Voice of Russia
