On May 9, the President of Kyrgyzstan in his speech voiced a contradictory version of the origin of the Kyrgyz people and criticized migrant phobia in Russia.
On Victory Day, President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev gave a speech that differs from traditional speeches by heads of state in honor of memorable dates.
Atambayev spoke for more than twenty minutes. For comparison, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech on this issue lasted eight minutes.
The speech of the Kyrgyz President began with a mention that 72 years ago, victory became possible thanks to the joint efforts of many peoples of the world. First of all, thanks to the courage and heroism of the peoples of 15 republics Soviet Union, their cohesion and military brotherhood.
He especially noted the kindness of the Kyrgyz people who received the evacuees and deported peoples during the war years.
“Hundreds of thousands of evacuees from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, as well as deported citizens, found shelter and care in the homes of Kyrgyzstanis. And ordinary Kyrgyz families shared their last piece of bread and clothing with them. Many refugees found their second homeland in the region of Ala-Too for the rest of their lives, orphans found new parents…” Atambaev said in his speech.
“Russia is our historical ancestral home”
The Kyrgyz, according to the President of Kyrgyzstan, come from Siberia and Altai.
“For us, Kyrgyz, Russia is our historical ancestral home. For every Kyrgyz, the words Manas, Altai, Enesai are sacred…” he said.
In his opinion, the same language group with the Kyrgyz language includes a number of languages of peoples living in the Russian Federation: Tatars, Bashkirs, Khakassians, Tuvans.
“The word “Siberia” comes from the Kyrgyz “Shiber - a place rich in grass”, Baikal - “Baikol - a rich lake”, Yenisei - “Enesai - Mother River”. And the Ural River was previously called Zhaiyk, Yaik - “wide,” the president continued the historical excursion, repeating the controversial hypotheses of individual scientists, which are not taken seriously in Kyrgyzstan.
Atambayev emphasized that many great citizens of Russia have distant ancestors from the Altai family of peoples.
“Their names clearly demonstrate this: Karamzin, Aksakov, Turgenev, Yesenin, Ushakov, Kutuzov. Among modern ones, I can name such surnames as Naryshkin, Shoigu, Kara-Murza and others.”
Criticized Zatulin for migrant phobia
The President of Kyrgyzstan then switched to Russian and changed the topic to the explosion in the metro in St. Petersburg.
“Why did I decide to remind you of this again today? “To our deepest regret, in recent years in Russia the voices of those who incite xenophobia and enmity between our fraternal peoples have become increasingly heard,” Atambayev said.
The President of Kyrgyzstan named the famous Russian writer Mikhail Weller and Russian State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin, accusing them of supporting xenophobia.
To Zatulin, the President recalled his calls to take harsh measures against migrants and the fact that he called people from Kyrgyzstan strangers who are not among the peoples historically living in Russia.
The President countered Zatulin’s statements in absentia, adding that “it’s more likely that their ancestors, judging by their surnames, arrived in Russia either from the deserts of Palestine or from the forests of Europe.”
“If the main suspect in the St. Petersburg terrorist attack turned out to be an Uzbek from the Kyrgyz city of Osh, there is no need to blame all Uzbeks and Kyrgyz for this. After all, he was a citizen of Russia, like his father. And from the age of 16 he lived in Russia! Perhaps it was xenophobia and skinheads that pushed him to extremism,” the president emphasized.
Advised to study with Putin
Atambayev advised Russian politicians to learn from their President Vladimir Putin to combat manifestations of racism and xenophobia.
“The strength of Great Russia was and is in the unity of all nations and nationalities inhabiting Russia. And for this it is necessary to fight any manifestations of racism and xenophobia. And in this, Russian politicians need to learn from Russian President Vladimir Putin,” said the head of Kyrgyzstan.
Atambayev spoke like this before
This is not the first time the President of Kyrgyzstan has made an unexpectedly emotional speech during a gala event.
On August 31, on the day of the 25th anniversary of Kyrgyzstan’s independence, he criticized his former comrades - members of the Provisional Government.
Indignant at opponents on the issue of changing the country's Constitution, Atambayev called ex-president Roza Otunbayeva an “imposter.” As a sign of protest, she left the podium on the main square of the country, where Atambayev was speaking.
In his speech, the president mentioned Omurbek Tekebaev, Arzimbek Beknazarov, and a number of others, accusing them of looting and causing harm to the people of Kyrgyzstan. He also called individual parties "stinking" and party leaders "looters."
Although the president did not name a specific party at the time, it was clear that he was talking about Ata Meken.
After this speech, pressure on the opposition forces increased, several prominent members of the Ata Meken party were arrested, including its permanent leader Omurbek Tekebaev.
In a speech on the eve of March 8, the President of Kyrgyzstan criticized famous human rights activists Aziza Abdurasulova and Tolekan Ismailova. He called them grant eaters and accused them of being ready to harm the country in order to earn their grants.
They filed a lawsuit against Atambaev, suing for two million soms (about 30 thousand US dollars).
Two court instances did not satisfy the claims; human rights activists are demanding a review of the case in Supreme Court and declared their readiness to appeal to the UN Committee to achieve justice.
Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Konstantin Zatulin published a response to Almazbek Atambayev’s speech on his official website.
In it Zatulin stated: “ It is important that they are trying to pass off the words and intentions attributed to me as evidence of disrespect of representatives Russian society to the Kyrgyz people and their participation in the common victory over the enemy in the Great Patriotic War. It's a lie».
The Russian politician noted that the program to which Atambayev referred was aired before the terrorist attack in St. Petersburg, and he did not speak out against any people. " The program by Vladimir Solovyov, to which Mr. Atambaev refers, aired on the Rossiya channel on March 15 this year. No one knew then that more than two weeks later, on April 3, a Russian citizen, a native of Kyrgyzstan, would detonate a bomb in the St. Petersburg metro. Accordingly, in the discussion Solovyov had no reason for the hysteria that Almazbek Atambaev accuses me of unleashing. The program, by the way, was devoted to a discussion of the bills I introduced to the State Duma aimed at simplifying the acquisition of Russian citizenship by “native speakers of the Russian language” - that human category that appeared in our citizenship legislation on the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is obvious that many Kyrgyz can apply for this status and, subsequently, for Russian citizenship"- writes Zatulin.
Konstantin Zatulin wrote that “the nickname “strangers,” and even more so the call for “tough measures against any of our former Soviet fellow citizens” are completely absent from his “lexicon, political and scientific practice.” " Where did Mr. President of Kyrgyzstan get this from?“, he asks.
At the same time, the Russian parliamentarian recalled that “ not many years have passed since Almazbek Atambayev was in opposition and persecuted by the current government of the Republic.” “When things got really bad, at his request, we invited him to the Institute of CIS Countries in Moscow in order to confirm the respect he enjoys in Russia by the fact of a public meeting", he writes.
The president Almazbek Atambaev in his congratulatory speech on May 9, he noted the significant contribution of the Kyrgyz people to the victory in World War II.
In addition, the head of state expressed regret that “ in recent years in Russia the voices of those who incite xenophobia and enmity between our fraternal peoples have become increasingly heard»:
- Several years ago, the famous Russian writer Mikhail Weller, in an interview with the Rosbalt agency, actually supported skinheads, saying that, they say, they simply unconsciously take on the functions of protecting Russian state. That is, by killing hundreds of defenseless people, including children, skinheads, it turns out, are protecting the interests of Russia. And after the recent tragedy in St. Petersburg, when a terrorist blew up a subway car, killing and maiming dozens peaceful people, some Russian politicians and media literally unleashed hysteria against migrants from Kyrgyzstan. Thus, deputy of the State Duma of Russia Konstantin Zatulin, on the air of the state TV channel "Russia-1", called for tough measures against migrants from Kyrgyzstan, justifying this by the fact that, they say, the Kyrgyz are strangers, they are not among the peoples historically living in Russia. I am sincerely grateful to the host of that program, Vladimir Solovyov, for his worthy answer to Mr. Zatulin.
President Atambayev noted that the Kyrgyz are not strangers to Russia, they “are natives of Siberia, Altai and belong to big family Altai peoples, to the heirs of the great Altai civilization":
- That is, it is not for the Zatulins and Wellers to say that the Kyrgyz are alien to Russia. Rather, it is their ancestors, judging by their surnames, who arrived in Russia either from the deserts of Palestine or from the forests of Europe.
A multi-faceted issue
The controversy caused in society different opinions. There are points of view according to which the president spoke sharply out of grief about the unfair treatment of migrant workers in Russia. This opinion is also shared by the Chairman of the Assembly of the People of Kyrgyzstan Tokon Mamytov:
- After the terrorist attack, for some reason, some part of Russian society, especially in television programs, began to focus on the citizens of Kyrgyzstan. The Russian deputy also noted this incorrectly. Therefore, I believe that the president responded correctly to the words of some Russian politicians.
Professor of the European University of St. Petersburg, ethnographer Sergey Abashin believes that the issue of migration cannot be approached one-sidedly:
- I think that the Russian government, Russian authorities heterogeneous. It consists of many different groups interests. Let's put it this way: they look at the problem of migration differently. And especially - on the problem of migration from countries Central Asia. There are groups that say that we need migration, without migration we will not move anywhere, it needs to be regulated, of course, there is nothing wrong with that. In particular, there is nothing wrong with migration from Central Asia. We have a long-standing relationship with this country, it is better than migration from China, but relatively speaking. There are interest groups that think that we don’t need migration, that migration is dangerous, that it brings different problems, risks, including terrorism, some cultural habits, that it annoys people, and so on.
Kyrgyz political scientist Emil Juraev in turn, he believes that the president should have paid attention to this sensitive problem from a different angle:
- Of course, you hear about the attitude towards migrants, the pressure that the president spoke about. But communicating such problems in the right direction and in the right words- big deal. Because now in politics, in political communications, every word, every intonation means a lot. Often the right question is perceived incorrectly because of some little thing.
An explosion in the St. Petersburg metro that killed 16 people occurred on April 3. It was reported that the main suspect in the terrorist attack is a native of Kyrgyzstan, a citizen of Russia. After this, several more immigrants from Central Asian countries were detained in the Russian Federation, and control over labor migrants was strengthened.
