It’s two degrees of separation from a dubious article (excerpted below), published this past Friday in the Moscow Times, to the Facebook page of the “NODA community” (aka OK Russians), who apparently somehow induced the Times to run their thinly disguised advertisement, to the community’s website, which, as you can see (above) is janky to the point of inaccessibility. ||| TRR
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According to reporting in The Moscow Times, up to 1 million people have fled Russia in the wake of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Hailing from a diversity of backgrounds but united by an impassioned opposition to the invasion and unequivocal support for Ukrainian sovereignty, the anti-war Russian diaspora has established itself as a massive force driven by tireless emigres committed to justice.
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Source: “Anti-War Russian Diaspora Emerges as Powerful Force for Justice, Ukrainian Sovereignty,” Moscow Times, 9 June 2023. The emphasis is mine. ||| TRR
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None of the Soviet and immediate post-Soviet emigration waves was able to form a capable diaspora united by shared values and goals. They failed to offer their compatriots who stayed behind a coherent reform program and effective assistance.
What Is To Be Done?
Russia’s latest emigration wave can do better. Since the summer of 2021 the Russian authorities have sharply increased their attacks on independent media. As a result, many media outlets, educational and human rights projects have relocated outside Russia or are in the process of doing so. If all those who have left are able to coordinate their effort, their influence on those remaining in Russia will consolidate. This would disable Putin’s propaganda machine and pave the way for Russia’s democratic transition.
The problem is that all emigrants from Russia are in one way or another poisoned by the Soviet and post-Soviet legacy. The older those émigrés are, the more of this poison they carry. This legacy includes:
- egocentrism and a disinclination to engage in horizontal social connections;
- a low level of trust in people, altruism, and empathy; a disinclination to volunteer or invest in local communities;
- poor development of political culture, including critical thinking skills and media literacy, along with an aversion to participating in political debate (many are exposed to conspiracy theories);
- the prevalence of “survival values” at the expense of “self-expression” and “cooperation” values—in the terminology of the late American social scientist Ronald Inglehart.
Emigrants from Russia (and Belarus) have no experience of living in a liberal democracy. Many of them do not know why it is necessary to be interested in politics, to participate in political and civil life.
Living in a liberal democracy, even for a long time, does not automatically create a liberal democratic mindset. The high level of support for right-wing nationalist parties demonstrated by emigrants from the USSR who have been living in Germany for decades is testament to that. A certain disregard for the local culture exhibited by some of the Russians who have fled to Georgia and Armenia runs in the same vein. An ingrained imperial arrogance is not easily eradicated from one’s way of thinking. Many cannot accept responsibility for the emergence of a dictatorial regime in Russia and the war it unleashed.
Changing habits of mind requires a lot of work. Russian-language educational programs aimed at the new migrants could help in that direction. These programs might consist of two parts. The first would focus on national specifics, on mastering the culture, literature, history, traditions, and customs of the host country. The second part would be more universal and would provide an introduction to political theory, philosophy, and social sciences, civic education, critical thinking, women’s rights, environmental and media literacy. All this could be done through training courses and seminars, debates, printed handouts, Instagram stories—all forms are good. In parallel, communities would be expected to emerge in which people were connected and could provide social support to one another.
If the new Russian emigration succeeds in organizing projects of this kind, then we can be somewhat optimistic about the future of Russia. For Russians, even well-educated ones, cultivating the skills of living in a democracy and social solidarity is long overdue.
