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^th-early 21^st 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]

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^th 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]

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] 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^st century, as well as of my own “professionally intense” historical time that resulted in books, lectures, academic courses and scientific reports.^[4] 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^th 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^th – early 21^st 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] 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^th 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^th and, especially, the 20^th 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^st 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]

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]

At the beginning of the 21^st 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] 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]

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^st 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^st 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^st 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.

As the role of international supranational organizations will increase in the context of globalization, so will that of institutional structures of the Russian world as an integral part of the global intellectual system. This offers a wide range of opportunities for intellectual and technological modernization of the Russian world, which in the future by all appearances will significantly differ from what it is now, in terms of organization, scientific and information activities, however it will preserve its cultural and mental self-identification with the historical Russian civilization. Without a doubt, new forms of realization and new areas of focus for the Russian world will emerge, and its qualitative characteristics will improve.

Thus, the Russian world in the 21^st century is capable of creating new forms and perhaps specific institutional structures of beneficial and adequate transnational interaction that can “fit” Russian historical culture into the global intellectual space and the world system of new geopolitical alliances and associations. In the 21^st century, the Russian world institutions will contribute to the greater promotion of Russia’s interests in the new global political and economic system, shaping those structural, informational, and cultural “islands” for the Russian business, culture, science, and society as a whole to rely on.

The present publication presents the author’s reflections on the modern situation in the Russian world and its interaction with Russia and the world civilization in the face of complex geopolitical transformations of the late 20^th-early 21^st centuries. Among other things, it seems important to study the role of the Russian community abroad in today’s world, to follow up its role in domestic and foreign policy of the Russian Federation over time. In my opinion, evolution of the social and cultural image of Russian-speaking diasporas in the CIS, the Baltic states, and European Union and development of a dialogue with their historical homeland, states and societies in the countries of residence, etc. is another topic of high scientific interest.

At the same time, my intention is to give a personal touch to this work, to reveal the role of the history and culture of the Russian community abroad in my research and academic activities.

The book is intended for scholars of history and other humanities, government officials responsible for interaction with compatriots residing abroad, and the scientific and cultural community of the Russian world itself, as well as all readers interested in the subject of Russian community abroad in the late 20^th – early 21^st centuries.

Chapter 1
The world of Russian compatriots and national historical consciousness

January 2014 witnessed an important development in the life of the Russian historical community and personally for me as the Head of the Russian State University for the Humanities. Together with other participants of the working group on the preparation of a new cultural-historical standard on history for secondary schools, I took part in a meeting in the Kremlin with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Chairman of the Russian Historical Society Sergey Naryshkin, members of the Russian government, heads of historical institutes at the Russian Academy of Sciences, leading university professors of history, history teachers, media, etc. contributed to this discussion. All those present were unanimous in assessing the task facing the historical community as difficult and responsible. In practice, the Concept of a new history standard took considerable effort and generated a lot of controversy that in the end did the Concept a lot of good. ‘Competing history schools are the driver behind new historical knowledge,’ Sergey Naryshkin said.^[10]

The Kremlin meeting definitely stimulated further work, both because the President thanked the participants for their work and civic position, and above all else because the meeting confirmed at the highest state level some very important principles for history academic courses, i. e. objectivity and impartiality, education aimed at bringing up educated citizens who can think for themselves. Vladimir Putin, in particular, stressed the following:

Unified approaches to history academic courses do not mean public, official, and ideological consensus at all. On the contrary, we mean the common logic of teaching history, understanding the inseparability and interconnection of all stages of the development of our state and our statehood, the fact that the most dramatic and controversial events constitute an integral part of our past. Despite all the differences in assessments and opinions, we should treat them with respect, because this is the life of our people, this is the life of our ancestors, and our national history is the basis for our national identity, cultural, and historical code.^[11]

