Chapter 1
The world of Russian compatriots and national historical consciousness

January 2014 witnessed an important development in the life of the Russian historical community and personally for me as the Head of the Russian State University for the Humanities. Together with other participants of the working group on the preparation of a new cultural-historical standard on history for secondary schools, I took part in a meeting in the Kremlin with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Chairman of the Russian Historical Society Sergey Naryshkin, members of the Russian government, heads of historical institutes at the Russian Academy of Sciences, leading university professors of history, history teachers, media, etc. contributed to this discussion. All those present were unanimous in assessing the task facing the historical community as difficult and responsible. In practice, the Concept of a new history standard took considerable effort and generated a lot of controversy that in the end did the Concept a lot of good. ‘Competing history schools are the driver behind new historical knowledge,’ Sergey Naryshkin said.^[10]

The Kremlin meeting definitely stimulated further work, both because the President thanked the participants for their work and civic position, and above all else because the meeting confirmed at the highest state level some very important principles for history academic courses, i. e. objectivity and impartiality, education aimed at bringing up educated citizens who can think for themselves. Vladimir Putin, in particular, stressed the following:

Unified approaches to history academic courses do not mean public, official, and ideological consensus at all. On the contrary, we mean the common logic of teaching history, understanding the inseparability and interconnection of all stages of the development of our state and our statehood, the fact that the most dramatic and controversial events constitute an integral part of our past. Despite all the differences in assessments and opinions, we should treat them with respect, because this is the life of our people, this is the life of our ancestors, and our national history is the basis for our national identity, cultural, and historical code.^[11]

Back then we also discussed some questions related to certain key dates in the Russian history and their approaching anniversaries. They also needed some balanced approaches to complex historical events and phenomena like the 100th anniversary of World War I, the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, the 100th anniversary of the February and October Revolutions. Projects of the Russian History Society, like scientific conferences, exhibitions, new publications concerning the anniversaries of WWI and the Great Victory, the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution received wide media coverage both in Russia and in the Russian community abroad. As far as I can judge, the success of all these projects depended on the fact that they promoted a comprehensive range of ideas and images rather than some commonplace official narrative. This created conditions for a positive intellectual dialogue and laid the foundation of the true patriotism, i. e. understanding of all the complexity and unique features of our national history. In many ways, that is why the response of foreign compatriots, representatives of different countries and generations, was so sincere and massive with exhibitions, meetings, and veteran commemoration events taking place all over the Russian community abroad, from New York to Beijing.

Greater focus on history, history science, and education in the Russian society is quite a natural reaction to Russia affirming its status as a world power. Real patriotism in the best sense of the word is inextricably linked to the knowledge and understanding of the history of one’s Fatherland. I firmly believe that patriotic education is education through knowledge about one’s country, its history, and culture of its peoples, and at the same time, about other peoples and civilizations. Such education is designed to develop a broadly educated and cultured individual, including a habit of tolerant perception of ideas and opinions and different historical experience. It is possible to understand events of the pre-revolutionary and Soviet history in different ways, but it is impossible to deny the hard work and the great feat of the peoples of our country, i. e. the feat of overcoming the trials faced by Russian in the 20^th century. Those who did this were not some abstract entities but real people, someone’s parents and grandparents. The action “Immortal Regiment,” which triumphantly took place throughout the country and in the Russian community abroad in 2015–2016 and has already become our national tradition, has clearly showed it by addressing the historical memory of thousands of real families. Many students and teachers from Russian universities took part in the “Immortal Regiment” campaign, including the Russian State University for the Humanities, Lomonosov Moscow State University, etc. It is also possible that for some of the younger participants, learning about family history has become the first step towards the profession of a historian.

