Altai Maps of Greater Eurasianism

24/06/2024 18:16

The meetings of the Third International Altai Forum “Altai vector of Eurasian integration: in the interests of strengthening interethnic and interreligious harmony” took place in the Great Hall of the Government of the Altai region. The meeting of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, the Government of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Altai Republic and El Kurultai supported by the Russian Presidential Grants Foundation was held in Gorno-Altaisk, the historical ethnocultural center of the continent.

“If there were no Altai, there would be no Manas, there would be no Kyrgyzstan, Kalmykia, Kazakhstan. This is recognized in China and Korea, and in the Japanese nation recognize people from Altai. I am very glad that the opportunities of this project pass through the prism of youth cooperation, people will learn not only about the country, but also about the Altai civilization,” said Secretary General of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly Andrei Belyaninov.

At the opening of the forum, the Chairman of the State Assembly - El Kurultai of the Altai Republic, Artur Kokhoev, spoke. Altai has long been the cradle of Turkic-speaking peoples. Here, for thousands of years, processes of mutual enrichment of cultures and ethnic groups took place, as evidenced by the rich cultural and historical heritage, the common base of universal spiritual and civilizational values. In the modern world, Altai is still at the center of integration processes throughout the Eurasian space.

“As we know, our President Vladimir Putin, in his Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, instructed to pay special attention to the multinational culture of Russia. He suggested concentrating on promoting our multinational culture not only in the CIS, but also in the whole world. Therefore, I believe that the issues of developing Eurasian integration will only expand every year,” Arthur Kokhoev emphasized.

The parliamentarian is convinced that the topic of strengthening interethnic and interreligious harmony, public and cultural diplomacy is undoubtedly becoming more and more relevant. The Eurasian peoples have developed and are strengthening common ties on the platforms of the SCO, BRICS, EAEU, CIS, ASEAN and non-state structures of public diplomacy. Joint solutions to problems, from sustainable socio-economic development and investment to cultural preservation and environmental protection, are increasingly important today. The Altai vector of integration strengthens the concept of historical, geopolitical, cultural, ethnographic unity of Eurasia, emphasizing the special role of sovereign peoples.

The Assembly Secretary General Andrei Belyaninov highlighted the growing intensity of integration processes in the modern multipolar world, with Greater Altai again playing a key role here. Chairman of the Council of the Assembly of Peoples of Russia Svetlana Smirnova spoke about the unity of peoples based on strengthening the independence and equitable development of countries in the dynamically changing architecture of the modern world community.

Diplomats and politicians from Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia from their own point of views formed the most complete picture of the strategic vision of Eurasia's future at the sessions and round tables of the Altai Forum. Co-chairman of the General Council of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Doctor of Philosophy Alexandra Ochirova presented an important report: “Humanitarian modernization as an imperative for sustainable development of humanity.” Humanism, as the successor to the worldview ideas of ancient democracy, and these are the common traditional values ​​of peoples and cultures, man as a subject and all the enormous subjective diversity of humanity is the basis for the growth in a crisis of the architecture of a unipolar system imposed by the West and only imitating democracy.

First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, Director of the Institute of CIS Countries Konstantin Zatulin emphasized the new vectors of work in public diplomacy that were largely new to him. According to him, at the Altai Forum an idea was formed of how to summarize the potentials of the peoples and states in Central Eurasia, throughout Eurasia, which should be preserved as the core meaning of the idea of ​​Greater Eurasianism. Diplomats and politicians, public figures and representatives of different religions from Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia and other countries and regions collaborated at the forum in the formats of scientific conferences and round tables, discussing current issues of integration in the discourses of epistemology, culture and politics.

On June 22, at exactly 4 a.m. Moscow time, Forum participants remembered the soldiers who gave their lives for the great Victory over Nazism. Eurasian peoples, common Great Motherland, the Soviet Union lost almost 27 million people in the Great Patriotic War, which began with the attack of Nazi Germany on June 22, 1941. The enemy was defeated, Victory is ours, we remember...

The laying of flowers at the monument to Lev Gumilyov in Gorno-Altaisk by forum participants is another symbolic moment within the forum. The creator of the theory of ethnogenesis, L.N. Gumilyov, confirmed in his Altai expedition in 1948 the thesis that the starting point of the history of the Turkic world is Greater Altai. It is no coincidence that the assembly point of Eurasianism is here today. Ivan Belekov, Advisor to the Head of the Altai Republic, Member of the Russian Federation Commission for UNESCO, People's Writer of the Altai Republic, Candidate of Historical Sciences, emphasized: Altai is not just a geographical object, it is a huge spiritual and civilizational phenomenon.

His report “Geopolitical challenges of our time and the civilizational role of Altai in strengthening interethnic and interfaith harmony” developed Gumilev’s theses. Altai is the big heart of Eurasia, the birthplace of the Indo-European peoples who lived in these regions before the great migration and mixing of peoples. All these are the roots of Eurasia, a window of opportunity for the unification of states and nations.

This is the most important leitmotif noted in the reports of the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Leonid Kalashnikov and Senator Tatyana Gigel. The importance of uniting peoples on the basis of humane common meanings and projects was noted by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to the Russian Federation Ulziysaikhan Enkhtuvshin, Vice-President of the International Association “Epics of the Peoples of the World”, First Deputy Chairman of the State Assembly of Il Tumen of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Alexander Zhirkov, co- President of the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University, Professor Almaz Ibraev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation Grigory Ordzhonikidze, Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Sardana Avksentyeva, Chairman of the Supreme Khural (Parliament) of the Republic of Tyva Kan-ool Davaa and other delegates of the Altai Forum.

During the meeting, discussions were held in the format of round tables “Social and cultural indicators in models of the modern world order. Public and cultural diplomacy”, “Epistemological and historical aspects of Altai civilization: modernity and development prospects”, “Central Asian vector of Eurasian integration”, “Synthesis of spirit and matter: how to preserve cultural heritage”.

As a result of the meeting, common decisions were developed and agreements were signed that consolidated initiatives for cross-border spiritual and cultural development. Delegates will meet in a year: Altai has become an annual platform for open dialogue, a place for making strategic decisions to strengthen the Eurasian community.