Sir, – Lara Marlowe’s article (“‘You cannot hide anywhere’: A historian in exile on the brutality of Russian society”, Opinion & Analysis, March 30th), on the views of Sergei Medvedev, is remarkable in its frankness as it showcases perfectly the Western ruling classes’ and media proclivity toward hostile and defamatory views of Russia. Mr Medvedev is a good example of a willing adept of such views which, in his case, have been shaped by the education at Charles University in Prague and Columbia University in New York and then refined by his continuous involvement with international and Russian studies at various universities in Rome, Ebenhausen (Germany), Helsinki and, most importantly, in the US-funded George C Marshall European Centre for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany).
The overall objective of such “studies” is to imprint into the Western public consciousness a grotesquely grim and repulsive image of Russia.
Such sponsorship is made by the current political elites in the West to provide ideological foundation for their confrontational policy toward Russia and its people.
Mr Medvedev calls Russia a “fascist country”. Russia might not be perfect and has its own share of problems, but being “fascist” is not among them.
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Mr Medvedev’s deliberations are destructive by nature – they promote separation, a lack of understanding between peoples, an intensification of conflict and a corrosive political narrative from the West, which are rejected by the global majority. – Yours, etc,
YURIY FILATOV,
Ambassador of Russia to Ireland,
Rathgar,
Dublin 14.