The scandal caused by the Tatarophobic statements of one of the leading propagandists of Vladimir Soloviev’s regime (https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=37300) had not yet subsided when a new one arose — due to the Tatarophobic statements of the Minister of Culture of the «Russian Federation» Vladimir Medinsky.
In particular, quotes from his book «Myths about Russia: about Russian slavery, filth and the «prison of nations»» were circulated in the media and social networks: «…no other nation was perceived in the Russian national consciousness as terrible and worse than the Tatars. Neither the Swedish «deluge» of the 17th century, nor the confrontation with Lithuania and Poland, nor the two world wars with the Germans, nor the raids of the Varangians made such a terrible impression on the Russian national consciousness. There is no Pole, German or Swede in the popular memory who was so ruthless in demanding tribute, as a violator and murderer. In pre-revolutionary history, neither the opening of the Baltic Sea at the beginning of the 18th century, nor the capture of Warsaw in 1795, nor the capture of Berlin in the middle of the 18th century, nor the capture of Paris in 1813 ever attained the same level of importance as the capture of Kazan or the Crimea. This victory was elevated to the rank of a religious victory over the «heathens,» a struggle between good and evil…. And now they want to replace all this authentic historical reality with some kind of touching Russo-Tatar idyll!»
Of course, one can express bewilderment that Medinsky’s book, published in 2013, is being remembered six years later. But first of all, this is a common practice all over the world — at least in the West, scandals often arise due to the actions or statements of public figures that touch on sensitive issues for society. For example, one of the most tolerant politicians of modern times, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, recently had to apologize for taking part in a theatrical skit in college that mocked the appearance of Africans. Second, this book was indeed published in 2013, but Medinsky became the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation in 2012.
And here is the main question. Can a whole Minister of Culture of a federal state allow himself such attacks against the second largest ethnic group in the country — the Tatars in Russia? It is worth imagining the opposite scenario — if the Minister of Culture of Tatarstan would write in the same tone about the «Russian occupation and colonization», which, by the way, is much more real and fresh in the memory of Tatars than the «Tatar yoke» for Russians — what kind of uproar would arise in all sorts of «patriotic» circles, and how long would such a minister remain in office under such circumstances?
But in that case, why wouldn’t the leadership or the parliament of Tatarstan demand, if not Medinsky’s resignation, at least an explanation from him?
But all these are rhetorical questions, and we already know the answers — because in Putin’s Russia there is no accountability of power to society, no rights for the peoples and subjects of the Federation, nor for the Federation itself.
* In the photo — Vladimir Medinsky with the President of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov.