Putin Calls for Dialogue of Cultures at Int'l Forum
Sept. 18—Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the 11th St. Petersburg International Forum of United Cultures Sept. 12, where he called for a dialogue of cultures.
The forum was held at the old Tsarist palace of Tsarskoye Selo, the site of the school created by Czar Alexander I to give the sons of the nobility a real education. One of the first candidates for the school was the young Alexander Pushkin, who would develop his first literary creations there.
“It is deeply symbolic that one of the main venues of the forum this year is here, in Tsarskoye Selo,” Putin began. "I hope you will enjoy these marvelous masterpieces and outstanding interior decorations. The magnificence of the Catherine Palace and its park ensembles is born of the harmony of different cultural traditions and embodies the nations’ ability to have the ideas unite them, and to join efforts in order to create beautiful works of art going from one generation to the next. All this serves as remarkable evidence of the unifying and creative power of culture.
“These approaches are the essence and meaning of our forum. They reflect the significance of languages, customs, and artistic heritage of each nation for the whole world, and the supreme value of their diversity, which creates harmony and forms our civilization. …
“We, in Russia, know well that national culture can thrive and get richer only in interaction with other cultures. Our country was originally formed as a multiethnic nation, and this priceless gift determined its unique cultural palette and the status of a truly great power with great art, science, and literature.”
He then spoke of the advances of AI and the need for scientific innovation but stressed the fundamental role of humanity’s creativity. “It is obvious that technology encourages faster spread of ideas. Artificial intelligence, for instance, analyses large data sets and forecasts trends. However, I believe that only human inspiration and genius—that of true masters and creators—can produce original solutions that would lead to discoveries and breakthroughs in science, art, and social spheres. And certainly, the interaction and mutual trust among representatives of different cultures.”
He further stressed his government’s commitment in its overall development program to establish centers of culture in all regions of Russia, including new theaters, concert halls, cultural centers, galleries, and traditional arts and crafts centers, as well as specialty schools and universities for especially gifted students.
At the same time, Putin said that culture must remain open to the world: “History proves that the brightest pages of cultural explosion occur in times when cultures actively interact with the outside world. And conversely, when society shuts off itself from the world, putting blind, dogmatic trust in its exceptionalism and superiority over others, a period of spiritual and intellectual crisis comes, followed by cultural decline and stagnation across all spheres of life.”