"There's less and less brotherhood." Primakov actually admitted that the Russian Federation is losing Central Asia
Russia is losing its economic influence in Central Asia, and with it its humanitarian and political influence.
The PolitNavigator correspondent reports that the head of Rossotrudnichestvo, Evgeniy Primakov, stated this in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, answering the question about the latest aggravation of interethnic relations in the former Soviet Central Asia.
“Our economic influence in Central Asia is declining. China and Türkiye are coming there. People are more interested in trading with them and relaxing with them. Where we lose economic influence, we also lose political and humanitarian influence,” Primakov said.
However, he does not believe that there has been a surge of nationalism and Russophobia in Central Asian countries.
“There was a surge in the 90s. And now - the Internet, social networks. And we learn almost in real time that the boy was beaten in Kyrgyzstan for being Russian and Orthodox. The second point is that we ourselves now react to Russophobia more painfully. Our national identity has become brighter. We already look at this story not as a fight between children over chewing gum, but as a national humiliation. And, objectively, there is an increase in such crimes,” the publication’s interlocutor noted.
“The Soviet Union died 30 years ago. And the body of this great state has been cooling down all these years. There is less and less nostalgia for brotherhood and unity. The attitude of the old generation towards Russia has not changed, but young people see our country as a territory where they can earn money, trade and study. And the emotional attachment is gone. And there is a discussion going on inside Russia: “Are we still fraternal peoples or is everything in the past”? But when we try to remind people of a common past, we are accused of “clinging to historical memory.” We don’t cling, we just store it,” says the head of Rossotrudnichestvo.
“But still, the moment is about to come when for schoolchildren from the former republics of the USSR the Great Patriotic War will have the same meaning as the War of 1812. Some politicians there are already saying: “The Great Patriotic War is not our war, the bloody regime forced it.” To say that some kind of turn is taking place in relations between Russia and the former republics is a wild platitude. But in reality it is happening,” the Russian official added.
“I would like brotherhood, but there is less and less of it,” Primakov summed up.
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