Karin Bjork

Yesterday it was finally time to meet with one of the political leaders of Russia; Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the communist party and the main opposition leader since the fall of the Soviet Union. A man who filled the whole room with his presence when he walked through the doors. It was obvious this was a man who’s been playing the game of politics for a long time.

After an introduction of his past, Zuyganov made the compulsory anti-american (Bush) jokes and kept on by saying that there is only one way to go for Russia in relations with the west; forward through cooperation. He pointed to a few of the books he’s published, placed in front of us. Especially emphasised was his book of political jokes and he made an attempt to entertain us with a few of them. He talked at great lengths about the Russians suffering in the past, of the country’s glorious history and highlighted some of Stalin’s (according to him) prominent actions in the 1930s.

To me Zuyganov seemed like a man outrun by time and the almost twenty years gone by after the Perestrojka. His populist rhetoric’s about raising the pensions for the elder and how bad Putin is for Russia sounded tired and well repeated, without much substance behind the words. It is not hard to see why he still has a place on Russia’s political stage though. As far as I understood, his party’s voters are mainly elderly people from poor areas, not benefiting from Russia’s transformation to a capitalist market economy. Russia is not the only place in the world where such rhetoric’s strike a chord among certain groups in society. The meeting with Zuyganov can however serve as an important reminder of how hard it can be to get rid of history. A lot of the political actors in Russia have been on the stage since the days when the Soviet Union still existed. To me, it seems like progress requires a new generation, not so bond by history’s ties.

The day continued with a discussion with Lebedev, a journalist and leader of the committee of regional cooperation. An interesting conversation about norms and values of democracy. Once again, the question of importance of stability in Russia was emphasised. It is not the first time during this program we have heard the common Russian view of that first comes stability, then democracy in different contexts. It is hard to understand but put into the context of Russia’s past turbulent 20 years… after talking to a lot of people it seems like there is one and the same problem here as well as in Europe; people feel like their vote and their engagement in politics do not make a difference. That is why it is so great to be around our hosts. All well read, all involved, all trying to make a difference. Like Ira for example, 21 years old and already a member of the Russian public chamber through her engagement. With people like her and the others, I believe there is great hope for Russia’s future.

Wednesday’s first event of the day was a visit to Moscow state university. The whole group once again presented ourselves and asked and took questions in front of a class of first year journalist students (interestingly, out of around 20 students, only one guy). One could not help but being impressed by the ambition and straight-forwardness of many of them. A lot of them emphasised the importance of continuing a dialogue within Russia and took some critical standpoints towards their government but in the end of the day, they were all incredibly proud of their country and its history. After a little more than a week in Russia I have come to understand how extremely important history is to its people. Despite comments from the students that Russia was no longer a great power and had some major issues to deal with, it seemed like they all saw a place for a powerful Russia on the world stage in the future. It seems like people find it difficult to accept that Russia’s days as a superpower is over and then it is not hard to see why people are supporting their current governments attempt to increase its power on the world stage.

I had a chance to talk to one of the students shortly afterwards and asked how Russian students feel about travelling and living abroad. Me being a international student at University of Warwick, UK, with fellow students from every corner of the world, I wanted to know more about the attitude towards going abroad in Russia. The girl replied that she thought it was extremely important to travel to open her eyes to new cultures and different things in the world but that she and her friends could not imagine actually living outside Russia. It was an interesting reply and I wanted to investigate more. All of our hosts that I asked replied the same; Travelling - yes, studying abroad for a short time – maybe, imagine themselves living anywhere else but Russia – definitely not. Coming from Sweden, where patriotism and nationalism is almost as rarely seen as a panda walking down the street, this was something that required more thought. It is evident though, that despite a lot of people’s willingness to criticize their political system, once again; I have never seen people so fond and proud of their country.

The second event of the day was a visit to Gazprom, where we met with the head of the international relations office. My question to him was how he viewed the development towards a common European energy market. The reply was that liberalisation required careful dialogue with all actors involved. He also expressed the view that liberalisation of markets is not always the best way of doing things. According to him, a liberalisation of the European energy market for example raises the questions of which actors that will pay for what, regarding building the infrastructure needed etc. An interesting reply… but not surprising coming from the supplier. To follow the development of EU energy politics over the next few years will most likely be interesting…

A week has gone by since the arrival in Moscow. Today the second week of the program kick-started with a conference at the Russian public chamber. Once again the whole picture of the speakers were unfortunately painted with a broad brush due to my lack of deeper Russian skills. However, what quickly became evident was the contradictions. As far as I understood, all of them promoted cooperation and dialogue with the rest of the world. At the same time they proudly spoke of spreading the Russian language (sometimes even replacing English) around the world. One of the speakers even lifted a warning fingers towards Russians living abroad (in the West…?) to remember their heritage and be careful not to get too assimilated into their new society. One can only ask how far beyond its boundaries a nation can resonably influence its citizens in the 21st century?

