Well-known Russian-Ukrainian businessman, Russian MP Alexander Babakov has been appointed as special representative of the Russian President for engagement with compatriot organizations abroad. Kultura talked with Mr. Babakov about his top priorities.
– In the near future you are going to present your proposals regarding engagement with our compatriots abroad to Vladimir Putin. Can you name the top priorities measures?
– First of all, I’d like to underline that while preparing my proposals to the president I am going to study the opinion of all Russian departments, organizations and structures involved in the work with our compatriots, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Rossotrudnichestvo and other government institutions such as FMS (Federal Migration Service). Certainly I’d like to delve in greater detail into the current goals set before the Government Commission for engagement with Russian compatriots abroad both prior to 2011 and for 2012-2014. President Putin raised the significance of this subject for the government and demonstrated his personal interest in its successful development. On my part, I’ll do everything I can to justify my calling.
As regards the first steps, it is necessary to focus on the most acute issues, namely to assist further consolidation of compatriot organizations. I believe this is a very important priority, since the settlement of major problems faced by our compatriots abroad largely depends on their concerted and well-coordinated efforts as well as on their organizational unity. In addition, I’d like to pay more attention to fostering and preservation of the Russian spiritual, cultural and linguistic identity among the Russian-speaking communities abroad – above all, to the upholding of Russian, standing for the rights and freedoms of our compatriots, working on the issues of their voluntary resettlement to Russia and obtaining the Russian citizenship. Surely, these are the most important areas. On each of them I plan to spot the most acute problems and launch high-precision efforts aimed at their solution, as my status of special representative implies, in close coordination with my colleagues from Russian governmental, parliamentary and public agencies. I certainly hope for the active assistance of compatriots themselves.
In the near term I plan to get actively involved in preparation for the next World Congress of Compatriots that will supposedly be held in Russia already in late October this year. I think this event will provide wonderful opportunities to analyze the work already done and to develop future plans. I am positive the Congress will allow bringing together many points of view and outline the most vital issues that concern our compatriots both in the CIS and in far-abroad countries.
– How relevant is the protection of the rights of our compatriots as well as their national and cultural identity abroad? What countries cause most problems in this respect?
– Protecting the rights of our compatriots as well as their national and cultural identity remains a very topical target. First and foremost we’ll place a major emphasis on Eurasian space: Baltic countries and the CIS where many ethnic Russians and Russian-speaking people reside. What’s more, in some Baltic countries like Latvia and Estonia there is a category of persons without citizenship – the so-called “non-citizens” – and we should by no way leave them without our help and support. At the same time Baltic countries are members of the European Union which insists that any ethnic minority must be vested with all essential rights, including the conservation of their cultural and linguistic identity, should also contribute to meeting these challenges. I believe Russia should enter into closer engagement with the EU structures in Brussels regarding these issues. In my new status, and also as a member of the Parliamentary Committee for International Relations, I am going to plunge into this work.
– Do you plan to tackle the problems of Russian language conservation in post-Soviet space and in far-abroad countries? If yes then what measures are planned?
– I surely do, and I’ve already designated this area as my top priority. In this matter it will be important to pool the efforts of many Russian government establishments – above all the MFA, Rossotrudnichestvo, Ministries of Culture and Education – to assist the development of Russian schools, educational programs, personal training programs, teaching aids, textbooks, etc. I’d like to add that we’ll be seeking to formalize the status of Russian wherever it is widely spoken – in full accordance with international standards and law. This regards the CIS states, Baltic nations and, on a broader scale, the European Union where up to five million Russian-speaking citizens reside, we estimate. We keep track of what is going on in Ukraine where they are working on the bill of regional languages’ development. And in some EU states Russian might well claim the status of an official language, proceeding from the general European practice. I realize that this will take some time and a lot of efforts on our part, but we’ll try to do everything possible for Russian to be granted lawful rights in those countries where local residents speak it.
Interviewer: Mikhail Tiurenkov
Kultura newspaper