According to unofficial data, more than 570 thousand citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic work in Russia, and according to unofficial information, there are about 1 million of them there.
Member of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan Azamat Arapbaev stated that in a few years the country would become the second state language should become not Russian, but English. He noted that great importance must be given to this issue.
According to Arapbaev , in-depth study in English will allow Kyrgyzstan to become one of the English-speaking countries in seven years. This, as he noted, will give citizens of the country the opportunity to work not in Russia, but in the European Union.
Let us recall that during the solemn ceremony at the Eternal Flame, on May 9, the head of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambaev instead of the usual words, he suddenly began retelling Russian media in detail, admiring the TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov and harshly criticize a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Konstantina Zatulina. Just think about it, Atambaev at the Eternal Flame is retelling Solovyov’s show. After this, he declares that “Baikal”, “Yenisei”, “Siberia” are originally Kyrgyz territories, and Russia itself, take a breath, is the ancestral home of the Kyrgyz. Naturally, Atambayev’s speech does not stop there. He goes on to say that Kutuzov, Karamzin, Aksakov, Turgenev, Yesenin, Kara-Murza are of Kyrgyz origin.
And if you can still laugh at the above, then the next part of his statement completely erases the smile from his face. Atambayev recalled the recent terrorist attack in the St. Petersburg metro. Let us remind you that, according to the investigation, the perpetrator of this terrible crime is considered to be an ethnic Uzbek originally from the Kyrgyz Republic. Osha Akbarjon Jalilova. “Perhaps it was xenophobia and skinheads that pushed him to extremism,” said the President of Kyrgyzstan.
The President of Kyrgyzstan comes up with phrases like “you came from us,” “you live in our ancestral territories,” “our children are exploding in your subway because you brought them to this point.” Such statements can be heard from a country that is hostile to our state. But Kyrgyzstan is not an enemy of Russia. So why did Atambaev make such a not at all funny, even Russophobic speech? To this question the correspondent Federal News Agency answered by a political analyst at the Institutional Development Fund civil society"Public Diplomacy" Evgeny Valyaev.
“25 years have passed since the state former USSR live in their privatized apartments. It is worth recognizing that the CIS was never able to become a successor to the format of Soviet relations between former republics. main reason that the CIS format makes virtually no sense at this historical stage - these are the nation-building processes that are taking place in every state of the former Soviet Union. And if in the Baltic countries this process was completed extremely quickly, then Transcaucasia, Central Asia, as well as the Slavic neighbors did not immediately move on to this process, but they are going through it quite painfully not only for themselves, but also for Russia,” Valyaev explained.
According to the expert, it is worth recognizing that in any state of the former USSR, nation-building took place and is taking place with damage to the interests of the Russian Federation. This is due, first of all, to the fact that nation-building necessarily implies the negation of the previous national-cultural format of statehood. But whatever one may say, even in the Soviet Union there was not some fictitious internationalist, but a very specific Russian cultural unifying core. And when the former Soviet republics begin to build their own, this requires a new national idea and new national myths. In them, the importance of Russia is either ignored, or, what is much worse, the “new national idea” is opposed to us.
“We see the most severe format of nation-building, which borders on Russophobia, in Lithuania and Latvia, and more recently in Ukraine. But various manifestations of oblivion of the Russian language and Russian culture also occur among our other neighbors, who are even included in the new integration formats of interstate cooperation of the former Soviet republics. We regularly see news about the renaming of Russian toponyms and the downgrading of the status of the Russian language, even in our super-friendly Kazakhstan. The president Nursultan Nazarbaev he is even going to translate the national language from Cyrillic to Latin. The speech of the President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev, which he delivered on the occasion of the celebration of May 9 in the republic, is also striking in its content. It’s great that May 9 is important in Kyrgyzstan Public Holiday, and the president’s speech can be read on his website in Russian, which is the official language in Kyrgyzstan according to the constitution. But even in this speech, which, I am sure, Atambayev himself considers very friendly to Russia, one can see the germs of the nation-building process that is taking place in our friendly Kyrgyzstan,” Valyaev said.
According to the expert, President Atambayev’s discussion of positions in a solemn speech on the occasion of Victory Day Mikhail Weller And Konstantina Zatulina on migration issues, whom he accuses of supporting skinheads, looks rather comical. But when Atambayev accuses Russia of the fact that it was our “Russian xenophobic environment” that made Akbarjon Jalilov, a native of Kyrgyzstan, a terrorist who sympathizes with the ideology banned in the Russian Federation “ Islamic State» 1, then the comedy of the situation quickly evaporates somewhere. Although it is no secret that many people from Kyrgyzstan are fighting in the ranks of ISIS 1. Blaming Russia for the fact that it is its environment that spoils the Kyrgyz youth - such logic undoubtedly has signs of Russophobia.
