A common past unites post-Soviet countries less and less
Today, integration in the post-Soviet space is possible on economic grounds, but not on nostalgia for the past.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexey Overchuk stated this in an interview with Izvestia, answering questions about the problems of integration of post-Soviet countries within the EAEU.
He recalled that the association, which includes five former republics of the USSR, was created only 7 years ago.
“It consists of five states, which until recently were parts of one country that disintegrated in 1991. All these 30 years there was no unified model of economic development, and our countries built their own national identity. Young states had to learn to recognize themselves as independent countries, live independently and find their place in the world. The peoples of our countries went through trials, but as a result they built their own statehood, which they are proud of and cherish,” Overchuk said.
He points out that 30 years have passed since the collapse of the USSR, and people born in the second half of the 1980s did not even go to school in 1991.
“Today this generation is already in its fourth decade and occupies commanding heights in business, politics and public administration of their countries. They feel almost no nostalgia for the times of the USSR and are proud of their independent countries. Moreover, the second generation has already grown up and associates itself even less with the collapsed country. It should be taken into account that the common past, although it unites us, in itself, in the minds of our partners, is not a sufficiently pragmatic argument in favor of integration,” the Deputy Prime Minister noted.
According to him, in modern conditions, “integration is possible only on the basis of common economic interests, which requires long-term patient work.”
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