CONCILIAR STATEMENT of the 7th World Russian People’s Council (December 16-17, 2002, Moscow)
20.12.2002 · English, Архив 2002
CONCILIAR STATEMENT
of the 7th World Russian People’s Council
(December 16-17, 2002, Moscow)
We, participants in the 7th World Russian People’s Council uniting over 1500 representatives of the state, Church, trade unions, business community, cultural and public organizations from 72 regions in Russia and many CIS countries, make this appeal to our compatriots.
Again and again we testify: the traditional spiritual and moral values, which have determined our way of life for centuries, remain to this day the foundation of the Russian civilization as one living space for the all the peoples of our Motherland Russia. These values should be asserted anew in our Motherland and among our people. These values can be vividly manifested in the life of work and economy. It is not accidental that our Council has chosen as its theme Faith and Work: Spiritual and Cultural Traditions and Russia’s Economic Future.
After a period of rapid changes, Russia longs for stabilization in public life. This has made it possible to hold an in-depth discussion on the results achieved in the economic development in the last decades and on the ways of building a prosperous society with justice.
The economic reforms, as many believe, have helped to overcome the extremes of the former economic structure that proved ineffective. People have been given an opportunity for initiative in their desire to build a better life for themselves and others. Growth has begun to show in some sectors of economy.
Nobody can deny however that the recent period has brought various new hardships reverberating with pain in the people’s soul. The oppressive load of crime, corruption and dishonesty weighs heavily on the economy. The poverty of millions has come to neighbour upon the defiant luxury of a few. Many pensioners, invalids, orphans, refugees and asylum seekers have found themselves thrown out of active and dignified life. Even those who can and wish to work have sometimes been confronted with the impossibility to fulfill themselves. Women have been victimized most of all. They have been subjected to discrimination and sometimes, like children, have been trafficked.
The country has found itself almost without many high-tech industries to which the future belongs. The raw material sphere incapable as it is to promise the nation a solid economic ground in the future has become dominant. Moreover, the funds gained form the trade in raw materials have been little invested in the modernization of the national economy. The imperfect legislation and businessmen’s low national self-awareness and responsibility have led to a mass outflow of the capital from regions to the center and out of the country. The administrative arbitrariness and bureaucratic abuses have suppressed the development of enterprise, putting the small- and middle-size business on the brink of survival.
The interests of labour are protected very poorly today. Only recently there have been mass salary and pension pay pauses. In some places there are still backlogs in back pays. Millions of people have suffered from extremely hard working conditions, ineffective production, impossibility to realize the fruits of their labour, low salaries and inadequate social security. Labour today is seldom respected and honoured; it has been depreciated. The mass media have extolled easy money and idleness, discouraging people for creative work.
Today the governmental authorities, scientists, businessmen, public organizations are seeking for ways to overcome the negative developments in the economy. This search cannot be limited only to the field of figures and market laws. National economic problems cannot be solved without taking notice of the moral and spiritual state of society. Indeed, many reasons for the present difficulties are concealed in the human hearts and minds. Scientific recipes and governmental decisions will not make people happy unless the moral foundation of human activity is restored and the rules of behaviour for the businessman, worker, public servant and any other participant in economic processes are established and really observed.
We have to learn to resolutely reject criminal amorality in economy and refuse to cooperate with dishonest and unscrupulous people. Those who do not pay wages in good time, humiliate the worker and stifle business through red tape deserve persistent and staunch public condemnation.
At the same time we all should support those entrepreneurs who are concerned not only for their own profit, but also the welfare of their workers. In distributing the fruits of labour, special attention should be given to those who cannot earn their living for valid reasons. Economy should be not only effective, but also equitable and merciful, addressed to the human being, not only money and goods. We should realize that the goal of economic activity is first of all the welfare of people, young and old, strong and weak, those living now and those who will come to replace them. It is not accidental that the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in his message to the Council spoke of the importance of building “an effective and socially-oriented economy”.
Examples of dignified, morally motivated work in any field, including enterprise, should be made known to the people through the mass media. Let people see that true success and happiness come when we work honestly, when we work for ourselves, for our neighbours and the Motherland. Both traditional and new forms of economic activity should be developed, based on the laws of Orthodox work ethics.
We should build values, material and spiritual, not “do money”. The recovery of the joy of labour is bound up with moral and religious education. School is called not only to give an amount of knowledge, but also to give a person a spiritual support and bring up the honest and conscientious worker, the true citizen of the Motherland.
The role of state in economy is very important. It has the duty to protect the rights and interest of the worker and show special concern for socially vulnerable people. State should not become a dominant participant in economic life, but at the same time it should bear responsibility for the results of economic processes and be captain of our common boat. The exceptional task of state is to ensure the equitable distribution of the fruits of the economic activity of the whole society through transparent and well-balanced budget, social and tax policies.
The determination of the fate of national economy however should not become an “appanage” of officials, businessmen and economists. We all, the people, state, Church, trade unions, business associations, scientific community and civil society should see in Russia’s economy a field for our care and creative efforts. The country needs an open and comprehensive dialogue on economic and social problems that will influence important decision-making.
The ethics of economic, working and social relations needs to be developed and articulated. The World Russian People’s Council is ready to participate in the development of an ethical code for national economic activity to be discussed by the government and unions of workers and entrepreneurs. We are convinced that this code should be also reflected in the Russian legislation and the by-laws of professional and business communities.
The development of world economy, in which countries and nations become more and more interdependent, brings new opportunities and new threats. Russia should become involved in this development as a strong and distinctive country. She will find herself in a state of dependence unless she makes a qualitative breakthrough in science and high-tech industry, unless her goods and ideas prove to be competitive, unless she becomes a full and active participant in the development of global strategies and rules.
We are convinced that our Motherland has a great future. We believe, the spiritual and working potential of our people and our people’s capacity for moral renewal will again make Russia one of the great economic powers.
Moscow, December 17, 2002
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