President Vladimir Putin has warned towards utilizing nationalist slogans like “Russia is just for Russians,” stating his perception that members of every related ethnic group ought to really feel at home within the nation.
The president was chatting with leaders of Russia’s parliamentary events in a video convention on Wednesday. “Caveman nationalism, with the slogan ‘Russia is only for Russians,’ only harms Russians, only harms Russia,” he stated. “We shouldn’t allow this to happen. Of course, we must make sure that the culture of every nation, its history, and roots of every nation is respected and honored in our country.”
Russia is a multiethnic society, made up of not simply Slavic folks but additionally Central Asian indigenous teams, similar to Tatars and Bashkirs. The nation additionally has numerous migrants from international international locations, most of which had been previously a part of the Soviet Union, like Armenia, Georgia and Tajikistan.
Putin’s assertion got here after nationalist opposition determine Vladimir Zhirinovsky requested him about immigration from neighboring international locations.
“Bulgarians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Serbs, that is doable. From Central Asia – that is unattainable,” Zhirinovsky said. “The [migrants] carry two grams of drugs in their pockets for personal consumption. But they will sell it here. That’s why you can’t bring in migrants. Let them go – that’s good.”
Nationalist views are endorsed by a wide range of political figures in the country, including imprisoned activist Alexey Navalny. When he first entered the public eye, Navalny was a fixture of the ‘Russian March’, an ultranationalist gathering that had slogans like “Stop Feeding the Caucasus” and “Russia for the Russians,” with participants flying the Russian Empire’s black-yellow-white flag.
“We have problems with illegal migration, we have the problem of the Caucasus, we have a problem of ethnic crimes,” Navalny said in 2011.
Putin’s latest assertion will not be the primary time he has spoken in favor of Russia as a multiethnic and multireligious state and towards what he sees because the harmful potential of nationalist sentiment.
“If we huff out this caveman nationalism and throw mud at people of other ethnic groups, we will destroy this country,” he stated in 2018.
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