The history of Russia is an account of the wonderful feats by its people who have made it possible for the country to achieve great successes. But it is also a history of tragic upheavals. As a result of such cataclysms, millions of our fellow countrymen – and a lot of them happen to be the nations’ finest – found themselves scattered around the world.

Russia, both in the czarist and Soviet times, experienced several waves of emigration. The collapse of the Soviet Union momentarily deprived millions more people of their motherland: although they became residents of foreign states, these emigrants remained intimately attached to their homeland since they never would have considered leaving Russia had a catastrophe not forced them into the decision.

The Soviet Union had been developing its national economy along the principles of a unitary state. It sent productive forces to economically promising regions which were formed close to natural sources.  This process gained momentum after World War II, when many enterprises that had been evacuated to the country’s east, to the then Central Asian Soviet republics, remained in places of their supposedly temporary location. More often than not these enterprises were not provided with proper infrastructure. Nevertheless, the specialists working in these regions ultimately chose to stay there permanently. The majority of them were of Slavic origin, and after the dramatic events of 1991, they immediately became foreigners.

The developments following the breakup of the U.S.S.R. were largely rooted in the inflamed nationalistic sentiments and ambitions of the newly born political elites. These developments led to grave consequences and often resulted in armed conflicts and bloodshed. All these tragic events had a dramatic impact on the fate of many ethnic Russians and further complicated the already difficult process of building new states.

Overcoming these negative consequences as fast as possible fully corresponds to the interests of both Russia and its neighbors. Russia’s dramatic history is setting serious tasks for us all, the government and society. The main task is to do everything in our power to ensure that any Russian – no matter where he resides or what country he is citizen of – be sure that he can rely on the support of his historic motherland.

The Russian government has set as its major foreign policy goal a more active interaction with Russian communities abroad, which now embrace over 25 million people of Russian origin. Today, the efforts of the Russian government are mainly focused on protecting the rights and interests of ethnic Russians in the CIS and Baltic countries. The next goal is to extend the dialog with Russian compatriots living in the ‘far-abroad’ countries, to attract and use their intellectual, scientific and economic potential to Russia’s benefit.

Unfortunately, in many countries within the post-Soviet space the rights of ethnic Russians are often infringed upon, although they are supposed to be strictly observed in line with generally recognized international law and ensured by the protection of human rights in civilized societies. More specifically, the Russian government has continuously expressed its concern with the Russian-speaking populations of Latvia and Estonia who are deprived of the right to receive citizenship within these countries. Anti-fascist WWII veterans in these countries continue to be legally prosecuted. The social and economic conditions of those people who participated in WWII are steadily getting worse; they are being stripped of well-deserved social benefits.

The use of the Russian language is getting more limited with every passing day. The number of Russian schools is being reduced not only in the Baltic States, but in most of the CIS member countries as well. In many cases this is being perpetrated under false pretexts, in attempts to suit local nationalistic moods, which stand in contrast to the needs and aspirations of the citizens themselves. Any purposeful effort to belittle the importance of the Russian language, regardless of its historic role as a means of interaction between many different nationalities, results in the decrease of the common cultural and informational space. (According to the 1989 census data, there were as many as 184 million Russian-speaking people in the former U.S.S.R.) The refusal to use the well-mastered, rich, internationally recognized Russian language not only entails problems in communication; this decision is fraught with spiritual and cultural destitution for those nations that have assimilated Russian culture. It is also poisonous for the concord between nations. The obvious discrimination of the Russian language compromises the very idea of integrating the post-Soviet states into a civilized world community.

However, knowledge and active use of the Russian language by the majority of the populations in the CIS and Baltic countries is to their big common advantage.

It is worth noting here that some CIS countries are well aware of this fact. Russian is the second state language in Belarus and has the status of the official language in Kyrgyzstan. Under Kazakhstan’s Constitution, “… state organizations and local government bodies use the Russian language on an equal basis with the Kazakh language.” Maintaining high standards of education in the Russian and native languages is promoted by joint universities, which under intergovernmental agreements are active in Kyrgyzstan (the Russian-Kyrgyz Slavic University), Tajikistan (the Russian-Tajik Slavic University) and Armenia (the Russian-Armenian University).

