Remarks by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov at the Unveiling Ceremony of Walt Whitman’s Monument in Moscow, October 14, 2009

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear friends,

The unveiling ceremony of the monument to the great American poet Walt Whitman in Moscow has symbolic significance in the history of cultural relations between Russia and the United States. This is a bright example of Russian-American cooperation, based on our coinciding spiritual values and the proximity of the literary traditions of our countries.

As is known, the city authorities of Moscow and Washington came up with the initiative to exchange monuments to prominent members of national literary schools. In 2000, Washington was given a monument to Alexander Pushkin. Moscow now accepts with gratitude the return gift from the US capital. I think it very appropriate to install the Whitman Monument at Moscow State University, the leading center of education and science in our country, the nursery for the Russian intelligentsia.

The choice was not accidental. What makes the two great Russian and US poets related is the genuine national character and at the same time the "universal humanity," to use the words of Fyodor Dostoevsky, of their work. If "Pushkin is our everything," then Whitman "is America," as his contemporaries described him. Like Alexander Pushkin, who had the "ability of responsiveness to the world," American poetry reformer Whitman combined an outstanding creative talent with a deep philosophical vision of history and understanding of the unity of human civilization. It's no accident his poetry was almost immediately translated into Russian and received significant response in our country.

What contributed to the recognition of Whitman's work in Russia, I think, was the interest and respect that the US poet had for our cultural and historic heritage. He penned a successful and powerful comparison of our peoples, which develops the idea of Alexis de Tocqueville about the commonality of destinies of America and Russia, which is displayed on the pedestal of this remarkable monument: "You Russians and we Americans! Our countries so distant, so unlike at first glance, and yet in certain features, and vastest ones, so resembling each other."

I am convinced that such a belief in the possibility of rapprochement between Russia and the United States is more than ever in demand today, in an era of growing interdependence and increasingly stronger ties between our countries; in particular, because America has taken the path to change, which, as President Barack Obama noted in his inaugural address, will require of the Americans a return to their true values – including such as courage, tolerance and fair play.

Thank you for your attention.

October 14, 2009