The key facts
- Valery Fadeev rejected the notion of the Russian people's submissiveness
- He explained the need for a strong state by the territory, threats and natural conditions
- Earlier he stated that the pursuit of consumer abundance should not destroy the state
Statement by the head of the Presidential Human Rights Council
Russians' need for a strong state is tied to the country's vast territory, its complex history, constant external threats, wars and harsh natural conditions. This was stated by the head of the Human Rights Council, Valery Fadeev, in an interview with RT, reports Life.ru.
The thesis of submissiveness rejected
“We cannot do without the state. Our state is strong not because, as some say, the Russian people are inclined toward slavery. That is not true. The Russian people are not inclined toward slavery,” Fadeev emphasized. He called the state a form of the people's existence in history, and as an argument against notions of submissiveness he cited the conquest of Siberia: in his words, only free people could have mastered such an enormous expanse.
Earlier — on consumer abundance
This is not Fadeev's first recent statement on historical topics. Earlier he said that the pursuit of consumer abundance should not lead to the destruction of the state. In his assessment, in the 1980s Soviet citizens idealized life in the West, and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet system turned into tragedies for tens of millions of people.