“By the way, Atambayev also decided on the national idea. In his speech, he called Kyrgyzstan the heir to the “great Altai civilization,” to which, it turns out, many Russian toponyms, many famous Russian scientists and cultural figures, and most importantly, Russian lands belong. In general, there is myth-making, which has something in common only with folk history. When such theories are promoted by marginal social activists, it looks comical and harmless. After all, even in Russia, in each of our national republics there are followers of various comical, although often Russophobic theories. For example, in Tatarstan, the story of the “Golden Horde” may be highly popular among local nationalists, when modern “Golden Horde” lobby to change the history of Russia so that the Horde will no longer be enemies of the Russians. But when such speeches, filled with historical myths and fictions, are made by the first person of the state, you feel uneasy,” Evgeniy Valyaev is sure.
According to the analyst, Russian officials and specifically, representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry rarely publicly criticize the behavior and statements of our post-Soviet friends. The fact is that in relation to the friendly CIS republics, Russia has a “soft power” policy, which should promote Russia’s interests in these states. The Russian Federation has specific interests - for these states to remain friendly to us in international relations, as well as in our cultural and linguistic space. But if for the first goals the leaders of our neighbors are accustomed to receiving concrete and tangible benefits in the form of debt write-offs and new lines of credit, then the second goals contradict the very principle of nation-building. Therefore, Russia’s “soft power” processes are seriously hampered and are opposed in the CIS member states.
“We come to the conclusion that the promotion of cooperation with our neighbors in the field of culture, art and education must take place under important government control. And if there are violations of agreements, when there is pressure on the Russian language and culture, when Russians are forced to renounce their identification, these cases require a tough reaction from the top officials of the state. These countries are completely dependent on Russia - that's a fact. Therefore, we should not ask, but demand that the processes of nation-building in these countries are not opposed to Russia and Russians, our history and culture,” summed up Evgeniy Valyaev.
1 The organization is prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation.
10:33 — REGNUM
Speaking on May 9 in Bishkek at a rally dedicated to the 72nd anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev criticized individual politicians and public figures in Russia for allegedly whipping up “hysteria” towards migrants from Kyrgyzstan.
Verbatim, in particular: “State Duma Deputy Konstantin Zatulin, on the Rossiya-1 TV channel, called for tough measures against migrants from Kyrgyzstan, justifying this by the fact that the Kyrgyz are strangers, they are not among the peoples historically living in Russia.” The President of Kyrgyzstan, without any hesitation, suggested that the ancestors of Mikhail Weller and Konstantin Zatulin, whom he accused, “arrived in Russia either from the deserts of Palestine or from the forests of Europe.”
This is what the deputy considers necessary to say about this State Duma Russia and long-term head of the Institute of CIS Countries Konstantin Zatulin:
It is regrettable that the head of a state allied with Russia uses the podium on Victory Day to settle some propaganda scores. Whether he himself or his tipsters distorted and distorted my statements and the reasons for them is not so important. It is important that they are trying to pass off the words and intentions attributed to me as evidence of disrespect of representatives of Russian society for the Kyrgyz people and their participation in the common victory over the enemy in the Great Patriotic War. It's a lie. And just because it was uttered from the mouth of the President of the Republic himself, it does not cease to be a lie.
The program by Vladimir Solovyov, to which Mr. Atambaev refers, aired on the Rossiya channel on March 15 of this year. No one knew then that more than two weeks later, on April 3, a Russian citizen from Kyrgyzstan would detonate a bomb in the St. Petersburg metro. Accordingly, in the discussion Solovyov had no reason for the hysteria that Almazbek Atambaev accuses me of unleashing. The program, by the way, was devoted to a discussion of the bills I introduced to the State Duma aimed at simplifying the acquisition of Russian citizenship by “native speakers of the Russian language” - that human category that appeared in our citizenship legislation on the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It is obvious that many Kyrgyz can apply for this status and, subsequently, for Russian citizenship. And they claim. I can’t say that everyone in Russia likes this; there are people who believe that the path of people from Central Asia you need to put up a barrier. I am precisely against any such discrimination - it is not in the Russian tradition, especially since we are involved in a common integration project with Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan - Eurasian Union. And I spoke about this in Vladimir Solovyov’s program.
Another thing is that with the collapse of the former Union - the USSR - we, with many Soviet peoples found themselves in different states, in different fatherlands. AND Russian Law“On state policy towards compatriots abroad” does not concern, in my opinion, those nations - Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Tajik, Turkmen, Latvian, Estonian, etc., which acquired their national-state self-determination after 1991 and are not treated as as a rule, to the number of peoples historically living on the territory of the modern Russian Federation. Let me emphasize - peoples, and not individual representatives of them, who have the right to seek Russian citizenship as native speakers of the Russian language, natives of the territory Russian Empire or Soviet Union, family members or alumni Russian universities who wish to stay in Russia. I also said all this in Vladimir Solovyov’s program and I don’t see how I sinned against Mr. Atambaev’s compatriots and himself. The nickname “strangers,” and even more so the call for “harsh measures” against any of our former Soviet fellow citizens, are completely absent from my vocabulary, political and scientific practice. Where did Mr. President of Kyrgyzstan get this from?
The day after the terrorist attack on April 3, in the “First Studio” program on Channel One, when our society was so agitated by the question “why?”, it was I who said that it was impossible to imagine that any of the Kyrgyz veterans of the Great Patriotic War, whom we greeted in the stands of the festive Parade on Red Square, could have been somehow involved in an atrocity that has no name. That Russophobia in Central Asia has no historical roots.