Back then we also discussed some questions related to certain key dates in the Russian history and their approaching anniversaries. They also needed some balanced approaches to complex historical events and phenomena like the 100th anniversary of World War I, the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, the 100th anniversary of the February and October Revolutions. Projects of the Russian History Society, like scientific conferences, exhibitions, new publications concerning the anniversaries of WWI and the Great Victory, the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution received wide media coverage both in Russia and in the Russian community abroad. As far as I can judge, the success of all these projects depended on the fact that they promoted a comprehensive range of ideas and images rather than some commonplace official narrative. This created conditions for a positive intellectual dialogue and laid the foundation of the true patriotism, i. e. understanding of all the complexity and unique features of our national history. In many ways, that is why the response of foreign compatriots, representatives of different countries and generations, was so sincere and massive with exhibitions, meetings, and veteran commemoration events taking place all over the Russian community abroad, from New York to Beijing.

Greater focus on history, history science, and education in the Russian society is quite a natural reaction to Russia affirming its status as a world power. Real patriotism in the best sense of the word is inextricably linked to the knowledge and understanding of the history of one’s Fatherland. I firmly believe that patriotic education is education through knowledge about one’s country, its history, and culture of its peoples, and at the same time, about other peoples and civilizations. Such education is designed to develop a broadly educated and cultured individual, including a habit of tolerant perception of ideas and opinions and different historical experience. It is possible to understand events of the pre-revolutionary and Soviet history in different ways, but it is impossible to deny the hard work and the great feat of the peoples of our country, i. e. the feat of overcoming the trials faced by Russian in the 20^th century. Those who did this were not some abstract entities but real people, someone’s parents and grandparents. The action “Immortal Regiment,” which triumphantly took place throughout the country and in the Russian community abroad in 2015–2016 and has already become our national tradition, has clearly showed it by addressing the historical memory of thousands of real families. Many students and teachers from Russian universities took part in the “Immortal Regiment” campaign, including the Russian State University for the Humanities, Lomonosov Moscow State University, etc. It is also possible that for some of the younger participants, learning about family history has become the first step towards the profession of a historian.

This principle, education through knowledge, is the foundation of the activities of Russian higher education institutions, including RSUH, the firstborn humanitarian university in the modern Russia. It is based on, in my opinion, the main elements of culture and true patriotism, i. e. national history, Russian literature, the wealth of world languages, cultures, and scientific theories. In this context, a scientific and cultural dialogue with the Russian world abroad has become an intrinsic part of the university life, including projects and events designed to restore the true historical past of Russia. For example, on March 4, 2011, RSUH and the Russkiy Mir Foundation held a scientific conference The Great Reforms of 1861 commemorating the 150^th anniversary of the emancipations of serfs in Russia. The University was significantly interested in discussing the modern vision of the issue in the context of shaping the history education concept, including the development of questions for the Unified State Exam on history. Before that, under the auspices of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russkiy Mir Foundation, there was a conference held in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on Great Reforms of Emperor Alexander II as a success story of modernization with the participation of scientists and public leaders from the near and far abroad. It should be noted that the Russian emigre community, especially university and law corporations, laid significant emphasis on the era of the 1860s reforms and saw it as an era of law and civil liberties in the country. Therefore, the intellectual circles in the Russian community abroad paying attention to the history of the Great Reforms in modern Russia was another sign of the unity of historical memory, civilizational community of Russia and the Russian world abroad.

The intellectual heritage of the Russian community abroad has been one of the key elements of the society’s consolidation in creating a new historical consciousness in Russia. It was a consequence of global processes at the turn of the century. The current geopolitical situation has led to the emergence of new trends in the development of world intellectual, information, and cultural processes. The concept of a multipolar world, which is becoming increasingly influential, involves the diversity of civilizations and flourishing national cultures that interact and enrich each other on a constructive basis. Russia’s commitment to these principles of international life was formulated back in 2000 in the “The foreign policy concept of the Russian federation”, which proclaimed Russia’s aspiration “to achieve a multi-polar system of international relations that really reflects the diversity of the modem world with its great variety of interests.”^[12] At the same time, attention to one’s own culture, awareness of one’s unique historical experience and promotion of such values in global media has become one of the prerequisites for strengthening the international influence of a country.

