All Peoples of Russian Federation ‘United by Common Moral Principles,’ Putin Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 16 – Despite all differences in religion and ethnicity, “the Russian people and in general all the peoples of Russia,” precisely because “we have lived on the same territory for a long time,” are “united by shared moral and ethical principles,” Vladimir Putin told the Russian Security Council and then Moscow’s Russia One.

            Those principles include “the unity of peoples, a commitment to truth and justice, mutual assistance and patriotism, mercy and humanism, strong families and a love for children,” the Kremlin leader continued (nazaccent.ru/content/44099-vladimir-putin-nazval-cennosti-kotorye-obedinyayut-narody-rossii/ and nazaccent.ru/content/44087-vladimir-putin-my-vystupaem-za-uvazhenie-k-samobytnosti-stran-i-narodov-k-ih-obychayam-i-kulturam/).

            As so often has been the case and thus limiting the usefulness of this particular claim and the list of values he offers, Putin did not discuss the ways in which this list of values sets Russia apart, something that would seem to be required given that almost all peoples on earth at least claim the same ones.  

            But his suggestion does reflect his clear intention to reduce the importance of other values that each of the peoples inside the current borders of the Russian Federation have, including ethnic Russians, although it is likely that the Kremlin leader would deny that.