Below is the speech given by the head of the Chapter of the International Russophile Movement in Cyprus at the XVI Assembly of the Russian World: November 1st – 4th 2024, Moscow
The main views defended by the International Russophiles Movement (IRM) are the multipolarity of the world, traditional values and the sovereignty of every nation. For us, traditional values are not only respect and reverence for the past, but also a guarantor of preserving the uniqueness of each culture and a guarantor for the viability of humanity as a whole.
We Russophiles advocate the strengthening of traditional values and cultural identity as a means of opposing destructive Western individualism and globalization.
We firmly believe that neoliberalism, which has become the dominant ideology in the West, is the main enemy of a healthy society, destroying traditional values. It is an ideology that supports globalization, the weakening of national sovereignty. It puts the importance of individual rights and freedoms, the rights of tiny minorities, the idea of open borders, cultural homogenization above all else. Thus, it contributes to the disintegration of societies and the loss of cultural identity, i.e. it destroys the uniqueness of peoples. And all this, from the standpoint of the West, is considered as an inevitable positive progressive process and the height development and human potential! That is why right now there is a conflict between traditionalism and so-called progressivism.
As Russophiles, we actively support traditional values, including respect for family, religion and patriotism. We oppose cultural liberalization, believing that it undermines the foundations of society. In this context, Russia is a counterweight to Western neoliberalism and is positioned as a defender of traditional values, including Christian values, against Western moral degradation.
Today, the confrontation is reduced to a struggle for a multipolar world, where each country preserves its sovereignty and uniqueness, against a unipolar world dominated by Western values. And a strong state in the new multipolar world not only supports national interests, but is a tool to protect culture and society from external pressure and the imposition of alien values and neoliberal norms.
We see neoliberalism as a continuation of Western dominance in the world, and Russia is a symbol of the alternative to this Western model that is leading to the collapse of many aspects of life, especially morality.
The propaganda of Western consumer culture, puts material achievements in the foreground, pushing aside spiritual and cultural aspects of life. In the neoliberal paradigm, tradition and culture are often perceived as backward obstacles to progress. As a result, the traditional family, as an institution where national and cultural values are transmitted, is losing its importance and relevance for new generations.
We believe that the family is the guardian of traditional culture and the primary basis of the homeland. So the main traditional value is marriage, under the concept of a union between a man and a woman, forged for the purpose of creating a family, giving birth to and the joint upbringing of children, where the child has a father and a mother, and not the bizarre alien terminology “parent #1” and “parent #2” offered by the West. The important traditional family values are: continuation of the family, motherhood, fatherhood, love, fidelity, respect, trust, kindness, understanding others, etc.
With the help of neoliberal-oriented media, ideas of personal freedom, careerism and self-realization outside the institution of family are promoted, which weakens respect for family and cultural obligations. This has an impact on young people’s perception of family values, where marriage and parenting are less and less seen as key life goals.
In the West, the media promotes same-sex marriage, destroys the institution of the family as a relic of the past, promotes gender reassignment surgery, allows children to choose their sex and increasingly uses puberty blockers to prepare adolescents for “transitioning”. There is aggressive promotion of childlessness (the “Childfree” movement), non-traditional marriage, abortion, LGBT propaganda and radical feminism. In parallel, the concept of the “third gender” is being incorporated. Under all these influences, young people are refusing to start a family.
The issue of representation of women and newly emerging sex minorities in power is solved through artificial, absurd quotas that undermine fair professional competition. As a result, the rights of minorities are put above the rights of the majority.
Neoliberal minorities use offensive labels against the traditional majority, such as: racist, fascist, homophobe, misogynist, sexist etc.
The neoliberals try to scare us that “the planet is overpopulated and soon it will be impossible to feed everyone” and thus, it is necessary to reduce the population of the globe. To help to execute this plan, there are such international organizations as the World Health Organization which is globalist control of medicine, UNESCO which is globalist control of culture, and NATO which acts as the globalist police force.
Cultural events, holidays like Russia’s “Day of the Family, Love and Fidelity” and educational programs focused on fostering respect for historical heritage as well as national traditions are an effective tool to counteract neoliberal influence and help the younger generation to acquire the proper attitudes towards culture and family.
Creating the right type of media and uniting the efforts of social movements, educational institutions and religious organizations will help in the fight against the ideas of neoliberalism.
The creation of a multipolar world led by an alliance of international powers that do not share the Western neoliberal ideology, like BRICS+ will inhibit to a great extent the abnormal and inhuman plans of the West.