The prime minister told a Caucasus youth camp participants how to treat tourists and fight xenophobia.
Participants at the Mashuk forum must have spent about an hour debating how to greet Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Finally, they decided to say: "Here is our common Caucasian Salaam!"
Not to offend the Cossacks in the Caucasus that have nothing to do with this greeting, the forum gave them a chance to greet Putin in their own way: "A nice day to you."
Putin started his speech with the implication of interethnic friendship:
"The Caucasus is definitely a very distinct region in Russia. You have welcomed me in your own ways, but we also have many things in common, in particular a common homeland, Russia."
Speaking about the region's development, the prime minister recalled the past: "I recently read some diplomatic correspondence on the Caucasus from the early 20th century, or the late 19th century, which could have been written yesterday. Just listen: 'We must take urgent measures to normalise the situation in the Caucasus, because here, in Europe, we are constantly being nagged by these problems...'"
Before the meeting, the young attendees were instructed to laugh if the prime minister jokes, but this was nothing to laugh about.
Vladimir Putin went on to talk about the efforts of Europeans to impose a ban on the veil in public places. He admitted that it might have been better for him not to talk about this for fear of criticism but supported the European position.
"I fully admit that there are people with radical views, but they should go and live in a country where these radical views are accepted as the norm," Putin explained, and went on: "It should be easier for us than for the Europeans to reach an accord because their immigrants are foreigners while we are all citizens of the same country, we are all children of the same mother, Russia."
Putin advised people in the Caucasus to learn the tourist business and to upgrade service to higher standards. He said European tourists should be given quality service and made the following warning: "If the local service people pinch a women's butt, it is something few tourists will enjoy and people will not want to come here for holiday."
Judging by their looks, the prospect of converting the Caucasus into a Russian Switzerland did not evoke much optimism. One young mand immediately explained why the government tourist policy in the Caucasus would fail: "We all know about the hospitality in the Caucasus, but the highlanders are proud people and won't want to wait on tourists. They're fighters not waiters."
Putin frowned and objected: "The mountain people are proud people, but fighting is not their only option. And this is not 'serving'; it's a job."
The young people were also worried about government support. One of them even asked Putin to draft a separate federal targeted programme to support the youth from the Caucasus. Putin did not promise a programme, but instructed his subordinates to consider enhancing the youth section in the programme for the region's development until 2025. Putin advised them to address Presidential Envoy Alexander Khloponin on all these issues, adding: "He's not only an envoy. He's also a deputy prime minister. He's such a career climber."
Participants in the Mashuk forum proved to be a match for the distinguished career climber. They complained that even after the Popular Front's successful primaries they have little hope of getting a seat for their representative in the Duma. Putin promised to help and raised this issue at the conference on the district's socio-economic development.
All heads of the local republics and key federal officials came to discuss the district's problems. Alexander Babakov, a Just Russia member, who joined the front after a recent scandal, attended the meeting as the Duma vice speaker, a position he received under the party principle of distributing posts in the lower chamber.
Education in the Caucasus was the major issue discussed at the meeting. Putin ordered the establishment of a new federal university to unite the district's leading higher education institutions which will accept 45,000 students.
"Now there are 170,000 undergraduates compared to 34,000 in the Soviet years. That's not real education, it's clear," Putin said and instructed the Ministry of Education and Science to shut down insolvent institutions or merge them."
Anastasia Novikova, Kislovodsk