Seeking to ensure the rights of its compatriots abroad, Russia is prepared for a broad dialog with the authorities of all states involved so as to find mutually acceptable solutions. Law-abiding Russians living abroad actually bridge Russia with other nations, promoting friendship and mutually beneficial political, economic and other kinds of interaction. At the same time, it is obvious that violating the fundamental rights of ethnic Russians in this or that country cannot but have negative effects on its relations with the Russian Federation.

Let me stress in particular that Russia’s concern for the rights and freedoms of its compatriots abroad is by no means dictated by the conditions of the political moment. It is Russia’s strategic foreign policy choice, which is part and parcel of the country’s internal transformation. It is no accident that this issue has entered the main agenda of the Russian Foreign Ministry, which has been made to play the role of an interdepartmental coordinating center. In order to achieve the goals set down, the Ministry has established a Department for Russian Compatriots’ Affairs. Work on defining specific lines of operations, including within the sphere of normative and legal acts, is nearing completion. Relevant tasks have been established for our diplomatic missions and consular offices. These maintain close contacts with Russian communities abroad and understand to a high degree the particular problems faced by our fellow countrymen in foreign countries.

Finally, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its offices abroad implement programs worked out by the Russian Government Commission for Compatriots’ Affairs. In 2003, funds appropriated for these programs amounted to 210 million rubles, and they are to be increased by 20 percent in 2004.

The Russian Government prefers not to finance public organizations but to directly channel funds for specific programs and undertakings. It supports Russian communities’ programs which are dedicated to memorable dates in Russian history and culture, and provides assistance in arranging summer recreation for their children in vacation resorts and health centers in Russia. The government also pays for veterans’ medical rehabilitation programs, and provides as much help as possible to socially unprotected compatriots. Any association that unites ethnic Russians abroad is welcome to submit their programs to one of our Russian embassies and consular offices in the CIS and Baltic States; they can be sure to receive our support.

A considerable portion of budget funding goes toward promoting the prestige of Russian culture and the Russian language abroad, as well as helping compatriots preserve other languages and cultural traditions that are native and dear to them. The Russian government takes care to establish solid cultural ties between Russian communities abroad by supporting Russian-language schools, organizing training of Russian literature schoolteachers, and providing schools with textbooks, teaching aids, reference books and other materials. Last year alone, such materials were supplied to schools in the CIS and Baltic States to the tune of over 50 million rubles.

Importantly, financial support for targeted programs also comes from regional governments of the Russian Federation. For instance, the Moscow government has its own program for assisting ethnic Russians living abroad; it allocates more than 160 million rubles for these purposes annually. And of course, it is hard to underestimate the great role that has been traditionally played by the Russian Orthodox Church in uniting Russians living in foreign countries.

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The Russian Federation does not demand any special privileges or benefits for ethnic Russians living abroad. But it firmly insists that they be provided with all human, social, economic, cultural and other rights and freedoms accepted and legally protected in civilized societies.

Regardless of the country where the representatives of “the Russian world” may reside, any steps toward their unity is a strong incentive for strengthening and enriching both Russia and the nations where ethnic Russians happen to live and work.

The Congress of Compatriots from the CIS and Abroad, held in October 2001 in Moscow, clearly demonstrated that the Russian Federation is not negligent of its compatriots living beyond its borders. Russia has proved to be aware of their needs, concerns and difficulties and that it is proud of their achievements and highly values its ties with “the Russian world,” above all, cultural ones. Not all major tasks outlined at the Congress have been accomplished as fast as one might wish. But the desire of the Russian Federation Government and ethnic Russians living abroad to take steps toward each other is obvious.

The Russian diaspora abroad possesses an impressive potential that should be used on a much wider scale in the interests of both our fellow countrymen and Russia itself.