The General Assembly of the Russian Historical Society (RIO) was held on June 5th at the Presidential Library of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation in St. Petersburg.
For the first time, the event was attended by the head of the RIO Representative Office in Republika Srpska – Director of the Institute of History at the University of East Sarajevo, Draga Mastilović, and Vice-Rector for International Cooperation at the University of East Sarajevo, Marko Gutal.
In an interview with the Russian Gazette, the renowned Serbian scientists highlighted the importance of uniting efforts with their Russian colleagues to combat the falsification of history that is gaining momentum in the West.
- We live in a turbulent period. Today, events that occurred in the 20th century are repeating. Another expansion of the West to the East is taking place. The Orthodox Serb people, as has happened many times before, were the first to face the blow of the “new crusaders” from NATO, resisting their aggressive plans. Now, a battle is being fought for a new world order – a multipolar world. Russia has decisively stood against the Anglo-Saxon imperialist plans, which included the destruction of the national identity of Russians and Serbs and the imposition of their fundamental views and values. In this context, it is extremely important to consolidate the efforts of historians from the Russian Federation, Republika Srpska, and Serbia to raise the level of cultural memory in our societies, especially among the youth, to counter all forms of historical revisionism and prevent the rehabilitation and resurgence of Nazism in Europe. Participation in the General Assembly of the RIO in St. Petersburg allowed me, as the head of the RIO Representative Office in Srpska, to “synchronize watches” with my Russian colleagues and outline ways to intensify our further interaction. We face great challenges. Serbian historiography needs the support of the Russian scientific community. We appreciate the opportunities that open up for us following the strengthening of cooperation with the Russian Historical Society. We strive to contribute to our common cause, said Mastilović.
Marko Gutal mentioned that the University of East Sarajevo is making efforts to strengthen the cooperation between Republika Srpska and the Russian Federation, especially in the scientific field.
- In my role, I try to establish interaction with Russian universities and scientific circles. Our university has also made significant progress in protecting historical truth. In May, at the Institute of Historical Sciences of the University of East Sarajevo and the RIO Representative Office in Republika Srpska, a round table was held on the topic “Ukraine, Russia, and Balkan Parallels,” where experts from the Russian Federation and Republika Srpska discussed the topic of active external influence on the formation of radical nationalism. Western mechanisms for creating artificial identities were dismantled. These technologies were developed back in the Austro-Hungarian Empire when a new nation was created from Russians over decades – Ukrainians. Similar processes took place in the Balkans. Historians highlighted the involvement of the true Roman Catholic Jernej Kopitar in these processes, who dreamed of a Slavic Austria and who in the 19th century made every effort to reform the Serb language to distance it from the Russian language and literature. Subsequently, the Anglo-Saxons effectively used similar methods in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and Ukraine, Gutal said.
Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations in the Council of Ministers, Staša Košarac, who arrived in the Russian Federation to participate in the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, emphasized in an interview with the Russian Gazette the importance of joint Russian-Serb opposition to the increasing falsification of history. “The truth is on our side.”
Košarac stated that we must defend the truth together and prevent historical revisionism.
Source: RTRS
