The World of Russian emigres in the late XX – early XXI centuries

The World of Russian emigres in the late XX – early XXI centuries
Efim Iosifovich Pivovar

For the first time in the national historiography, an attempt is made to give a comprehensive analysis of the Russian emigres community as the most important part of the Russian world at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, as a holistic phenomenon of modern history.

Through a wide range of sources and scientific literature, the author of the book, Associate Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Efim Pivovar, considers plots that are a key to characterizing his chosen theme: interrelation of the world of Russian emigres; the national historical consciousness; state policy of the Russian Federation towards emigres; intellectual dialogue between Russia and the Russian world; social portrait of a man of the Russian world; the Russian emigres civilization model and its development prospects.

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Efim Iosifovich Pivovar

The World of Russian emigres in the late XX – early XXI centuries

© E. I. Pivovar, 2021

© “Aletheia” Publishing House (St. Petersburg), 2021

In loving memory of my mother Anna Pivovar, whose path in life was intertwined with the fates of our compatriots abroad, both near and far, in the late 20

-early 21

centuries.

Russian world abroad at the turn of the century (late 20th and early 21st century)

Foreword

The modern Russian community abroad is an intrinsic part of the shaping multipolar world with its institutional structures in almost all civilization centers of the new world order, i. e. in the European Union, Eurasia, the USA, Asia Pacific, Canada, Latin America, etc. Therefore, the Russian world is deeply involved in the unfolding process of globalization in all areas, i. e. technology, humanities, the information revolution, industrial development, governance, and business.[1 - Contribution of Russian compatriots to sciences and culture in foreign countries: collection of writings (2013) Moscow.]

At the same time, theory and practice of Russian public policy on the cooperation with the Russian world is also improving and developing. On October 31, 2018, addressing the delegates of the 6

World Congress of Compatriots Living Abroad, President of Russia Mr Vladimir Putin said:

Over 700 people from many countries are attending this Congress. At the same time, all of you together represent the tight-knit community of Russian compatriots and the huge united Russian world, which was never based exclusively on ethnic, national or religious principles. It has brought together and united all those who are connected to Russia spiritually, who feel a spiritual link to our homeland, and who consider themselves to be Russian speakers and the carriers of Russian culture and history.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your involvement in the life of Russia, for your invariable support and for your solidarity. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your involvement in the life of Russia, for your invariable support and for your solidarity. We are grateful for your contribution to the promotion and advancement of our rich historical and cultural heritage and everything else that constitutes our national Russian identity.[2 - Address by the President of the Russian Federation Mr Vladimir Putin to the 6th World Congress of Compatriots Living Abroad. (2018, October 3). Retrieved from http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/59003]

A new system of relations between the Russian society, the State, and Russian speaking communities in the near and far abroad developing in the context of ever more complex geopolitical and economic environment resuits in a need for rethinking the nature of the Russian world as a comprehensive phenomenon of the contemporary history and modernity.

The Russian community abroad has played an important part in my life as a historian and university professor. Sometimes, it seems that the study of this problem has already been comprehensive, conclusions have been drawn, but then again there are new facts, documents, topics and new theoretical aspects of the problem.[3 - Pivovar, E. (2000). The Russian Abroad in the 19

and early 20

century: certain results from the research. Historical notes, No. 3 (121), 237–253; Pivovar, E. (2004) The study of and the academic course on the history of the Russian community abroad in higher education institutions in the 1990s: experience, challenges, future. In Historical science and education at the turn of the century. Moscow;] Historically, the textbook Russian community abroad of the 1920-1930s is closely associated with the destinies of the later waves of Russian and global migration; it has become a part of the common space of the Russian world in the beginning of the 21

century, as well as of my own “professionally intense” historical time that resulted in books, lectures, academic courses and scientific reports.[4 - Pivovar, E. (2011). The Russian community abroad in global intellectual environment in the 20th and early 21st centuries. In Advantage of a historian: commemorating the 90th anniversary of the birth of Yuri Polyakov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (pp. 40–63). ROSSPAN.;] To a great extent, the very phenomenon of the Russian world, still transforming and developing, contributes to that and calls for constant rethinking of its historical nature and modern context.