I don’t think that the conversations in Moscow television studios in those days passed by the authorities of Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan, given such and such a reason for interest in everything said on Russian television. I am even more offended by the public denunciation of disrespect for veterans and the memory of the Great Patriotic War, which was just heard from Bishkek.
Just in time for the memory of the respected President of Kyrgyzstan, I have questions. Not many years have passed since Almazbek Atambayev was in opposition and persecuted by the current authorities of the Republic. When things got really bad, at his request, we invited him to the Institute of CIS Countries in Moscow in order to confirm the respect he enjoys in Russia by the fact of a public meeting. And when the “either-or” question was being resolved - during the culmination of the struggle between the former President Bakiyev and his political opponents - it was to me, whose “ancestors came from the forests of Europe”, that Mr. Atambayev’s fellow countryman Andrei Belyaninov turned to - to sound the alarm and don't let your friend be repressed. Which is what I did.
Or maybe the “chief ethnographer” of Kyrgyzstan thinks that it was my ancestors who came out of the “sands of Palestine”? How, for example, are the ancestors of the Armenian Kara-Murza family from Altai?
I'm waiting for new revelations.
Konstantin Zatulin - Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation
The speech of the President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev on May 9, 2017 in Bishkek at a requiem meeting on the occasion of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War caused a great resonance in society and numerous discussions: what did President Atambayev want to say, what was his main message, who was it intended for and why?
Readers are offered a short analysis of the public reaction to the president's speech.
It’s hard to call President Atambayev’s speech too unexpected. People in Kyrgyzstan are already accustomed to a peculiar, often emotional manner public speaking President at various celebrations or events covered by the media. As a rule, Atambayev’s speeches, in which he expresses his own understanding of certain issues, are very vigorously discussed. A wide range of assessments and opinions is, on the one hand, confirmation of the presence of pluralism of opinions in the country. On the other hand, this is evidence of the division of society and, so to speak, the lack of national consensus on the most important issues of the history and spiritual culture of Kyrgyzstan, the prospects for the development of the state, the current state of society, our relations with our neighbors and foreign countries, etc.
So, on May 9 of this year in Kyrgyzstan there were no special expectations from the president’s speech at the gala event marking the 72nd anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. However, this time the president’s speech received a much greater resonance in the information space not only within Kyrgyzstan, but also beyond its borders, in particular in Russia. Why?
Xenophobia and migrant phobia are fueled by some Russian politicians And public figures
The fact is that in his speech at the requiem meeting in honor of Victory Day in Bishkek, President Atambayev harshly criticized specific Russian personalities, practically accusing them of inciting ethnic hatred, xenophobia and hysteria about labor migrants from Kyrgyzstan. In his speech, the president noted the contribution of the Kyrgyz people to the victory in the Second World War, the heroism of the citizens of Kyrgyzstan who fought at the front and worked in the rear, and the huge losses suffered by the republic in the war. In particular, he emotionally said that almost the entire adult male population of the republic was mobilized for the war, while a third of those who went to war did not return home. The President emphasized that during the war years, Kyrgyzstan accepted hundreds of thousands of refugees from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, as well as deported citizens.
Against this background, Atambayev noted with great regret that in today’s Russia the voices of xenophobes are increasingly heard, who are trying to incite hostility between Russia and Kyrgyzstan.
President Atambayev gave two examples, which, in his opinion, indicate that hostility in Russia, the attitude towards migrants from Kyrgyzstan is deliberately fueled by individual political and public figures. He noted an interview many years ago by the Russian writer Mikhail Weller with the Rosbalt agency, in which he allegedly justified skinheads, claiming that they unknowingly perform the functions of protecting the Russian state. The second example was the speech of Russian State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin regarding migrants from Kyrgyzstan. According to Almazbek Atambayev, a Russian deputy on the state television channel “Russia-1” called for tougher measures against migrants from Kyrgyzstan, “justifying this by the fact that, they say, the Kyrgyz are strangers, they are not among the peoples historically living in Russia.” The President of Kyrgyzstan said that after the recent terrorist attack in the St. Petersburg metro, which killed 16 people, and the main suspect turned out to be a native of Kyrgyzstan, who had already received Russian citizenship, an Uzbek by nationality, Akbarzhon Jalilov, certain politicians and a number of media outlets literally unleashed hysteria against migrants from Kyrgyzstan.
President Atambayev spoke categorically that terrorism has no nationality. "Every family has its black sheep. In any nation there are scoundrels and there are heroes. But you cannot judge the people as a whole by Hitler or Chikatilo, by Breivik or Tkach,” noted Almazbek Atambayev.
The Kyrgyz in Russia are not strangers, Russia is the historical ancestral home of the Kyrgyz...
