“Russkiy Mir is composed of people of various nationalities and confessions, Russian citizens and compatriots abroad, émigrés and foreign citizens with an interest in Russia.” It has been able to establish 65 centres around the world, funded by approximately 500 million rubles annually from the government and private companies. The government states that “the centres organize their work on the principles of openness, transparency and tolerance”.
(Other than the reference to religion confession, Russkiy Mir’s ostensible role is very similar to that of the Soviet period’s VEKSA, Society for Developing Cultural Ties With Estonians Abroad, and its sister organization, Society for Developing Cultural Ties With Foreign Countries – both taking their marching orders from the KGB in Estonia. Affiliated organizations existed in all the SSRs. …
(Read more: Estonian Life No. 31 2020 paber- and PDF/digi)
Laas Leivat, Toronto
