On May 25-26, 2023, BISR Deputy Director Vitaly Punchenko took part in the XXI International Likhachev Scientific Readings held on the basis of the St. Petersburg Humanitarian University of Trade Unions.
The first section of the forum, "Transition from unipolarity to real multipolarity", brought together authoritative analysts from Russia, Belarus, Iran, France, Switzerland, Norway.
The main focus of the discussion was the ways to achieve real multipolarity, the value, cultural and ideological foundations of the formation of new poles, their successful coexistence in the future.
"Is it possible to imagine the most compromise image of the future multipolar world? Most likely, this is a world in which each state is a separate pole, determining its own place in geopolitics, without fear of losing its subjectivity.
This is not an easy path, and right now Belarus and Russia are going through it. Perhaps the history of Belarus-Russia integration will eventually reveal to the world a new format of multipolarity – the union of two strong poles in their own way. If this experience is successful, it will certainly be scaled up, and we see close attention to the process of our union integration from the EEU member states, the SCO and other associations.
Therefore, the most effective way to multipolarity is to create a story of success", Vitaly Punchenko, BISR Deputy Director, said in his report "On the Transformation of Historical Policy Concepts in the new Geopolitical Reality".
In this case, we are talking not only about the economy, but also about values, mutual perception of each other.
"Not all difficult issues have been overcome. Often we deliberately seek to hush up, taboo topics that for some reason we consider potentially conflicting. And there are many such topics - in the perception of individual historical processes, the development of ethno-cultural, linguistic, and ethno-confessional politics. The presence of discrepancies in concepts is not a vulnerability, but a potential advantage, and it should be used to the maximum. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct research more intensively, implement analytical media projects, and develop a mutually respectful expert dialogue. Having passed the difficult path of self-acceptance of each other as we are, we will be able to become an example for other countries", Vitaly Punchenko said.
Read the full text of V. Punchenko's report here