The part of the president’s speech deserves special attention in which he tries to “prove” that the Kyrgyz are not strangers in Russia, since Russia is their historical ancestral home. He claims that historically the Kyrgyz lived in Siberia, that the Yenisei, Altai and Manas are inextricably linked for every Kyrgyz. According to President Atambayev, the Kyrgyz are a related people to the ethnic groups living in the Russian Federation, in particular to the Tatars, Bashkirs, Khakassians and Tuvans. As “proof”, President Atambaev offers his interpretation of the origin of such words as “Siberia”, “Baikal”, “Yenisei” from the Kyrgyz words “shiber” (place rich in grass), “bai-kol” (rich lake), “energy” sai" (mother river). According to Atambayev, many great citizens of Russia have Altai roots, as evidenced by their surnames. Among these “Altaians” were Karamzin, Aksakov, Turgenev, Yesenin, Ushakov, Kutuzov, as well as modern figures - Naryshkin, Shoigu, Kara-Murza and others. “Our people remember their roots and will always be close to fraternal Russia, including in difficult days for it, as we already showed during the Great Patriotic War,” said Almazbek Atambayev. Continuing the theme, the Kyrgyz president expresses his conviction that the strength and power of Russia lies in the unity of all the peoples inhabiting it, and in the irreconcilable struggle against xenophobia and racism. At the same time, he cites President Vladimir Putin as an example that other Russian politicians should follow.
Against xenophobia, but with xenophobia?
Of course, it is important to note the “third” part of President Atambayev’s information message. It's about that while accusing Weller and Zatulin of inciting ethnic hatred in Russia and spurring xenophobic sentiments, Almazbek Atambayev suddenly makes an attack with a hint of the nationality of these individuals. He said in particular: “...it’s not for the Zatulins and Wellers to say that the Kyrgyz are alien to Russia. Rather, it is their ancestors, judging by their surnames, who arrived in Russia either from the deserts of Palestine or from the forests of Europe.” This attack against Weller and Zatulin in in social networks Kyrgyzstan has been subject to strong criticism. President Atambayev's words were perceived as a clear contradiction of his main message against xenophobia and racism. Trying to speak out against xenophobia and discrimination against Kyrgyz migrants, at the same time, Atambayev himself stoops to clearly xenophobic statements, social media users believe.
What reaction did the president’s speech in Kyrgyzstan evoke?
They were the first to react to the president’s statements on social networks, in particular in the Kyrgyz segment of Facebook and in comments to publications on various information sites. Then newspaper articles and interviews with Kyrgyz political scientists appeared. Positions and opinions were divided. Some Kyrgyzstanis expressed their support to President Atambaev regarding his condemnation of xenophobia against migrants from Kyrgyzstan.
Thus, commenting on material on this topic on the Azattyk Radio website, some readers write:
“Terrorism knows no borders or nationalities. Anyone can fall under the influence of recruiters. I understand how insulting (to put it mildly) it must be for the president that citizens are suffering because of an insane fanatic, and that such unpleasant words are being uttered.”
“Russia is our friend and brother, but if they don’t put pressure and suppress xenophobes and nationalists, they themselves will slide into the ideology of fascists.”
A number of Kyrgyz political scientists and experts also believed that President Atambayev correctly raised the issue of attitude towards migrants in Russia, and not only towards Kyrgyz, but also towards all immigrants from Central Asia. In particular, political scientist Mars Sariev believes that a holistic xenophobic campaign is working in Russia and Atambaev revealed the position of Kyrgyzstan regarding the problem of terrorism and racism. Following his tradition, Mars Sariev proceeds from conspiracy theories, believing that “There is special forces, creating a hateful mood towards migrants from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. Attempts are also being made to destroy Russia from within by inciting radical actions.”
Another expert, Almazbek Akmataliev, draws attention to the fact that Kyrgyzstan is a member of the EAEU and expectations that the situation of Kyrgyz labor migrants in Russia will improve with accession to the EAEU did not materialize. In an interview with Maral Radio he said the following:
“To be honest, Russia brought Kyrgyzstan into the EAEU. When we joined this association, it was said that conditions for migrants from Kyrgyzstan would be improved, bureaucratic delays would be reduced, and they would feel good in the countries Customs Union, excellent conditions will be created... The terrorist attack in St. Petersburg was committed by a Russian citizen, a native of Kyrgyzstan, an Uzbek by nationality, but it is wrong to apply harsh measures to all migrants.”
Expert in the field international relations Edil Osmonbetov, in a conversation with Tuz.kg on May 12, noted that the speech of the Kyrgyz president was courageous. “He, as the head of state, must protect the rights of his citizens,” the expert believes. Osmonbetov also draws attention to the fact that Kyrgyzstan and Russia are part of the same integration association and that relations between our countries should be built on trust and mutual understanding.
Migration, according to the expert, certainly has its disadvantages, but also contains advantages, not only for Kyrgyzstan, but also for Russia.
Another Kyrgyz political scientist Emil Juraev draws attention to the fact that the topic of migration and xenophobia is sensitive, but it is important to convey it in the right direction:
“Now in politics, in political communications, every word, every intonation means a lot. Often the right question is perceived incorrectly because of some little thing.”
In general, it is important to note that the experts who supported the president’s message against xenophobia diplomatically ignored the rest of the president’s statements.
What were the president's critics talking about?
