The Federation Council Speaker addressed the 8th World Congress of Russian Compatriots Living Abroad.
Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko took part in the opening of the 8th World Congress of Russian Compatriots Living Abroad.
During the event, which took place in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov read a message of greetings from President Vladimir Putin to the participants. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia also addressed the audience.
On behalf of the Federation Council, Speaker Valentina Matvienko welcomed the participants and guests of the Congress and thanked Russian compatriots living abroad for maintaining close contacts with Russia.
Valentina Matvienko underscored that the Federation Council had supported the proposal to double funding for the Foundation for Supporting and Protecting the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad. “This will enhance the work of foreign human rights centres affiliated with the foundation,” the Speaker added.
The Federation Council Speaker noted that, thanks to the constant efforts put in by the Foreign Ministry, Rossotrudnichestvo, Russian communities abroad, regional authorities, non-profit and educational organisations, Russia has built a unique system for engaging with compatriots across the globe.
“The lawmakers will continue to strengthen the legal framework for developing ties with the Russian communities abroad. The Federation Council, for its part, will make every effort towards this end,” Valentina Matvienko said.
She specifically pointed out that legislators are striving to create the most comfortable conditions for effective women’s cooperation. The efforts included holding the 3rd Assembly of the World Federation of Russian-Speaking Women on the sidelines of the 4th Eurasian Women’s Forum, which was held under the auspices of the Federation Council in St Petersburg. The Eurasian Meeting of Russian Women Compatriots is another high-potential platform. “The third meeting took place in New Delhi in April this year. The fourth one is already being prepared,” Valentina Matvienko said.
The head of the upper chamber of parliament stressed that support for families, motherhood, children and youth is one of the Federation Council’s central priorities.
“We are deeply grateful to our compatriots who held numerous events in their countries of residence this year dedicated to strong families based on traditional principles of loyalty and love. We hope that you will continue to introduce your children and grandchildren to the Russian cultural code, to involve young people in diaspora activities where they will become a driving force strengthening the community, developing and promoting Russian culture. This work becomes especially important as we approach the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, which we will celebrate next year,” Valentina Matvienko said. She called for extensively promoting projects that already enjoy popular appreciation and support, such as the Immortal Regiment or the Train of Memory, adding that new and unconventional formats need to be added, primarily involving the younger generation.
“We all should rally for the cause of protecting the truth about the Soviet fighters’ heroic deeds and combating any falsifications of history, attempts to rehabilitate Nazism and let its crimes be forgotten,” she maintained.
The Federation Council Speaker noted that in recent years, associations of Russian compatriots have been under tremendous pressure in unfriendly countries, a situation that naturally dismays even local citizens in those unfriendly states, let alone people of goodwill around the world.
“The International Russophile Movement was created in 2023, after the idea was put forward at the 2018 Livadia International Humanitarian Forum held under the auspices of the Federation Council. The movement has brought together thousands of foreigners with sincere sympathies for Russia and Russian culture, who are in favour of neighbourly relations with our country and against Russophobia,” the Federation Council Speaker said, suggesting that Russian compatriots should cooperate more actively with foreign Russophiles.
Furthermore, Valentina Matvienko highlighted the need to ensure our compatriots’ right to receive truthful and objective information about events in Russia and abroad. “Without a doubt, it is our sacred duty to help those who want to return to Russia and get degrees, fulfil themselves and develop their talents,” the Federation Council Speaker concluded.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that the Russian state will continue to support compatriots’ aspirations to benefit their historical Motherland, promote its economic growth and social progress, and strengthen its international role. “There is no doubt that our joint efforts will help preserve and increase the creative potential of the Russian world as our legacy for future generations,” he said.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia called on all Russians to cherish the memory of the Motherland and its great past, and to take an active part in shaping its future. “Today, as perhaps never before in recent decades, the country needs us to be together, so that Russia remains a truly sovereign, independent and free country, independently choosing the path of its civilisational development.”
Also attending the 8th World Congress of Russian Compatriots Living Abroad were Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Lilia Gumerova, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy Yelena Perminova, senators of the Russian Federation Vladimir Dzhabarov, Galina Karelova, Sergei Kislyak, Yelena Afanaseva, Bair Zhamsuyev, Daria Lantratova, Lyudmila Skakovskaya, and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin.