OREANDA-NEWS. July 20, 2011. “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.”

 
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. They happen almost everywhere, in wealthy Europe, overseas, and in the Middle East.

As you know, there are several ways to resolve ethnic conflicts. The most popular model is the brand of multiculturalism that was first adopted in America because the very nature of the United States called for it. It was accepting immigrants from many countries who were people of different views, faiths, and beliefs. The model they adopted was naturally aimed at overcoming any disunion, dissolving ethnic differences in the melting pot of a country that was forming under specific laws and secular values that were set apart from those of religion. Western Europe largely followed a similar approach, although it is now being seriously reconsidered.

What can be and cannot be achieved by this approach? On the one hand, discordant faiths and cultures smooth each other out and traditional values are toned down. But what is becoming obvious now? A multicultural society ultimately loses its values while differences and sources of discord remain. And these contradictions are so strong that people end up throwing bombs at each other and toppling cars.

Europe is facing a big question: what comes next and what must be done? The melting pot approach is not working. There are laws, there is legal thinking, there are law enforcement agencies, but people still clash and fight. It happens in our country as well. And I believe that the key point here is that it is not possible to try to tone down our differences thereby ignoring the values of human life. If we want to build a society that distances itself from these values, an absolutely secular society, a society that tolerates all kinds of behaviour, we reject that common foundation that unites people of any religion – we destroy the moral foundation of our life. And this is the main issue that I am concerned with today – the destruction of our social morality, as you called it. I am referring not only to the Russian Federation. It is the moral foundation of our lives that is being destroyed. I believe that it would be impossible to prevent major social catastrophes in such conditions. Not even the police would be able to stop the interethnic violence of those who are not bound by moral restraints and norms of behaviour, those who are emancipated in the fulfillment of their ambitions and will thus stop at nothing. That is why I believe that there should be another model for regulating interpersonal and interethnic relations.

Make no mistake about it. Interpersonal relations are an equally serious problem. Although society appears to be consolidated under common laws and programmes, the individual can become incredibly alienated, and our social systems leave them behind. People become lonely. They lose connection with others. There is a serious moral crisis taking place. And I believe if we can overcome our interethnic and interfaith differences, we can strengthen what you rightly called social morality, a personal social morality. The moral values promoted by all religions are very similar and form the common foundation of our humanity. Our human civilization has developed on this foundation. It was only very recently that someone decided that our traditional values are worthless and that only the freedom of personal choice matters. “Only I choose what is right.” Society cannot exist on such terms.

Today the issue of moral values is not a question of secondary or tertiary importance as it so often appears in party programmes. Economy and infrastructure come first while morality and culture are dragged behind. Today the issue of moral values is the most fundamental for the existence of not only Russia but of all human civilization. It holds a very important place for us because our traditional moral values are still alive and, instinctively, we maintain these values, both our older generation and even young people. But we do so only instinctively because modern trends are very dangerous as they threaten to eclipse and destroy this common moral foundation.

Now, why do I think this issue is relevant for interethnic relations? Because respect grows when there is communion. Why does one ethnic group so easily attack another? Because they have nothing in common. As they have nothing in common, they strive to unite on an ethnic ground in order to protect their businesses, while forcing out locals. That is what, unfortunately, happens in Russia sometimes. There is no unity. People do not feel like they are a family. I recall a very good model of interethnic relations, albeit hard won, between the Cossacks and the mountain peoples of the North Caucasus in the 19th century. What did we get when the military conflict ended in the Caucasus? A rather stable system.

The mountain peoples respected the Cossacks, their way of life, morals, traditions, and self-government. And what about the Cossacks? The Cossacks respected the mountain peoples’ moral traditions, virtues, and way of life. It resulted in a surprising interaction. Both sides had strong morals, strong traditions, and strong beliefs. On the one side, there were Muslims, and on the other, Orthodox Christians. But how well they lived together! The only problem was that they sometimes stole each other’s women as brides, since both Cossack women and women from the Caucasus are so beautiful.

But, overall, it was friendly interaction. So I believe that the question of restoring the moral foundations of our national life, developing national self-awareness, reaffirming our religious beliefs, and re-committing our loyalty to moral laws and principles should be treated as a priority, as this is also a question of shaping spiritually strong individuals worthy of universal respect.

This means that those who come to Moscow will respect Russians who keep the faith, stick firmly to their moral foundations, and set a moral example for others. Similarly, Russians will respect newcomers who maintain their religious beliefs, moral grounding, and principles. Thus, I believe that religious education, the fostering of morality in each religion in compliance with its laws, and the simultaneous development of what we today call a dialogue between different religious and national communities about their common problems is a way to resolve this issue.