After the speakers followed what was without doubt one of the highlights of the program so far. In front of a member of parliament, Tarakanov, and one of Russia’s most famous political journalists/TV hosts/newspaper editors, Maxim Shevchenko we were all motivating and presenting our participation in the “Investigating Russia” program. In a debate that quickly became more and more heated, it once again became clear how contradictionary views there are among political actors in Russia. From one side’s nationalistic advocacy to another’s more critical view. From the latter, a nuanced view, highlighting problems as well as opportunities in the Russian society. From the former, attack seemed to be the best defence. Here my - in the context very European - rhetoric in the debate was opposed by a long line of examples of shortcomings of the West. Some unarguably correct. Others totally taken out of context. A dangerous way of arguing nevertheless… After today it is evident that Western stereotypes of Russian political actors are not hard to find. Therefore it has to be stressed how important it is to highlight all various Russian points of view when discussing its politics in the West.

After the first few days reflections and activities we left Moscow over the weekend. The destination was Vladimir, a historic town 3 hours from the capital. It was a weekend with focus on more informal social activities and bringing the group together. Also a well needed opportunity to wind down from Moscow’s hectic atmosphere. Staying in a lovely chalet, the discussions in front of the fireplace regarding our hopes and expectations for the program certainly brought us all closer. The banja (Russian sauna) in combination with singing karaoke dressed in togas even more so. The different nationalities, experiences and views of the various people attending the program is without doubt creating a dynamic environment for the further exploring and understanding of Russia.

Visiting the historic sights within “the Golden Ring” around Moscow brought remembrance of Russia’s past. Our local guide talked about the haltering of the Mongolian invasion in the 1200th century like it happened last year. People seem to generally know their history and they know it well. We saw churches and cathedrals, one more magnificent than the other, with golden icons as a remembrance of more wealthy times gone by. One can not help to reflect over the importance of history, ancient as well as more recent. The strong public institutions in Russia is a good example. A visit to the police yesterday all to well confirmed how hard history is to simply shake off. It might be almost 20 years since the Berlin wall was torn down, but the hard-line hierarchical structures without many inches of flexibility have been inherited into the present. New institutions are not build over night but one can not help to wonder to which extent things are likely to change. As one of our Russians hosts pointed out, a harsh system is viewed among many Russians as stable, respectable and well-needed to fight corruption. How is trust in society created among people used to centuries of deeply rooted corruption?

Third day in Moscow. Third day on the „Investigating Russia“ program. Third day with new experiences, impressions and thoughts. The language issue is unfortunately becoming a bit frustrating, me being the only one not fluent in Russian. A good reminder of that it is only so far the English language can take you. Especially in this country where people rarely travel across their countrys’ borders.

Today’s program was rather improvised. It started of in the light of the fifteenth anniversary of the signing of the new constitution in 1993, with a new Russia rising from the ashes of the USSR. One could only be astonished by the main event outside the Kreml, which was also the first stop for the day of our program. Hundreds of teenagers, tv crews and journalists had gathered outside the Kreml to witness the crowning of the 2008 “Miss Constitution”. Far from discussions and analyses of the importance of the transition over the past fiftheen years, Russian girls came running on to a stage, one lesser dressed than the other. Is the Russian constitution’s importance best highlighted by the objectification of Russian women?!?!

Our sightseeing tour of the Red square and Kreml blew up in the air (apart from a lovely short guidance of the buiding surrounding us by Elena, one of our hostesses) and we headed for the Pushkin Museum. On recommendation of The Times correspondent we met yesterday, many of us were eager to watch the Jim Turner exhibition. To our surprise the museum was filled with people on a Friday afternoon, most of them of our age! A rare sight in Western Europe… Surrounding the museum, there were majestic views over the city centre. For the first time one got a feeling of the overwhelming history of Russia… can not wait to get a closer look!

The first two days in Russia. How is the impressions of the city, country and people best captured? That is something that is yet to been seen and written but let me start with a few thoughts after the time that has gone by so far. Russia. A country of contradictions. From the warm welcome of our hosts to the harsh reality on the streets of Moscow where a smile is as rarely seen. From the British correspondent at The Times struggling with the gathering of information from the ill known Russian bureaucracy to the media mogul at the Russian state owned public channels. The latter a man with the Russian people at his feet from the power of knowledge and how it is distributed. The former a man trying to give a nuanced picture of the Russian society to the rest of the world despite the obstacles of gaining knowledge to distribute. A convent. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin, giving an amazing speech on the importance of free innovation and entrepreneurism. Dimitri Medev, the Russian president, in his turn talking about the importance of involving the state in innovation. Who will shape Russia’s future and how? The Russian everyday life and reality is something that requires nuanced thinking and analyze. Things taken for granted in the West is often far from the reality in the Russian society. Reality is not black and white. Reality has to be put into a context. Only when one has made an attempt to view different sides of the coin that constitutes our world, judgement can be passed.

Karin Bjork