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Saturday 11 February 2012

Moscow's Culture War: Multiculturalism versus National Culture


It is often thought that Russia has escaped the multiculturalist extremism that has bedevilled Western Europe in recent decades, although of course it itself is a multiethnic state in which a number of other peoples such as the Tatars, Bashkirs and Ossetians possess their own ethnically demarcated national homelands. The ethnic Russians themselves – russkie – are dispersed across the northern Eurasian landmass, but have as their core ethnic homeland an ill-defined region west of the Urals. In recent years however, the ethnic Russian heartland – Moscow in particular – has been experiencing a mass influx of non-ethnic Russians both from within the Russian Federation and the post-Soviet states of Central Asia and the Caucasus. This has fuelled a process of Islamisation and the associated paralysis caused by mass street prayers in Moscow.

Against this backdrop, a recent initiative reported upon by Izvestiia becomes to a certain extent comprehensible. What is it precisely? Well, Moscow’s City Education Department has decided to introduce its own form of multiculturalist education to promote “the friendship of peoples” through establishing “international clubs (interclubs) where children will be inculcated with tolerance for other peoples.” As yet, the report states that this approach has only been voluntarily adopted by a number of individual educational establishments, and it chooses to examine the “experiment” conducted at School 225 in Moscow’s Central District.
“We have an interclub led by a foreign language teacher” – said the school’s Director Nadezhda Neverova – “In this, children who wish to stay after lessons study and discuss interesting dates, listen to music and express their opinions, prepare theatrical productions and radio broadcasts. This is not bad, and an interesting form of preventative measure against extremism.”

“On 16 February the Education Department will hold a seminar on interclubs for teachers of the capital’s other schools.”

“ The language of culture is the most democratic language in the world”, declared the Deputy Chairman of the Public Chamber on Improving the Quality of Education Liubov’ Dukhanina. “Xenophobia arises precisely because of a shortage of information about another people. Children, coming through such clubs, will be more inclined to tolerance and less towards aggression.”
However, this initiative is not universally supported by Muscovites, and certain parents have made their objections known. Galina Shnaider, Chairman of the “Moscow Parents” movement stated that rather than study other ethnic groups: “It would be better to add to and foster children’s love specifically for Russian culture – national dances and pancakes.” Moreover, “it is not necessary to “inculcate” a position of tolerance to other peoples in our children.”

Quite clearly, the culture wars are coming to Moscow, with defenders of national culture pitting themselves against more powerful forces seeking to impose "tolerant" attitudes upon the city’s children. If this amounts to promoting interest in foreign languages such as English, French and German and an appreciation of their associated cultures, then this can be seen as no bad thing; but if, as I suspect, it focuses particularly upon promoting acceptance of the mass influx of non-European migrants to Moscow, particularly those carrying the increasingly assertive culture of Islam, it is no good thing at all. In a week when Ray Honeyford passed away, Muscovites should learn from the ruinous experience of multiculturalism in Britain and other European countries, and choose instead to preserve and strengthen Russia’s own national identity and traditions. If Russia follows the Western multiculturalist path, how many European nations will still exist in 2100? Although a country with significant - particularly political – flaws, it is still a nation that is strong enough to stand up to the forces of globalism on the international stage when its elite determines such a stance to be in its interest.Will it in future serve as a potential bulwork against the de-Europeanisation of European states, or will it join us in our act of collective cultural self-immolation? Perhaps the fate of the interclubs initiative will give us an indication as to which way the cultural wind will blow in Russia.

Pupils in a Moscow "International Club"



9 comments:

  1. Sadly even yourself succumb to the PC indoctrination.

    "Galina Shnaider, Chair of the “Moscow Parents” movement"

    The phrase should be 'chairman' which is gender neutral. A 'chair' is something that you sit on.

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    1. You're absolutely right for pulling me up over that RH and I have amended the text accordingly. Sometimes it is difficult to get out of paid work mode. Whether Galina is worth sitting on or otherwise, I couldn't comment.

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  2. It seems no place on the planet is going to escape the evil clutches of this process.

    Of all the places left relatively untouched, it is a disaster to see the further seeds of destruction being sown for Russia like this.

    I think western European nationalist parties and organisations should make inroads with our Russian counterparts and lend them/show them our experiences of "how" they roll this process out and give them warnings and clues as how it may possibly be stopped.

    If they are on the backwards curve to us, maybe there is something we can do to advise them or pre-warn them of what type of measures come next. It would cost us nothing, and it might save them everything.

    Do you remember the (quite a big-wig) interior minister or immigration minister or something having to resign because, in his personal capacity, he believed it was their duty to protect the ethnic white race of Russians? That was, to me, another sign of the times there.

    I have never liked or championed violence of any sort, but one thing that used to be noted for in Russia (and pretty much world renowned for) was that any obvious ethnic minorities (like Africans) were likely to get a damned good kicking and essentially forced to flee for their lives. Examples are foreign students, temporary workers, etc.