This principle, education through knowledge, is the foundation of the activities of Russian higher education institutions, including RSUH, the firstborn humanitarian university in the modern Russia. It is based on, in my opinion, the main elements of culture and true patriotism, i. e. national history, Russian literature, the wealth of world languages, cultures, and scientific theories. In this context, a scientific and cultural dialogue with the Russian world abroad has become an intrinsic part of the university life, including projects and events designed to restore the true historical past of Russia. For example, on March 4, 2011, RSUH and the Russkiy Mir Foundation held a scientific conference The Great Reforms of 1861 commemorating the 150^th anniversary of the emancipations of serfs in Russia. The University was significantly interested in discussing the modern vision of the issue in the context of shaping the history education concept, including the development of questions for the Unified State Exam on history. Before that, under the auspices of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russkiy Mir Foundation, there was a conference held in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on Great Reforms of Emperor Alexander II as a success story of modernization with the participation of scientists and public leaders from the near and far abroad. It should be noted that the Russian emigre community, especially university and law corporations, laid significant emphasis on the era of the 1860s reforms and saw it as an era of law and civil liberties in the country. Therefore, the intellectual circles in the Russian community abroad paying attention to the history of the Great Reforms in modern Russia was another sign of the unity of historical memory, civilizational community of Russia and the Russian world abroad.

The intellectual heritage of the Russian community abroad has been one of the key elements of the society’s consolidation in creating a new historical consciousness in Russia. It was a consequence of global processes at the turn of the century. The current geopolitical situation has led to the emergence of new trends in the development of world intellectual, information, and cultural processes. The concept of a multipolar world, which is becoming increasingly influential, involves the diversity of civilizations and flourishing national cultures that interact and enrich each other on a constructive basis. Russia’s commitment to these principles of international life was formulated back in 2000 in the “The foreign policy concept of the Russian federation”, which proclaimed Russia’s aspiration “to achieve a multi-polar system of international relations that really reflects the diversity of the modem world with its great variety of interests.”^[12] At the same time, attention to one’s own culture, awareness of one’s unique historical experience and promotion of such values in global media has become one of the prerequisites for strengthening the international influence of a country.

The President of Russia Vladimir Putin in his Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in 2018 noted the growing impact of global processes on the economy and culture of all subjects of international politics and the important role of our country in ensuring a positive vector of global development:

This is a turning period for the entire world and those who are willing and able to change, those who are taking action and moving forward will take the lead. Russia and its people have expressed this will at every defining moment in our history.

As Mr Putin stressed, Russia was consistently developing its foreign policy:

… Our policies will never be based on claims to exceptionalism. We protect our interests and respect the interests of other countries. We observe international law and believe in the inviolable central role of the UN. These are the principles and approaches that allow us to build strong, friendly and equal relations with the absolute majority of countries.^[13]

Highly intensive global cultural dialogue and informational exchange is also taking place between metropolises and the diaspora across the world amplifying their mutual attraction and interest in each other. Ideas of historical, cultural, and civilizational unity, communicated from the metropolis to the diaspora in the media and on the Internet, art, scientific publications exert significant influence on the public opinion of compatriots in communities abroad by actively engaging them in the international diplomatic and cultural dialogue.

Russia in the early 21^st century lays special emphasis on the shaping historical consciousness based on traditional and social values, in particular as a factor of consolidation of the Russian society. It addresses challenges of modernization transit in the context of dramatically increasing global financial, economic, and political competition. In this context, the engagement between Russia and the world of Russian compatriots abroad provides ample opportunities and at the same time contradictions and challenges. They arise from the complex structure and heterogeneity of the Russian community abroad with three main segments: Russian-speaking diasporas of the post-Soviet states (the near abroad); several waves of Russian military, political, and economic emigration in the 1920-1980s and their ancestors (the far abroad). There are also migrants of the 20–21^st century from Russia and other territories of the former USSR living in different countries and regions across the world. Formally, the last group is part of the Far Abroad community, but it has some significant social and moral differences from the “old” emigration.

The cooperation with compatriots abroad in the last quarter of a century (from the 1980-1990s) was the most fruitful and intense in terms of shaping the national historical consciousness of the Russians. This experience can be seen as a qualitatively important and unique in the Russian history, when a diaspora that existed in almost complete isolation from the metropolis for several decades has given its historical Motherland a huge cultural heritage filling some considerable gaps in the social, political, intellectual, spiritual, and artistic development of the country.

In the 20^th