 “Russia still retains some vestiges of its Soviet totalitarian past, which prevents the country’s modernisation,” Mikhail Fedotov, chair of the Presidential Human Rights Council, said in Moscow at an international conference to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the birth of scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov.
According to Mikhail Fedotov: “We simply cannot yet break away from the problems which were created by the old totalitarian system. It is important to break away from this system and break out into the main path of modern development, and then we shall truly succeed both in modernising and in building democracy.”
Mikhail Fedotov believes that Sakharov’s ideas are as relevant for today’s Russia as ever, reports IA Rosbalt.
Mikhail Fedotov quoted the words of Andrei Sakharov: “With an imminent economic catastrophe and the tragic aggravation of international relations, the country is at risk from powerful and dangerous processes. One way in which this manifests itself is in the public’s lack of trust in the country’s leadership. If we continue to go in this direction, comforting ourselves with the hope of gradual change for the better in the distant future, growing tensions may explode in society with the most tragic consequences.”
At the end of March this year, the Working Group on historical memory of the Presidential Council on Human Rights, headed by Mikhail Fedotov, proposed a plan for the “de-Stalinization” of Russia. The document discusses the need to revise the official Russian dates for public celebrations and professional holidays. The programme also proposes the creation of memorials in remembrance of the victims of political repression and opening the archives. |
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