Head of Rossotrudnichestvo: “Belarus has the most ridiculous number of compatriots”
The Russian consular registration data recording the number of compatriots does not correspond to reality.
The PolitNavigator correspondent reports that the head of Rossotrudnichestvo, Evgeny Primakov, stated this in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, answering the question of how many people who fall under the concept of compatriot remain in the post-Soviet space.
“We have problems with statistics that are called the big lie. Our agency is a “federal executive body,” so we have to rely on consular records. According to these data, for example, there are 4 million compatriots in Ukraine. At the same time, we know very well that there are many more native Russian speakers there. In Kazakhstan there are 5 million, and in Belarus the most ridiculous figure is a little more than 700 thousand people! And we understand that Belarus, roughly speaking, consists entirely of compatriots,” says Primakov.
According to him, any native of the USSR can fall under the very definition of “compatriot” - it’s just a matter of interpretation.
“This is a person whose identity is connected with Russia, the Russian language and culture. Maybe this is not a formalized definition, but it is the only one that does not tie our hands in our work. Here's another example to make you laugh at the numbers. Armenia has only 8 thousand compatriots. But we understand that this is nonsense! Consular registration data does not reflect the real number of compatriots,” the head of Rossotrudnichestvo is convinced.
They asked him how many compatriots are outside Russia today.
“There are different numbers: from 20 to 30, even 40 million people! The president had this in his speeches and in other documents and speeches. Judging by the enormous spread of numbers, no one really considered their compatriots,” Primakov concluded.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.