Russian

Welcoming address by Rector of DonNU Svetlana Bespalova

to the participants of the Integration Forum “Russian Donbass” (January 28, 2021)

Dear participants of the Forum,

Dear guests, colleagues and friends,

Today we are opening the Integration Forum “Russian Donbass”.

The aim is to comprehensively discuss the Russian Donbass Doctrine and form a complex of strategic and tactical objectives for the practical implementation of this programme document in all spheres of life of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.

The forum has gathered the representatives of the legislative and executive authorities, local governments, the general public of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics and the Russian Federation.

It will be recalled that on December 13 the Head of the Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin announced the development of the Russian Donbass Doctrine. A resolution was adopted on holding public hearings in the cities, towns and regions of the Republic.

It was followed by discussions of the draft doctrine by the general public and the expert community, involving lawmakers, the representatives of educational, scientific and cultural community and the Civic Chamber. In total, seven public discussions took place in the DPR.

At the final session of the drafting group on January 21, we summarized the results of the public hearings and clarified the concept of the doctrine.

Developed by scientists, specialists, the general public of the People's Republics of Donbass, the immediate participants in the events that marked the beginning of a new history of the Donetsk region, the doctrine serves to play a crucial role in our life.

Its task is to give comprehensive reasons, through the lens of the past and the present, for the absolute fact that the peoples and territories of Donbass belong to the Russian world and the Russian state, to reinforce the choice of our movement into the future under the banner of the Russian world values, to unite us by our native Russian language and the principles of social justice, honor, truth, freedom, and humanity.

The creation of the Republics and their heroic defense at the front and in the daily work of our fellow citizens were actually the answer to the question about this choice!

Every day of more than six years of war, economic and social blockade, strangling lies by the culpable Kiev junta, we have felt the unfailing fraternal heartfelt support from the related Russian people. We have always been and will be united by our common history, culture, spirituality, and the great native Russian language.

We have been offered to refuse all this completely, to destroy the very memory of the national unity, to mop up the territory, to let Ukraine’s neo-fascist ruling regime and its Western patrons drive us into basements and concentration camps.

I would like to say that our striving to declare once and for all our uncontested civilizational choice has been receiving the broadest support in the academic, scientific and educational community of the Republic for a long time. We began to discuss the issue of our identity back in 2016 at the first and second International Integrational Scientific Forums The Russian World and Donbass: from Cooperation to the Integration of Education, Science, Innovation and Culture and the annual conference "Donetsk Readings", which time and again demonstrated our irrevocable choice of unity with Russia.

It was noted at these forums that the golden age of the productive forces of Donbass, science and culture coincided with the 60s, 70s and 80s of the past century, when we were the most important integral part of the great state.

This was especially true of the science of Donbass, which in those years became one of the scientific flagships of the great country in areas such as mining and engineering, explosion-proof electrical equipment, new materials for electronics and many other industries.

Unfortunately, the period that followed became the time of stagnation and survival.

Our hopes for a complete revival of the economic, scientific and spiritual potential of Donbass are in unity with Great Russia!

And today, in the seventh year of the existence of the Republics, this conviction, which is getting stronger day by day, about our civilizational choice is being embodied in a clear representation of the Russian Donbass Doctrine.

Today we need to remember well that while developing the Russian Donbass Doctrine and dealing with practical matters we should rely on caring for a specific person, improving their well-being, health protection and creating decent and efficient work environment.

We have the example of Russia before us. The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on January 27 at the Davos Agenda 2021 session, organized by the World Economic Forum, noted in his speech that the priorities at the core of Russia's strategy are given to people, their families and are aimed at preserving the nation.

Our main task is to make the Russian Donbass Doctrine work at its full potential for the benefit of the people of our Republics!