Deputy Prime Minister Golikova wished the enemies of Russia to read Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”

At the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova announced that the government had decided to allow Russia to join the International Institute for Central Asian Studies – IICAS. This largest interstate organization, created in 1995 and uniting 11 member states, specializes in issues of historical and cultural development of Central Asia.

“We expect that our country’s participation in the activities of IICAI will strengthen cooperation with the CIS countries, SCO, and other states, and will also become a new platform for the implementation of joint projects and practical initiatives for representatives of cultural, scientific and educational communities of states,” Golikova said.

Recalling that the current Forum is dedicated to the knowledge of history through culture, Golikova noted: ordinary Russians, if they are not professional historians, draw knowledge about the past not from primary sources, but from books, works of painting and music. Thus, they gleaned knowledge about the 1905 revolution from the film “Battleship Potemkin”, about the Battle of Borodino from Lermontov’s poem, and Susanin’s feat from the opera “A Life for the Tsar”.

“Therefore, I would advise our ill-wishers,” Golikova concluded, “before fighting Russia in the hope of defeating it on the battlefield, read Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.” Or watch Russian films about World War II. To be more respectful not only of yourself, but also of your opponent.