I would like to assure you, Mr Putin, that what I have said today does not merely reflect the thoughts of one religious leader: many people today are thinking about these issues, feeling their importance, and realising that there is a moral crisis in the life of our society and that of humankind in general. The results of this moral crisis can be witnessed, among other things, in the extremely volatile interethnic and interreligious relations all over the world.

God help Russia to build, based on our wealth of historical experience and potential for good, both interreligiously and interethnically, such relations and such a system that will help us resolve these issues and offer our model to the world. Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

Mufti Ravil Gainutdin, chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, please.

Ravil Gainutdin: Thank you, Mr Putin, Your Holiness, muftis, and distinguished participants of this meeting.

As has already been said, we live in a multiethnic and multireligious state. Our country may be like some other multiethnic and multireligious states, but, as Mr Putin has said, it is also in many ways unique. Indeed, we are not newcomers to this country, we are native citizens of our Homeland. The graves of our fathers and grandfathers are on its soil, and we have a common history, as well. Together, we created this state; together, we protected the interests of our Homeland; and, today, we are re-committing ourselves to its well-being and prosperity.

Today, the Muslim peoples of this country – and there are some 50 peoples and ethnic groups in this country that adhere to Islamic culture, traditions, and beliefs – have no other Homeland. Russia is our Homeland. We have lived together for centuries and we will continue living together for centuries to come. Yesterday, as we completed our working visit to the Republic of Tatarstan and the Nizhny Novgorod Region, we held a conference that was very much in the spirit of our meeting today. It was titled “Finding Approaches to Interreligious and Interethnic Harmony in Russian Society” and was held in the village of Medyany in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. Listening to the speeches and meeting with my fellow Muslims, it became clear to me that they wanted nothing more than to live in peace and harmony in their Homeland. They would say, for example: “We have lived in the Nizny Novgorod Region since time immemorial, side by side with Russians, Mordovians, Tartars, Chuvashs, and we have never known any religious or ethnic conflicts.” This is our treasure, and it is no coincidence that the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights turned to us to hold forums and conferences in order to study our experience of peaceful coexistence within one state and within one region. And we have held such conferences together with our brothers – Orthodox Christians and Jews – in the Republic of Tatarstan as well as the city of Nizhny Novgorod, where the Volga forum was held. The entire world is looking to our experience, and we believe that, as we lived together for centuries in peace and harmony, finding a common language, we also interacted and cooperated, learning from each other’s culture. When I go to conferences in Europe, European Muslims ask: “How do you live in Russia? How have you adjusted to life in Russia? Do Christians there accept you?” And I proudly answer: “I am Russian. I am also European – I was born in the European part of this country – and we do not need to adjust because we were born in Russia and it is our country.”

Here, I must agree with His Holiness, who said that it is necessary to create an atmosphere of communion. Yes, we, different peoples, should have common values based upon the religious, humanistic values of our monotheistic religions. They are common to us all; but there are also common human, nation-wide values that unite us all in a single country. And these are the values to which we should turn our attention. We should bring up our children and young people with a feeling of love for their history and Motherland. We must cultivate this sense of patriotism in our people. Patriotism should unite our citizens, our young people, our children. And we must build trust and respect between different ethnicities in our country. If these different ethnicities have mutual respect for each other, our peoples will treat other peoples, other cultures and other religions with respect, too. If there’s respect, there’s trust. If there’s trust, then our people will treat each other with respect.

I am confident that today everyone in our country can feel that Russia is recovering. Today’s Russia is very different from that very weak country it used to be during early stages of democratisation.  Today, everyone across Russia remembers Mr Putin’s important speech in Munich, when he made it possible for Russians to be proud of their history, their people and their country.

Today, thanks be to God, Russia is a country to be reckoned with, it enjoys the respect of other countries and provides a wealth of opportunities to those countries that expect support and protection from it. Today, our country can provide this support to Arab and Muslim countries who believe that Russia is their friend. They told us back in the early 1990s during our visits: “When will Russia show its strength of a great power? We respect Russia. We want Russia to be strong. We want Russia to be whole and united. We also want Russia to turn its face to the Islamic world, where there is a great deal of respect for your country.” We hope that Russia, with its coats of arms featuring a double-headed eagle looking east and west, will not forget that we are a Eurasian state combining Western and Oriental traditions, which is why different cultures and different peoples can coexist in our multi-ethnic and multi-confessional Motherland. They consider themselves Russians and feel that Russia is their Motherland. 

If we want peace and harmony in our shared Motherland, we need to further promote interaction and cooperation. The patriarch has mentioned today, that by establishing the Inter-Religious Council of Russia in 1998, holding its meetings and discussing important issues pertaining to our religious organisations and faiths, we set the general public an example of cooperation, friendship and mutual respect.

