Courcy’s Intelligence Brief

Since the outset of the crisis between Russia and the Western powers over Ukraine/Crimea we have been emphasizing the point that Russia’s principal strategic goal is to survive as an independent European civilization, that is to avoid absorption by the West or domination by China.  It was interesting, therefore, to see the emphasis put on this very point by the Kremlin chief-of-staff Sergey Ivanov on 31 March.  His remarks were made to a session of a working group in Moscow tasked with drawing up a fundamental framework for state cultural policy.  Ivanov’s remarks revealed much about current Kremlin concerns about Russian identity.

Ivanov said: “The latest events in Ukraine show just how grave the consequences can be for statehood when traditional values are abandoned and there is a division in society provoked from abroad.  We cannot allow this to happen, we do not have the right.”

For Ivanov, the key is to develop a state policy designed to strengthen “the civil, ethnic, and cultural identity of the people of the Russian Federation”.  The need for this, argued Ivanov, is made more pressing by “the tough global competition in the area of ideas and information”, which he said was becoming “ever more aggressive”.  He also noted that there is a generational difficulty, with a major divide between the older generations and the younger “digital” generations.

But Ivanov’s assessment of the difficulties seemed to go beyond just the younger generation.  He said: “The overwhelming majority of our fellow citizens take a very dim view of the place and role of culture in our daily lives.”

Nevertheless, clearly the Kremlin believes the effort is necessary and that the state must lead the way.  He said: “As is known, the law is the basis of any state activity.  It is clear that, in working on state cultural policy, we will need to make significant changes to existing legislation.  That is already clear to us.”

A major effort must be made to overcome the generation gap, and for this the state needs to come up with “groundbreaking ideas and genuinely effective mechanisms to achieve and constantly adjust our tactical objectives”.

The overall idea, said Ivanov, is “to find forms of collaboration between people and society that would kick-start their natural desire to understand, perceive, and create something new, something beautiful, that would revive their desire to be citizens of their country and bearers of their fatherland’s culture.”