    The reputation it had for "intolerance" (and even murders) seemed to do a pretty decent job of keeping them away and making it almost impossible for the authorities to try and get away with these "cultural programs".

    Not a nice thing, at all, but that was the impression I had - from afar.

    I do not tend to follow Russian politics, so I do not really know who are the "goodies" and who are the "baddies" some times in their national affairs.

    I seem to remember that Putin was reported to want to build another 'union' - like the European Union perhaps - of the former grouplets of the USSR, but this time under "mutual trade agreements" and so on and so forth.

    A building block for the NWO machine, like the Mediterranean Union, European Union, African Union, Middle Eastern Union, American/Mexico/Canadian Union?......or a strengthening of Russia and the true Russian people?

    Talking about the 'school clubs' - it is typical they seek to sever the children from the rest of the population who are more ethnocentric. Once they sever the children's minds, turn the child against the parent, they will have irreversibly altered the outlook of Russians within a generation or two.

    These people pushing these agendas really are scum.

    (ps. I have sorted the video out, it should be up on-line later today)

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    1. Yes, I do remember the incident of the minister getting sacked BA, but I can't recall his name. As for attempts by Russia to create a regional economic bloc, this is simply an expression of a desire to assert national hegemony in the "near abroad", the former SSRs of the now defunct Soviet Union. It's therefore of a rather different nature to the bloc-building associated with say the EU or NAFTA.

      As for Putin, I'll be writing more on him shortly, but I think that his patriotism is purely for show and doesn't really amount to much. He'll be pushing multiculturalism and mass immigration. After all, if you missed it, you may find my following article on the incumbent Russian elite's attitude to Islame of interest: http://durotrigan.blogspot.com/2011/09/russian-political-elite-capitulates-to.html

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    2. Regarding Putin, I did see this typical media piece in the Daily Mail:

      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2100610/Vladimir-Putin-ridiculed-demanding-Russians-sex-halt-declining-population.html

      Of course, from our point of view it is sensible for the ethnic population to stave off its extinction as a nation. As Putin says in the article:

      "We are facing the risk of turning into an ‘empty space’ whose fate will not be decided by us."

      "The historic price of the choice between action and inaction is nearly 50 million human lives over the next 40 years."

      - and this, predictably, according the media, has caused much guffawing and apparent "ridicule" for pointing out the necessity of the motions.

      Anatoly Vishnevsky, director of the Moscow-based Demography Institute said:

      'These measures are not enough. It’s impossible to imagine how you could boost the population except through massive immigration.'

      Maybe Putin does 'get it' after all? I don't know.

      If he has proposals aimed at saving Russians by encouraging their procreation, they must be better policies than those who would argue for mass immigration to 'cover the loss'.....

      Regarding the other issue, I have read your comment and although I should be chomping at the bit (and I am thankful for it)I will probably have to get back to you a bit later.

      This is because I'm not in the greatest of decision making modes at the moment and I have much doubt about a lot things, including the actual cause/beliefs itself and, in addition, where my wider life is going in general.

      I'm just in a bit of a lull and being a bit "flaky" right now lol.

      I will definitely await the unveiling of your commentary on the issue you are talking about though, as it sounds a bit intriguing.

      Cheers.

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  3. Another country falling for the rotten omelette of multiculturalism made with rotten eggs like the Islamobots. Time to get rid of the chefs and get off omelettes altogether.
    Messrs Blair and Straw should be made to eat them every day.

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    1. It does look very much that way. Blair and Straw! What a hellish duo!

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  4. Sadly, the article is right - if anything, it understates the gravity of the current situation in Russia. Because of a visa-free arrangement with the ex-USSR states, the country is being flooded with alien parasites. They despise the local culture, laws and customs and can do so with virtual impunity as they are very tribal and good at defending and promoting each other at any cost, such as bribing law-enforcement officials to get their criminals off the hook, even for murder.

    Any would-be nationalist backlash against this is ruthlessly suppressed by the authorities, who I suspect are in the pay of ethnic mafias. The infamous Article 282 of the penal code ("the Russian article") which is ostensibly against hate speech, is used exclusively to suppress Russian nationalist sentiment.

    A few years ago a Russian nationalist party (Rodina - "Motherland") was prescribed based on a TV advertisement which appealed for a restoration of order in Moscow. An outrageous Russophobe called Bagirov (who calls himself "a writer"), an Azerbaijani immigrant whose blog contains numerous appeals for the murder of ethnic Russians, has just been made a member Prime Minister Putin's election staff. Draw your own conclusions...

    Bitter and disillusioned Russian expat in London

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    1. Добро пожаловать на мой блог!

      Ah, the "чурки"? However, how many ethnic Russians remain in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan for example? I know that their numbers dropped a great deal in the 1990s (although not as precpitately as the ethnic German population in Kazakhstan). Presumably, these people, should they choose to move to Russia, would be rather more welcome than the Muslims of the Caucasus and Central Asia?

      I'll have to take a look at this Bagirov figure. Have you read Putin's recent essay on the national question? I have yet to get around to it. Your impressions would be welcome.

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