Far-reaching conclusions

Thank you very much for publishing two of our letters last week. One of them was a response from H.E. Igor A. Khovaev, Ambassador of Russia to the article titled “America in flames; slavery and history” by Mr. F. Sionil Jose. In that article the author accused the Russians of being racist, which got the Ambassador’s attention. On June 15 Mr. Jose published a reaction trying to underpin his insulting statement about racism with some of his own rather unfortunate experiences during his only visit to the USSR back in 1967. In this regard, I would also like to make some comments on Mr. Jose’s second article.

First, I cannot help but point out that in general it seems rather hasty to make such far-reaching conclusions based on one visit. It is no secret that one cannot guarantee a once hundred percent absence of nationalistic sentiments in any country. What matters is the mainstream approach of the society and the authorities to this problem. In the USSR any manifestations of racism would have been prosecuted by law including the opening a criminal case.

Next, as far as the concrete negative experience of Mr. Jose at the Hotel Nacional is concerned, I think that in this case it is important to mention that at the time the Soviet Union was going through a rough patch with China. In fact, a number of border skirmishes would have already taken place by 1967. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the man who confronted Mr. Jose at the hotel might have come to some harm or lost someone as a result of the said tensions. Since then, of course, we have put those differences behind us and have achieved a rapidly developing strategic partnership and friendship. By the way, the majority of tourists who visited Russia before the COVID-19 pandemic were Chinese. All of them are most welcome as friends.

As for the alleged discrimination against foreign students from the Patrice Lumumba University, with all due respect for the author’s translator, Mr. Igor Podberesky, I have to say, that I find his statement very difficult to believe. The University in question was the main destination for children of political leaders as well as high-ranking military and civilian officials from the countries that were Soviet allies or close partners of the USSR. Therefore, it is very difficult to imagine someone mistreating them. Some students may have been unhappy with the University because Soviet professors were known to be quite strict and demanding and followed a non-discrimination policy regardless of race, ethnicity or social standing. In addition, “discrimination” is a very relative term. Some might interpret it as a lack of privileges that they feel entitled to. In any case, there are countless grateful graduates who speak very fondly of their time in the Soviet Union and highly appreciate the excellent education they have received there.

This alleged negative sentiment towards Russia the African students were complaining about to Mr. Igor Podberesky also seems rather questionable, since the Soviet Union has always supported the fight for equal rights for all ethnic groups. Both Dr. Martin Luther King and Mr. Nelson Mandela were considered heroes in the USSR. This is why the Soviet people had special respect for both Africans and African Americans. This respect has of course been passed modern day Russians.

In his article Mr. Jose refers to discrimination of some “Muslim minorities.” However being Muslim is not an ethnicity and so is being Jewish. Moreover there are roughly 20 million Muslims in modem Russia and there were many more in the Soviet Union. These people live in different constituents of my country and in many cases they are the dominant population and no one has ever referred to them as a minority. Tensions have indeed taken place on several occasion when people who came to Russia to work from some of the former Soviet Republics refused to respect local laws and traditions, which you are supposed to do in a foreign country. The Russian Muslims are of course of different ethnic background and the Government is making constant efforts to maintain the balance between them and the representatives of other ethnic and religious groups. I believe that the author should be more specific when making statements on such delicate matters just like in the case of his accusation of racism in the first article.

As for the Jewish people, I would like to remind the author that countless Soviet soldiers have sacrificed their lives to put an end to the Holocaust. In January 2020 President Putin attended the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem and opened a monument to the victims of the Holocaust together with Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel. Many of distinguished politicians, writers, artists and scientists in Russia were Jewish.

The fact remains that our country has been a multiethnic and multicultural society for centuries. In the history of Russia, there were no religious wars or conflicts based on race or religion. We have a unique experience of peaceful coexistence of people from very different backgrounds and we take special pride in that. Furthermore, all the governments of Russia were aware of this situation and did everything within their power to prevent any tensions. The same can be said about the Russian society, because discrimination and hatred based on ethnicity was never understood or supported by the vast majority of Russians. I would like to ask the author whether he knows why in Russia the angry crowds are not tearing down monuments to historical figures who were known for their inclination towards racism as they are now doing in Western countries. The answer is that the Russian society would have never have agreed to immortalizing the memory of such people in the first place, which clearly shows its resilience and immunity to any forms of racism. (To be continued)