The measure of things

Last week, on Thursday and Friday, in Perm, the International Forum “Russia in the Global World”, organized by the Moscow school of political research and its permanent leader Elena Mikhailovna Nemirovskaya, worked.

The legendary Ombudsman Alvaro Khil-Robble, the German ambassador to Russia Ulrich Brandenburg and many other foreign experts, as well as recognized Russian experts-Yuri Senokosov, Alexey Kara-Murza, Fedor Lukyanov flew about modern political trends in Perm.

Within two days, there was a difficult conversation about the importance of democracy, the role of civil society and human responsibility.

I spoke at the opening of the forum and, addressing Alvaro Hil-Robes, said that I admire Spain and the Spaniards, who, 30 years after the death of Franco from the “forgotten angle” of Europe, entered the family of the most advanced and developed countries of the continent. Now I want to come to Spain, I want to live in Spain, Spain wants to love.

You involuntarily begin to compare our 20 years that have passed since the collapse of the communist regime. Where did we come?

20 years ago, in 1991, everyone in Russia would like Europeans. Then it seemed that Europe is when there are many products in stores, you can vote for whoever you want and go abroad when you want. Now all these conditions are met, but we have not become Europeans, and the quality of life in the country still leaves much to be desired.

What is the matter? And the point, apparently, is that we did not go through the stage of value rethinking in Russia, which was done in Europe immediately after the Second World War. In fact, we often do not think about what kind of worldview Europe made in the first decades after the war. In 1945, Europeans were still enthusiastically killed each other, and already in 1957 the European Economic Community was created, which simply would not appear on the map without mutual respect and trust. Since 1957, Europeans have been sure that they will never kill each other again, that they do not need huge military expenses, borders and army.

In literally 12 years, hatred grew into mutual trust. What is the matter here? And the point, probably, is in values, in cultural codes and internal senses.

Dignity, self -esteem, responsibility are not empty words, but the basic elements of modern European civilization.

How do we move there? First of all through culture, of course. That is why for the first time in the 20-year history of the Moscow School of Political Studies, an art exhibition was organized as part of its educational events. And this could happen only in Perm - in a city standing on the threshold of a European worldview choice.

The exhibition was organized by the Perm Art Gallery and the Moscow curator Evgeny Barabanov. The name of the exhibition is “the measure of things. The image of a person in Russian art. " The exhibition is going on now, anyone can see it in the halls of our gallery.

It is especially important that the exhibition is 100 percent Perm and collected from the bell borriers. Considering the work, you understand that a person passes a red thread through all Russian art. Even the famous Perm wooden gods are not just anthropomorphic, they are also deeply humanistic. Russian art, as it were, says: “We are also Europe. Let's be Europeans. ”

What is not enough for us to become Europe not only geographically, but also mentally? The answer is in the topic of the exhibition, which sounds like "freedom and dignity." The past twenty years, apparently, was not enough for both the first and second. And how many more decades will it take to find a person?