Naturally, the historical process of reuniting two cultural branches and two temporal streams of the Russian history resulted in the Russian world concept, emerging and shaping in the national humanitarian science and mass media, uniting the past, present and future of Russian diasporas, establishing the state doctrine of the Russian world as social, cultural and economic continuation of Russia on the global level. The Russian emigres of the 20

century “returned to Russia as poems” and in many other ways; they simply have become part of the national humanitarian knowledge. But this very return was both a consequence and a driver of the socio-political and mental transformation of the Russian society in the 1990s – early 2000s. Even today, its influence and presence in the intellectual sphere continues to play its role and to facilitate the development of Russian science and higher education. The cultural-historical phenomenon of the Russian community abroad is not a sensation anymore; this topic simply cannot be fully covered, just like the works of Alexander Pushkin or the history of people’s bravery and heroism in the years of the Great Patriotic War.

At the same time, the culture of the Russian world is not some established backward-looking set of ideas and images; it is an ever-changing reality promoting the basic civilizational values, i. e. new works of art and literature, scientific research, etc. In this context, it seems relevant and important to create a single database on the Russian community abroad. A multi-volume fundamental encyclopedia Russian community abroad in the 18

– early 21

centuries can make a significant contribution to such a project. Certainly, such a publication should be prepared by joint efforts of many scientific teams from the Russian Academy of Sciences, leading national universities, the Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of Russian Abroad, the State Archives of the Russian Federation and other national centres of the Russian emigration studies in cooperation with foreign scientists and Russian compatriots in countries of the far and near abroad.

The Russian world is often perceived in the near abroad as an area of its own that has nothing to do with the so-called textbook Russian community abroad. Indeed, the differences between the two Russian worlds in terms of historical context and social image are quite significant.[5 - Post-Soviet space. Policies, economy, culture. (2009). Eurasia: information and analytics bulletin No. 1; Post-Soviet space. The Eurasian idea in the 21

century: new development vector. (2009). Special issue commemorating the 15

anniversary of the Eurasian idea in the CIS; etc.] However, it is obvious that on-going globalization processes and parallel geopolitical and socio-economic transformation of the post-Soviet space result in the emergence of new realities throughout the Russian world, changing the conditions for its internal development, as well as for the interaction with Russia and countries of residence; but it also develops its role in the global socio-political and information space.

Russian compatriots abroad have brought to their homeland their experience of global intellectual and cultural dialogue, which has now become even more complex and multifaceted; it includes the interaction between many generations, social and professional groups and far-reaching information flows. In the 20

century, Russian literature, philosophy, and art abroad were one of the essential components within the spiritual and cultural space of many cultures in different regions of the world, having become part of the global intellectual elite. Economic emigres of the late 1980s-1990s changed the qualitative features of Russian-speaking communities in the European Union and the United States for a while. Yet it is now clear that Russia abroad has not lost its importance as a global intellectual and creative resource, while acquiring new positive qualities and opportunities.

Unlike the Russian emigres in the 19

and, especially, the 20

century, today’s Russian compatriots abroad are not cut off from their homeland and, if they so desire, maintain strong ties with the Russian Federation as a metropolitan state with the homeland as a mental and cultural space that also extends to people from post-Soviet countries. Russian compatriots are able to tap into the values of the Russian culture in its entirety, including the legacy of the Russian community abroad of the past century both thanks to the opportunities of a global civilization with its international travel and information technologies and support for Russian language and culture offered by Russia across the world. At the same time, an increasing number of Russian-speaking compatriots want to receive higher education, work in high-tech areas, study in depth the language and culture of their host countries thus increasing their flexibility while maintaining their ties to the Russian culture as an identity element. It is highly likely that the subsequent transformation of the Russian world will take place along with further improvement of its qualitative characteristics.

The active representatives of the modern Russia abroad have maintained their focus on intellectual and spiritual values, which is demonstrated by the activities of the World Congress of Russian Compatriots Living Abroad and numerous public organizations established within Russian-speaking communities in different countries across the world and by various cultural initiatives implemented on a global scale, from the Days of Russian Culture (a traditional holiday of Russian emigration from the mid-1920s) to the Russky Mir Professor program. Institutions of the Russian world abroad accumulate considerable intellectual resources based on the synthesis of Russian cultural values and latest information, social concepts, and technologies that enrich both Russian and world culture.