The President of Russia Vladimir Putin in his Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in 2018 noted the growing impact of global processes on the economy and culture of all subjects of international politics and the important role of our country in ensuring a positive vector of global development:

This is a turning period for the entire world and those who are willing and able to change, those who are taking action and moving forward will take the lead. Russia and its people have expressed this will at every defining moment in our history.

As Mr Putin stressed, Russia was consistently developing its foreign policy:

… Our policies will never be based on claims to exceptionalism. We protect our interests and respect the interests of other countries. We observe international law and believe in the inviolable central role of the UN. These are the principles and approaches that allow us to build strong, friendly and equal relations with the absolute majority of countries.^[13]

Highly intensive global cultural dialogue and informational exchange is also taking place between metropolises and the diaspora across the world amplifying their mutual attraction and interest in each other. Ideas of historical, cultural, and civilizational unity, communicated from the metropolis to the diaspora in the media and on the Internet, art, scientific publications exert significant influence on the public opinion of compatriots in communities abroad by actively engaging them in the international diplomatic and cultural dialogue.

Russia in the early 21^st century lays special emphasis on the shaping historical consciousness based on traditional and social values, in particular as a factor of consolidation of the Russian society. It addresses challenges of modernization transit in the context of dramatically increasing global financial, economic, and political competition. In this context, the engagement between Russia and the world of Russian compatriots abroad provides ample opportunities and at the same time contradictions and challenges. They arise from the complex structure and heterogeneity of the Russian community abroad with three main segments: Russian-speaking diasporas of the post-Soviet states (the near abroad); several waves of Russian military, political, and economic emigration in the 1920-1980s and their ancestors (the far abroad). There are also migrants of the 20–21^st century from Russia and other territories of the former USSR living in different countries and regions across the world. Formally, the last group is part of the Far Abroad community, but it has some significant social and moral differences from the “old” emigration.

The cooperation with compatriots abroad in the last quarter of a century (from the 1980-1990s) was the most fruitful and intense in terms of shaping the national historical consciousness of the Russians. This experience can be seen as a qualitatively important and unique in the Russian history, when a diaspora that existed in almost complete isolation from the metropolis for several decades has given its historical Motherland a huge cultural heritage filling some considerable gaps in the social, political, intellectual, spiritual, and artistic development of the country.

In the 20^th century, Russia went through a tragedy of ideological and informational split with its compatriots abroad. It was based inter alia on fundamentally different vision of the national history and cultural traditions. In the USSR, this resulted in a decisive elimination of many names, events, and facts from the scientific and educational environment that did not ht into the official doctrine of “the history of the USSR in the pre-Soviet period” as well as in totally negative views on the Russian emigration and hushing up its contribution to the global culture. On the contrary, the Russian community abroad developed a cult of the pre-Revolutionary period and underestimated the achievements of the Soviet era in many areas, including economy, science, and culture. Nevertheless, from the very start, the Russian emigre community had an idea for renewing the common historical path and reuniting the divided flows of the “river of time” that embraced the history of Russia in its entirety. The events of the Great Patriotic War have shifted significantly the community’s perception of the post-revolutionary emigration. For many people, patriotism, and love for their homeland lost its retrospectivity and vagueness no longer concerning the old or the imaginary new Russia, but an actual country with its advantages and disadvantages. The Soviet authorities also became more tolerant to the representatives of the post-revolutionary emigration, but the development of the opposition movement among the Soviet intelligentsia, which increasingly took the form of political and religious emigration; the ideological support of the opposition from abroad during the Cold War era became a major new watershed dividing the Soviet Union and Russian community abroad. According to the official Soviet doctrine, their relations could not even be close to the system of “metropolis – diaspora”. The Russia abroad in the 20^th century was almost completely excluded from the overall picture of the national history and culture.