Well-known opposition public and political figure Edil Baisalov shared his opinion on the president’s speech on May 9 on social networks. Baisalov called the president's speech a scandal. His criticism was directed against Atambayev's views on history. Baisalov believes that the president’s persistent desire to convince everyone that the Kyrgyz are “friends” in Russia can lead to an incorrect interpretation and cause the opposite effect. He reasons as follows:
“Why every time make us out to be some kind of strangers, aliens on our own land! If we belong in Altai, then what are we doing in Alatoo? Does the President even think about how his reasoning is reflected in the minds of the younger generation?! Those same neighbors of ours, after all?”
But Baisalov is much more criticized by another point in President Atambaev’s speech, in which he hints at the non-Russian origin of Weller and Zatulin. On this occasion he writes:
“Atambayev is directly hinting at Weller’s Jewish roots?!
He also registered the State Duma deputy, Cossack Zatulin, as a Jew, but here you just need to think of something so that at the celebration of Victory over fascism, when the whole world swears “never again!”, on Victory Square, when discussing something about skinheads, pay attention to the origin his opponent from the “deserts of Palestine.” Anti-Semitism is shameful! But anti-Semitism on May 9 is a sign that we did not defeat anyone at all! Fascism is not defeated! He is alive and well."
Reaction in Russia
It is quite interesting that the “heroes” reacted involuntarily to the speech of the Kyrgyz president, that is, the writer Mikhail Weller and the deputy of the Russian State Duma Konstantin Zatulin.
On May 12, the website “Rosbult.ru” published an article by Mikhail Weller entitled “I am not a sacred victim of friendship for Atambaev!” In the material, the writer tries to discuss the reasons for such an attack against him by the Kyrgyz president. Firstly, he draws attention to the fact that the interview Atambaev refers to took place 11 years ago. IN this interview, according to Weller, there was no talk about the Kyrgyz at all, and he spoke about skinheads as dangerous form exacerbation of the instinct of national self-preservation. He further claims that over the past 11 years he has not said anything that “could be drawn to this topic even by the ears.” Regarding his last name, Mikhail Weller said:
“According to my understanding, Atambaev needed at least two people whose last names did not seem to be representatives of the titular nationality, in order to form a conviction among listeners: our two peoples are friends, and representatives of other peoples - certain national minorities - are sowing enmity between us. This “technology” seems to me categorically unacceptable.”
Weller called the phraseology used by President Atambayev the phraseology of the Pravda newspaper during the era of the fight against “rootless cosmopolitans” and “killer doctors.
Deputy of the Russian State Duma Konstantin Zatulin also responded to the speech and accusations against him. The deputy noted with regret that his words were turned upside down, perhaps by “the president’s prompters,” and the attempt to present the words attributed to him as evidence of disrespect of representatives of Russian society for the Kyrgyz people and their participation in the common victory over the enemy in the Great Patriotic War is a lie. Zatulin drew attention to the fact that the television program to which the Kyrgyz president refers took place on March 15, 2017, that is, before the explosion occurred in the St. Petersburg metro on April 3, of which a native of Kyrgyzstan was accused of organizing. That is, in the hysteria about migrants from Kyrgyzstan, as Zatulin believes, he could not participate in any way. Further, explaining the essence of his legislative proposals aimed at simplifying the acquisition of Russian citizenship by “native speakers of the Russian language,” Zatulin emphasized that many Kyrgyz can apply for this status and, subsequently, for Russian citizenship. Regarding accusations that he called the Kyrgyz “outsiders,” Zatulin noted:
“The nickname “strangers,” and even more so the call for “tough measures” against any of our former Soviet fellow citizens, are completely absent from my vocabulary, political and scientific practice. Where did Mr. President get this from?”
A very interesting reaction came from Russian journalist Oleg Kashin. His article in Russian edition“Republic” entitled “An attack that the Foreign Ministry will not notice. Why is the Kyrgyz president being rude to Russia?” reprinted a number of Kyrgyz electronic publications, in particular “Kloop.kg”.
Kashin is perplexed why the Kyrgyz president focused attention on Jalilov, who blew up the St. Petersburg metro?
Jalilov is a Russian citizen, and President Atambayev did not necessarily have to take any responsibility for him. But for some reason he does this, while actually justifying Jalilov by saying that “perhaps it was xenophobia and skinheads that pushed him to extremism.” Summarizing the main messages of the President of Kyrgyzstan, Kashin writes:
“This whole set - “you descended from us”, “you live on our ancestral lands”, “our boys are blowing up in your subway because you drive them to this” - all this is really a suitable rhetorical arsenal for someone who is hostile to our country foreigner. But Kyrgyzstan is not Russia’s enemy, it is its ally and even, in a sense, its satellite. Atambaev’s boorish rhetoric, taking into account the entire Russian-Kyrgyz alliance, sounds strange, but let’s not pretend that it can somehow surprise the Russian audience - the Soviet and post-Soviet practice of relations between Moscow and its allies and satellites traditionally looks exactly like this, it is still unknown who There's actually an older brother here...
Being rude to Russia, bowing to its authorities, is also the norm. ...
Atambayev speaks to Russia in exactly the same language that its own government is accustomed to speaking to Russia, and this is the case when the voice of a foreigner makes it possible to clearly hear what has long become a familiar background in our reality.”