Our people should see this, follow the example and collaborate, respect, work together and love each other. Mr Putin, we would also like our people to be able to see this solidarity represented on television. We are more than just Moscow and St Petersburg, we also have all the richness of our regions. People in Moscow, St Petersburg and elsewhere should be able to have a window onto life in remote areas of our country. There, in those regions, our people are promoting culture and traditions, reviving the economy and fostering civil accord and peace.

We all need to be proud of our land, its riches and the multiple ethnicities steeped in different cultures and different faiths, who are still citizens of one nation. As for us, Muslims, I can clearly say that our Muslims, wherever they live – whether in the Caucasus, Siberia, the Far East, the Volga regions or European Russia – all say one thing: “We want our country to retain this unity, and we will make our contribution to peace and stability in our nation.” Thank you for your time.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much. Mr Talgat Safa Tajuddin, chairman of Central Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Russia, please go ahead.

Talgat Tajuddin: Mr Putin, Your Holiness, distinguished participants, on behalf of the Central Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Russia, the oldest ecclesiastic centre in our country, I extend the warmest of welcomes to you. Mr Putin, you are indeed correct in your observation that Russia is a unique country and that it is unlike any other multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, because no one has ever subjugated or enslaved us, but by the grace of God we were brought together on this vast section of the globe and the Almighty bestowed on us untold riches. Most importantly, we incorporate almost 200 ethnicities and peoples, but we are one Russian nation. As both you and His Holiness mentioned, our history proves that we are not united by some fleeting, transient, values or goals. Instead, we live in a single Motherland, and we believe in one God. 

Our peoples have lived as neighbours for over 1,000 years, and for almost five hundred years we have been part of one single Russian state. Our grandfathers fought their way victoriously to Paris and Berlin. I don’t want to say much today, but I do want to lend my support to what His Holiness said about our most valuable assets being the spiritual and moral values that bind our souls together, because there can be no strong or resilient state without these ties. Our forefathers defended our Motherland, because this love for the Motherland is part of faith: they defended their Motherland, their families and their children, taking pride in their past and working hard for their present and future. However, these links unravel unless they are founded in spiritual and moral values. Even now, as we mark the anniversary of beginning of the Great Patriotic War, we marvel at the courage and resolve our fathers and grandfathers showed when, despite years of reprisals and the tens of thousands of places of worship that had been destroyed, they stood up to defend their country against that terrible onslaught from Nazi Germany’s massive war machine which had engulfed the whole of Europe. Faith and spiritual values passed down from generation to generation have always been instrumental in this.

Today, we want offer, in person, our sincere gratitude to you and to the government, for adopting the proposals put forward by the Interfaith Council of Russia, which brings together the traditional faiths of our country and operates on the basis of brotherly cooperation. They adopted the proposal to teach the basics of the traditional religions at primary schools. As a matter of fact, over the past 70-80 years even adults have lost almost all understanding of our spiritual and moral traditions. We can hardly talk about interethnic problems today: we just don’t have any, since we have lived together for so many years, centuries even. We don’t need to invent anything new, we just need to preserve what our ancestors handed us down and share it with our children and grandchildren. They are our children and grandchildren, and we cannot have hard feelings against them, because we are the ones responsible for them.

Societal relations have changed in Russia over the past twenty-something years. Before the October Revolution, people in Russia lived as one nation and respected each other. Our ancestors lived by the adage: view everyone except yourself as a saint. This attitude has always been there. Improve yourself first, start with your family, not just here with representatives of faith-based, public or ethnic organisations. It starts with families and parents. What will the parents teach? If today they only think about getting through the day, feeding and clothing their children, if they only think about these worldly issues, then who will teach them spiritual and moral values? The older generation is not conversant with all this. We can see that young people represent the majority of parishioners in our churches, cathedrals and mosques, up to 90%-95%. Where are the older generations? They are still here, but they don’t go to mosques or churches, because they are not comfortable doing so in front of their grandchildren or just feel shy about being so illiterate in the basics of their religions. Then, interethnic relations… We could see it even during the Soviet years… Yes, they called us the Soviet people, but no one forgot their ethnic identity, and the majority has even preserved their mother tongues. However, today, in their pursuit of all that is worldly, young and old alike turn to spiritual and moral values, not even as a second or third priority, but as a matter of last resort.

As a matter of fact, interethnic problems became part of our life quite recently. They are certainly much easier to overcome if we act together; using the Russian Popular Front, together with the whole world. When we talk about migrants, we do not mean people from India or Africa. We are talking about people who have lived side by side with us for several centuries and who share a similar mindset. If all ethnicities and peoples who live in Russia are one Russian nation, if we can give them a good example of civil coexistence, civil society, then they will be able to find their place. We welcome Muslim migrants from Central Asia in all our community centers with open arms. We teach them, we show them how we live and share the traditions of our ancestors with them. As Mr Gainutdin mentioned, the television plays a great role here.