Russia ‘does not fight against any values; it upholds its own’ – Putin

The globalist elites have turned culture into a geopolitical weapon for pushing their agenda, the president has warned

People around the world should have a right to cultural and civilizational uniqueness and enjoy respect for their traditional values and religions, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the 10th International ‘United Cultures’ Forum in St. Petersburg on Friday. Principles of humanism and dialogue, as well as the equality of all nations to form the world’s cultural landscape have become all the more important in the face of the globalist agenda’s onslaught, he said.

Russia has already defined its key values, the president said. “We believe in the sacred right of people to speak their language, preserve the faith of their fathers and live in harmony with nature in accordance with its… laws,” the Russian leader said, adding that his nation was ready to “defend those values and anyone who shares them.”

“We are not fighting against any values; we just defend our own. That is the difference between… us and our opponents.”

The idea of a mutually respectable cultural dialogue is shared by the “world’s majority,” Putin stated. Yet those principles are also under “constant pressure primarily because of the unprecedented politization of the field of culture” that has turned it “into a weapon of geopolitical intrigues.”

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Globalist elites and “certain nations’ governments” constantly seek to diminish the importance of national systems of values and everything that “does not fit [their] agenda,” the Russian leader warned. The president blasted so-called “cancel culture” by calling it “cancelling the culture itself” and said that he believes it has no place in the future.

“We increasingly see that a value agenda pushed forward by the Western elites ignores or even deliberately offends world religions and cultural traditions of entire regions,” the president said. An open disregard for other nations’ values and cultures is leading to a situation in which “citizens gradually get used to xenophobia and then radical forms of discrimination,” Putin warned.

Russia was formed as a multi-ethnic state from its very outset and it knows the value of constant communication between cultures for their mutual enrichment, the president explained. He also offered support to anyone abroad by pointing to a presidential decree signed in August.

At that time, Russia offered residency permits to any foreigners who share the “traditional values” fostered by Moscow and disagree with the “neoliberal” principles imposed by their governments. Individuals who espouse the same “spiritual and moral” values as Russia can make the move without passing Russian language and history exams, which are otherwise a prerequisite, according to the document.