Professor of the European University of St. Petersburg, ethnographer Sergei Abashin noted that in Russia there are different attitudes towards migration:
“There are groups that say that we need migration, without migration we will not move anywhere, it needs to be regulated, of course, there is nothing wrong with that. In particular, there is nothing wrong with migration from Central Asia.
There are interest groups that think that we don’t need migration, that migration is dangerous, that it carries various problems, risks, including terrorism, some cultural habits, that it irritates people, and so on.”
Why does the President of Kyrgyzstan need this?
If you carefully review the president's previous public speeches, especially those in which he touches on relations between Kyrgyzstan and Russia, it is easy to notice that some of the president's ideas and messages to the Russian and Kyrgyz public are repeated. This is not the first time he has spoken out about xenophobia. Last year, his official speech on May 9 also contained harsh criticism of skinheads. Noting that during the war years, Kyrgyzstan received hundreds of thousands of evacuees, and Kyrgyz families shared a piece of bread with refugees from Russia, he reminded brotherly Russia that modern fascists - skinheads - are raising their heads there. The president literally said the following about Kyrgyz labor migrants:
“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, due to the collapse of industry and the agricultural sector, hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz are forced to work in Russia. They do not ask to be fed for free or given a free roof over their heads. They are forced to earn money there for themselves and their families, while making their feasible contribution to the Russian economy. And they have the right to expect a more respectful attitude from the Russians, at least a little similar to what the Kyrgyz showed towards refugees from Russia during the difficult years of the war,” the president noted.”
In the texts official speeches President on the occasion of Victory Day in previous years, which were sometimes read out by his press service in the absence of the President (for example, in 2015) in a softer form, but statements about the importance of cohesion are also quite consistently present different nationalities, about the importance of remembering the lessons of the war and preserving the historical memory of all the peoples who together defended their common homeland.
These observations allow us to speak about a certain consistency of President Atambayev in his statements regarding the place of Kyrgyzstan in the overall Soviet history, in his attempts to draw attention to the negative attitude towards labor migrants from Kyrgyzstan in Russia.
It is important to pay attention to the fact that the Kyrgyz president often makes emotional statements with “grievances” against fraternal Kazakhstan. In Kyrgyzstan, the scandal about the interview given by President Atambayev to Euronews this year during a trip to Europe has not yet been forgotten. In this interview, he spoke about the economic blockade of Kyrgyzstan by Kazakhstan in 2010 during a change of power and inter-ethnic tensions. In the same context, perhaps, the encouragement for an active civic position on behalf of President Atambayev of two Kyrgyz women working in Moscow, who commented on the statement of the Kazakh Minister of Culture, should be considered. As is known, on May 24 of this year, the Minister of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan Arystanbek Mukhamediuly, speaking about the work of the writer Chingiz Aitmatov, expressed his feelings when he sees how young girls from Kyrgyzstan are cleaning public toilets in Moscow. Then, considering the statements of the minister from Kazakhstan offensive, the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry sent a note of protest to Kazakhstan.
What is the effect of all these demonstrative statements and actions of Almazbek Atambayev is debatable. There are opinions among experts that with such emotional speeches the president achieves reverse effect. At the same time, we have to admit that the president also has quite tangible support from ordinary citizens who believe that the president is protecting his people and striving to achieve respectful treatment from more powerful neighbors and allies. This can be verified by analyzing comments from users of Internet sites and materials in the Kyrgyz media.
This is not the first time the Kyrgyz president has spoken about “Altai surnames” in Russian history, about the involvement of the Kyrgyz to some extent in historical processes in Russia, about the kinship of the Kyrgyz to the Altai peoples of Russia, etc. Similar statements face serious criticism from experts both inside and outside the country as not withstanding criticism and scientifically unproven. The president is also accused of a lack of political correctness and diplomacy, which harms the image of modern Kyrgyzstan. On the other hand, it is no secret that there are also the opinions of some well-known political scientists who believe that Atambayev did a lot to strengthen the sovereignty of Kyrgyzstan and defend national interests, even in such an extravagant way. For example, Valentin Bogatyrev believes that, contrary to popular belief, Atambayev’s policy as president is an attempt to return Kyrgyz Republic into a more sovereign state than it was in previous years.
He said not long ago:
“If we do not exaggerate the personal, very extraordinary picture of the president’s behavior in contacts with foreign policy partners, then we will have to state that the basis of foreign policy balancing is pragmatism and an attempt to realize as much as possible national interests in real conditions.
This topic is very large and deserves a detailed and separate discussion. To the question posed above, why President Atambayev needs this, perhaps we should look for answers in the context of discussions about unfinished nation-building in Kyrgyzstan and the problem of public perception of the problem of national dignity.
Along with the above, there are also suggestions that perhaps President Almazbek Atambayev is pursuing his own political goals. Political scientist Mars Sariev suggested that the mention of Jalilov and the statement that all Kyrgyz or Uzbeks cannot be blamed may be an attempt to win the sympathy of the Uzbek population in the context of the 2017 political season.
There are also assumptions in Kyrgyzstan similar to those made by the above Russian journalist Kashin, who believes that through such “boorish” attacks against Russia in his words while simultaneously curtsing towards the country’s top leadership, Atambaev is “bargaining” for some preferences in exchange for Kyrgyzstan’s loyalty to Russia.