Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the opening of the forum Strengthening Traditional Spiritual and Moral Values to Guarantee Unity among Compatriots, Moscow, November 1, 2023

Fellow compatriots, forum delegates and guests.

It is indeed a privilege for me to greet you in this room and to declare the opening of this international conference for compatriots living in and outside Russia. It is titled Strengthening Traditional Spiritual and Moral Values to Guarantee Unity among Compatriots.

With your approval, we devoted today’s conference to the values underpinning our shared Russian civic identity. It would not be an exaggeration to say that these values form the bedrock of our multiethnic and centuries-old statehood. The high profile of participants at today’s event demonstrates in all clarity that spiritual and moral values are among the priorities of the Russian compatriots’ movement abroad.

We have established a good tradition of holding this gathering in the run-up to National Unity Day. This national holiday celebrates one of the most important and decisive events in our national history when Moscow was liberated from Polish invaders in 1612. On this day, we pay tribute to the glorious past of our homeland, and the courage of our ancestors who came together and stood up for Russia’s independence and statehood, and defended its right to independence and its own unique development path. Just like back then, today patriotism, civic duty, serving the Fatherland and assuming responsibility for its future – all these elements provide a solid foundation for driving the development of Russian society.

We face the formidable task of ensuring continuity and bridging generations by teaching our youth our traditions and the love of their homeland. In this context, the role compatriots living abroad play can hardly be underestimated. They have preserved the spiritual bonds linking them to their historical Motherland and have a sense of belonging when it comes to Russia’s destiny.

Today, working together has acquired special importance considering that the US-led collective West has unleashed yet another war against our country. Just like Napoleon in 1812 and Hitler in 1941, the United States has now brought together almost all Western countries to make yet another attempt to destroy Russia and inflict a strategic defeat on it so that it ceases to exist as an independent international actor. The level of Russophobia we are witnessing in Western countries is just mind-blowing. We are aware of the fact that many of you have had to work in a very challenging environment. The councils coordinating various associations of Russian compatriots and other structures within the Russian diaspora have been facing the ugly phenomenon of Russopshobia in their day-to-day affairs.

But despite all these challenges, I would like to emphasise that in these challenging times you have stayed with Russia and with the Russian people in their ethnic and religious diversity. You have been going to great lengths to promote Russia’s rich cultural, historical and spiritual heritage, and to preserve and promote the Russian language and literature. You represent Russian traditions and pass them on to your children and grandchildren. By doing so, you are contributing to shaping an objective and impartial image of our country. I would like to take this opportunity once again to express my deep gratitude to you for these efforts.

The theme of our conference is especially essential because we see that in many Western countries, traditional values are being eroded and fundamental moral norms are being revised. They are aggressively encouraging all-permissiveness, tolerance taken to the point of absurdity and various destructive patterns of behaviour. They are adopting bans on religious symbols. The EU pretends not to see blasphemous actions with regard to Muslim relics and the destruction of Orthodoxy, which is no exaggeration.

This policy is being conducted contrary to the aspirations of the majority of people, is doing irreparable damage to their moral health, is eroding their civilisational roots and leading to disengagement, depersonalisation and the self-destruction of society. The worst effect of this is the growth of radicalism, aggressive nationalism, xenophobia and intolerance.

We are deeply worried by the continuing attempts by the Western neo-liberal elites to force alien “values” on other nations. The results of this irresponsible “social engineering” are evident in the Midde East and North Africa.

In neighbouring Ukraine, Nazis and anti-Semites are being officially glorified and efforts are being made to prohibit the canonical Orthodox Church and to deepen the ecclesiastical division. During a meeting with representatives of religious associations on October 25, 2023, President Vladimir Putin pointed out that “these actions are clearly designed to sow instability around the world, to divide cultures, peoples and world religions, and to provoke a clash of civilisations.” During a meeting with members of the Security Council and Government, and heads of security agencies on October 30, the President focused on the attempts to use the dramatic situation in the Middle East and other regional conflicts against our country to destabilise and divide our multiethnic and multi-faith society.

There is no doubt that the current problems will be solved. All the necessary decisions have been made. Russia as a civilisation state will continue to uphold the moral foundations of international relations and to promote the principles of honesty, truth, good and justice in international affairs. Reliance on the ideals that are shared by the main religions and cultures, respect for the identities of nations and their right to their own development paths are major factors in searching for the best answers to the numerous modern-day challenges and threats.

This creative policy enjoys broad support in the international community. A growing number of people, including in Europe, not only have a liking for Russia but also regard it as the defender of enduring traditions and real values. The latest evidence of this is the establishment of the International Movement of Russophiles in March 2023, in which people from many eastern and western countries took part.

Based on Russia’s unique experience of the peaceful coexistence of different religions and cultures, Russian diplomacy will continue to consistently advocate a peaceful, positive and balanced agenda in the interests of promoting conflict resolution and creating a fairer architecture of international relations, which should reflect the diversity and stability of the modern world and ensure the best possible external conditions for the internal development of our country, for addressing socioeconomic issues and enhancing the well-being of the people.

A vital foothold in this undertaking is, apart from the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the updated Foreign Policy Concept, which President Putin approved in March 2023, the November 2022 Presidential Executive Order On Approving the Fundamentals of State Policy for Preservation and Strengthening of Traditional Russian Spiritual and Moral Values.

We continue to rely on your strong civil stance and readiness to uphold it despite external pressure. I am sure that you will continue to bring the truth about Russia to a wide audience in your countries and help promote the Russian language and the best achievements of Russian culture.

For its part, the Foreign Ministry will continue to do everything necessary to protect the rights and legitimate interests of our compatriots and to help strengthen ties between our citizens living abroad and their historical homeland.

I would like to wish fruitful work and all the best to all participants in this conference.