Some problem issues are going to be discussed, as well. But I think that compatriots should think how they can be useful for Russia in the modern difficult world.
– Have you met any interesting experience of such compatriots’ work during the year you spent as the Chairman of the World Coordination Council of Russian Compatriots Abroad?
– Certainly, diaspora’s representatives in every corner of the world have their own achievements and in this respect, I’d not highlight any country or a coordination council – they all work to their full extent. But we heard the same idea at many conferences, some of them supported the one that I told about a year ago: that we should attract the expert society to compatriots activities. We have already organized small schools, celebrated religious festivals, holidays and memorable dates. There are still many our compatriots with high competences, but who are still not involved in compatriots associations’ activities. This issue has been discussed in all the parts of the Russian World. I think, we are going to start working in this direction.
We want to suggest them an opportunity to place information about them in a special electronic platform. It will be interesting for them, too. People from Russian business and state authorities will be able to address them. At the same time, we will be able to understand what representatives of the expert society are engaged in what spheres in different countries of the world. It can be Russian doctors, artists, scientists, consultants and lawyers.
– You have been living in Chana for many years now. What is the Russian diaspora like in this country now?
– China is a unique country in a sense – it was one of the main centers of the first Russian emigration. Harbin, Shanghai and Beijing have given shelter to many Russian refugees, who ended up here after the Civil war. What comes to Harbin – it was almost a Russian city; by the time of October Revolution in 1917, many Russian compatriots, who were connected with the Chinese-Eastern Railroad, lived here. But history sometimes turns cartwheels: most of those people run from Bolshevists and when communists headed by Mao Zedong came to power in 1949 in China, many of them decided to run farther. Many circumstances pushed them to do so – thus, a word leaked about emigrant’s arrests organized by SMERSH after our troops came into Manchukuo. So, almost all the Russian emigration moved out of China at the end of 1940s - beginning of 1950s and by the beginning of the cultural revolution in, for example, Shanghai, only few Russians remained.
The new wave of emigration emerged after 1989 – after Mikhail Gorbachev’s visit to China and met the leader of the country Deng Sao Ping. They announced resuming our relations and improving their level. Starting from that moment, students started visiting China and many of them stayed there. After that, businessmen started moving there – the trade exchange in 1990s was quite active between our countries. It can be said that all the current diaspora has a professional character – people made China their profession and they feel quite well here. We should appreciate the Chinese in this sense – they treat foreigners kindly and especially Russians.
– What comes saving the Russian language - do representatives of the current diaspora want their children to study Russian?
– Recalling the history of the first emigration wave, which ended up in the Celestial Empire – everyone noted, that precisely its people saved the Russian language best of all. Apparently, it was because the Chinese civilization differs from the European one too much and saving the Russian language here is easier than, for instance, in the US. So even now, the children of Russian people, have quite a good command of the Russian language. Children of mixed marriages do sometimes have problems. We have been doing one thing lately – we’ve been creating small weekend schools, where children can study Russian.
– Do Chinese people – especially young ones – do they have an interest for learning the Russian language? We know, Russian used to be very popular, is it still popular?
– English is certainly the first one, as it is everywhere in the world. But still, the situation with learning the Russian language is better than it might be. I saw such a period at the end of 1990s myself, when in some universities, where they used to teach Russian, it was decided to close Russian language departments. However, for example, in Shanghai they had three universities with Russian studies, and they are still there. So, I would not say they have made any serious steps forward in teaching the Russian language, but we have at least saved some achievements.
– Do Chinese students come to Russia to study?
– In general, they do more and more, all the more so if we take into account the currency exchange rate – studying in Russia has become quite attractive from the financial point of view. In addition, there is a number of universities, which tries to give its advertisement in China – for example, the Far-Eastern Federal University. Many Chinese students want to go to Moscow and Saint Petersburg to study, as do Russian students come to China. So, such an exchange is always going on.
