“The Popular Front was established for the exact purpose of uniting people of different faiths and ethnicities so as to be able to identify the problems that are facing us and come up with the best ways to address them in an open and honest discussion.” Vladimir Putin At a meeting with representatives of confessions and ethnic and public organisations
Transcript of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,
I am glad to see so many of you. To begin with, I’d like to remind you that Russia is a multiethnic state. However, it is not an exception...
“The Popular Front was established for the exact purpose of uniting people of different faiths and ethnicities so as to be able to identify the problems that are facing us and come up with the best ways to address them in an open and honest discussion.”
Vladimir Putin At a meeting with representatives of confessions and ethnic and public organisations
Transcript of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,
I am glad to see so many of you. To begin with, I’d like to remind you that Russia is a multiethnic state. However, it is not an exception. There are a lot of multiethnic and multi-confessional states in the world. There is nothing peculiar about this.
Still, Russia has some special features, as over 180 peoples and ethnic groups inhabit the country. Over 180! This is a national peculiarity. No other country in the world can boast such ethnic, confessional and cultural diversity.
I believe there are no such countries in the world. There are countries mostly inhabited by immigrants, like the United States, for instance. But in Russia each ethnic group occupies its national territory and has its own roots. Regardless of the confession or ethnic group, our citizens have only one native land, which is Russia. That is why resolving interethnic and inter-confessional issues is of such importance to us.
Today, the world is facing a number of problems related to inter-ethnic and inter-confessional relations and their number is growing like a snowball. This is due to the development of the world’s productive forces and people’s movement en masse from one region or country to another, which is also typical for Russia.
According to various data, there are around 7 to 10 million immigrants, or even more, residing in Russia. The United States and most developed economies in Western Europe have just as many immigrants. What is the reason for this?
Both immigration and internal migration have to do with the movement of a great number of people, including those moving outside the territory of their ethnic residence.
Migration entails contacts with people of different ethnic groups, confessions and cultures. It means that in order to resolve such issues – let me repeat that the number of these issues has been increasing in Russia as well as in other countries – we should treat migrants like full-fledged citizens of Russia regardless of where they live. They should be protected by law and public morality, which is equally or even more important. We should teach our citizens to treat each other respectfully, and if someone moves outside the territory of ethnic residence, he or she should also respect the language, traditions and culture of the people among whom they are going to live.
These are delicate issues and it is impossible to settle them properly while merely relying on the power of the state, which is a compulsory power, as a rule. To do so, it is necessary to use the moral strength of ethnic groups and confessions. Therefore, your work is of great importance for our country, because only relying on your prestige and authority as the leaders of ethnic associations and the leaders of religious confessions can we resolve the difficult issues that we are facing today.
Still, our country has another distinctive feature, as compared to other countries, where many peoples and nationalities reside. Our country was originally formed as a multiethnic state. Present at this meeting are both very active and well-educated people, who know quite well the history of our Motherland. You remember that during the first stage of the formation of the Russian state, when there was no concept of "Russians” at all, these territories were occupied by representatives of various Slavic tribes – the Polans, the Drevlyans, etc. They too had their own distinctive identity, but have nevertheless gradually formed a single state. Different ethnicities have been pouring into this state since the very beginning…
The Patriarch will correct me if I’m wrong, but our original Orthodox Christian sources indicate the need for tolerance, speaking in today’s terms, towards other faiths. This was a revelation for me as well. This was so from the very beginning. This means there could be many things that we have never even noticed, but they are in our blood. This respect for other ethnicities and religions is in our blood.
Let me reiterate: in today's world, there are things that have become shaky and have started to burst at seams. But we simply cannot allow anything like this to happen on our soil. If we let this happen, it will be disastrous for the future of Russia.
The platform that brings us together, the Popular Front, was established for the exact purpose of uniting people of different faiths and ethnicities so as to be able to identify the problems that are facing us and come up with the best ways to address them in an open and honest discussion.
The name itself – the Russian Popular Front – emphasises the idea that every man or woman of any religious or ethnic background should realise that he or she is part of a single multi-ethnic Russian nation, is a citizen of Russia, and should be proud of it.
I'll conclude my monologue now, and gladly give the floor over to you. I would very much like for the Popular Front to be used on an ongoing basis as a platform, as I mentioned earlier, to identify the problems that confront us and to find the best solutions to these problems.
Of course, we will provide all the help that you need. We may even appoint a coordinator to oversee this work. Let’s think about who this could be. You know, we have an interdepartmental working group in the government led by my deputy, Dmitry Kozak. I think that in the near future, we will establish a dedicated working group within the Government Executive Office that will be responsible for looking into these problems.
That is all I wanted to say in my opening remarks, and I am now pleased to give the floor to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia.
Patriarch Kirill: Mr Putin, let me thank you for taking it upon yourself to bring together representatives and leaders of Russia’s traditional religions and faiths, as well as ethnic associations. You were absolutely correct in saying that relations between ethnicities and between religions are becoming crucially important in Russia, where there is a vast number of ethnic groups, and worldwide as well, in connection with the processes of globalisation. Ultimately, the future depends on how well humankind is able to solve the problem of creating harmony between different ethnicities, cultures and models of civilisation. Many of those who are present here today think about this constantly as part of their job. I would like to emphasise the large role of the Inter-Religious Council of Russia, which extends beyond discussions of interfaith relations, and takes actual concrete, practical steps in this area. We are aware of the fact that we have many theological and doctrinal differences, and have never attempted to overcome these differences in outlook, creed or theology. Instead, we have tried to come together on socially important issues. God willing, we are making progress, and I am grateful that today, in this way, within the framework of the Inter-Religious Council of Russia, many practical issues are being solved.
Now I would like to say a few words about what may be the most important thing. In my lifetime, I have participated in at least one hundred inter-religious meetings. I have never met a person at such a meeting who would say that we shouldn’t live in peace – that they have their own interests and goals that must be reached without consideration of other people. No, everything is always very respectable, great resolutions are adopted. Some people read these resolutions; others, who plant bombs using their religion as a cover, don’t. That is why I believe that we need to take these inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-ethnic dialogues to a new level, at least in Russia, because we have the potential to do so. We must identify the reasons underlying these bloody clashes.
More to be posted soon...
источник новости: http://premier.gov.ru/eng/events/news/15972/
