Translated material
Valery Fedorov: There is a basis for Russian nationalism and I believe that this will be a great benefit for our state
On January 19, 2005, the Open Economy website published an interview with VTsIOM General Director Valery Fedorov, who believes that the nationalist danger in Russia is exaggerated, and that nationalism will be a great boon for the state.
V. Fedorov stated that the data of the study of the nationalist sentiments of Russians, conducted in November 2004 by VTsIOM, do not coincide with the data of other sociologists.
So, to the question "How should interethnic relations be built in Russia?" , the answers were distributed as follows: 49% believe that Russia is the common home of many peoples, all peoples should have equal rights, no one should have any advantages. 34% of respondents are of the opinion that "Russia is a multinational country, but Russians, being the majority, should have more rights, because they bear the main responsibility for the fate of the country as a whole" and 11% believe that Russia should be a country of Russian people, is supported only those interviewed. V. Fedorov considers the last figure to be a sign of marginality.
Answering indirect questions, the respondents nevertheless noted the growth of nationalist sentiments in society. The demand for a "moderately strict" or even acquittal sentence for skinheads in cases of attacks and murders (only about 29%) demonstrates that the respondents are "afraid to support, consider it impossible for themselves to openly support nationalism" .
Thus, according to V. Fedorov, the survey shows that "there is a rise in tension in the sphere of interethnic relations, it exists, it is noticeable. There is a request from the state to restore order in this area, this request has not disappeared. Although, in general, the majority of our compatriots continues to have a positive attitude towards representatives of other ethnic groups and cultures .
Nationalist sentiments are spreading due to non-traditional behavior and unwillingness to follow Russian customs on the part of "strangers", fear of terrorism, competition in the labor market, control of ethnic groups over the most attractive business segments. However, socio-cultural reasons for the spread of xenophobia are a priority.
In Russia, according to V. Fedorov, nationalism has never been cultivated, although it has always existed. The collapse of the USSR put before the new Russian state the question of creating or searching for some kind of unifying idea. However, "there are not so many unifying principles, and this is a tragedy for a country that is trying to gather strength, trying to defend its own sovereignty, trying not to stay in the third world, but to develop dynamically" . According to the general director of VTsIOM, "some kind of national basis is obligatory for our state, it cannot be absent. We must go through the stage of a national state, which we have never had, because otherwise we simply will not reach the stage where we are today there are many post-industrial states, such as the United States, or many states of Western Europe, which are already entering a post-national situation, when the nation-state is perceived as a passing stage.We have not yet reached the stage of the nation-state, with the developed countries of Europe we are on opposite sides of this concept as a national state. Therefore, objectively, there is a basis for Russian nationalism, moreover, I believe that it will be a great boon for our state. The problem is what forms this nationalism will take. In Russian political vocabulary, this word causes an unambiguously negative perception , we like to talk about patriotism, about love for the motherland.The word "patriotism" is perceived more positively. But a moderate dose of nationalism - pride in one's country, love for one's native language, the desire to develop Russia - if we understand these values by nationalism, then this is what our country needs today. If nationalism is understood as xenophobic antics, such as the persecution of representatives of other races and nationalities, which skinheads do, then this does not fall under the scope of political philosophy, it falls under the scope of the criminal code. And the majority of Russians adhere to this point of view. All other points of view are marginal and semi-underground" .
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