Since in the 21

century the role of supranational factors in the international arena is gradually growing, communities and organizations of the Russian world are becoming part of an informal but increasingly influential representation of Russia in the global socio-political and information space. The institutional structures of Russian compatriots act as an integral part of the modern global society, in particular, forming the global civilizational and intellectual space, introducing basic Russian cultural values into the international information field and expanding the global presence of the Russian language as the basic cultural code of the Russian world. Speaking at the VI Assembly of the Russian World on November 3, 2012, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev noted that “the diaspora uniting millions of compatriots gives Russia a competitive advantage and enormous potential,” emphasizing the importance of expanding the presence of the Russian language in the world in the context of globalization. “The Russian world shall become a global space if the amount of information in the Russian language is not inferior in quantity and quality to the amount of information in other languages. It is very difficult, but feasible.”[6 - Speech by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the VI Assembly of the Russian World in Moscow (2012, November 3). The official website of the Russian Government. Retrieved from http://government.ru/news/6346/]

In the future, structures of the Russian world can be united in a system of network associations operating under the conditions of on-going globalization in a global complex of organizations existing in the intellectual and information space. The Russian-speaking Academic Science Association has already taken certain steps in this direction, creating a website Dialogue with Russian-speaking scientists working abroad in order to expand intellectual cooperation between Russia and the Russian world by promoting dialogue between the Russian scientific community and Russian-speaking scientists abroad.[7 - Dialogue with Russian-speaking scientists working abroad. Retrieved from http://dialog.extech.ru/index.php?mlevel=1]

At the beginning of the 21

century, Russian diasporas in the near and far abroad as promoters of Russian culture have assumed a new, but no less important mission, i. e. to engage in a dialogue between Russia and the international community on the most pressing issues of international politics and economics. People belonging to the Russian world mostly support the fundamental values of our time: pluralism of political and civilization systems; recognition of their legitimacy, importance and stability; unwillingness to incite “color revolutions,” or to use global financial, economic, rating and information tools for exerting pressure on others’ foreign policy, etc.

The ongoing changes in the balance of power on the planet, i. e. the economic and political strengthening of the BRICS countries, have also significantly influenced Russian diasporas’ status: the governments and peoples of China, Brazil, and South Africa see the Russian-speaking community as an ally in the modernization of the country and society.[8 - Sadovnichiy, V., Yakovleva, Y., Akaeva, A. (Eds.) (2014). Prospects and Strategic Priorities for the Rise of the BRICS. (Scientific report for the VII BRICS Summit).] At the same time, in the Baltic States, Poland, and Ukraine, Russian compatriots are portrayed negatively as an opposition force, provoking a corresponding attitude towards them manifesting in prohibition of historical and cultural events, hostile media coverage, etc. (For instance, Poland did not allow a group of Russian motorcyclists called “Night Wolves” to travel through its territory as part of “Victory Day” campaign; Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 memorials are being pulled down in Poland and the Baltic States; centers of Russian-language education and culture have been practically banned in Ukraine).

At the same time, Russian compatriots in developing countries (Brazil, China, South Africa, etc.) as a creative factor of a new society have made a significant contribution to the modernization of the economy, development of innovation technologies and humanitarian knowledge.

Representatives of the Russian world greatly contribute to the Eurasian integration: the Russian-speaking community acts as a moderator of centripetal processes in the CIS. The foundation of the Customs Union, as well as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the EAEC and the EAEU, were warmly supported by the Russian diasporas; it has significantly influenced the attitude of the governments of the countries of residence by pushing them towards closer and more constructive integration with Russia, in terms of creating a common Eurasian social, economic, and political space.[9 - Pivovar, E. (2016) Eurasian Integration Project in the Former Soviet Union: Prerequisites, Formation, Development. Aleteya.]

Representatives of the Russian world consistently advocate development of mutual understanding between cultures, intellectual dialogue in the global political and economic space. At the same time, modern institutions of the Russian world are becoming more and more independent subjects of the international law, along with bodies of recipient states and world legal supranational structures, such as the UN, the OSCE, etc. The International Council of Russian Compatriots (ICRC), International Association of Youth Organizations of Russian Compatriots (IAYORS), the European Russian Alliance, etc. are examples of such institutions.

Therefore, in the 21

century, the Russian world has become a sustainable organizational, historical, cultural, and mental system which ensures its stable existence in the context of globalization and a shaping multipolar world. Modern geopolitical space defines objective reasons for future successful development of the Russian world in the 21

century: the creation of a multicultural civilization provides great opportunities for preserving national identities within the global intellectual and information space. At the same time, Russia that historically has been a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country represents a model of a complex and global civilization allowing interaction and synthesis of cultures without losing their identity. In the 21

century, the comprehensive national consciousness of representatives of the Russian world implies a continued self-identification with the national culture and historical time of the Russian civilization: Russian-speaking communities in various countries of the world seek to encourage Russian compatriots to maintain the sense of belonging to the social and spiritual culture of their historical homeland, Russia.