YAROSLAVL, Russia — In one of the last major addresses of his presidential term, President Dmitri A. Medvedev on warned Thursday against allowing xenophobia into Russia’s political mainstream.
His comments came as parliamentary leaders prepare for a fall campaign, and amid signs that grievances among ethnic Russians against migrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus will form one of its central themes. Mr. Medvedev has not said whether he will run for re-election next year, or step aside to allow Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin to run.
He said modern leaders must adjust to diversity rather than try to control it, an argument that at times seemed to underline differences between himself and Mr. Putin.
“Today like never before there is a huge temptation to tighten the screws — there are always many occasions to do so,” Mr. Medvedev said. “It is the most simple answer. Crime, separatism, poverty, what is to be done? What they used to say was, unite closely around the leaders of the state, and tighten the screws.”
“I think the state should follow social trends, adjust to them and not drag society along behind itself,” he said. “Moreover, the leaders of the state, they are also people, with their own beliefs, mistakes, delusions and values. In other words, the state should adjust to modern life, be ready to protect and enhance social diversity.”
Mr. Medvedev’s speech was a disappointment to those who came to his annual Global Policy Forum here expecting drama. These included one of his close advisers, who repeatedly predicted that Mr. Medvedev would use the platform to announce that he will run for re-election. Scrutiny will now shift to September 23, when he has agreed to give an address at the congress of the ruling party, United Russia.
His comments on ethnic tolerance are not likely to please some in United Russia’s leadership, who may be willing to use anti-immigrant themes to shore up support.
Among the few big events of the Yaroslavl forum was the reintroduction of Dmitri O. Rogozin, who headed a growing nationalist party, Rodina, until 2007. At that point the Kremlin appointed Mr. Rogozin its envoy to NATO, in Brussels, in part to neutralize his threat as a political competitor. That plan remained in place until last month, when the Justice Ministry allowed Mr. Rogozin to register a new organization, Rodina-Congress of Russian Communities.
In a group discussion on Wednesday, Mr. Rogozin said that internal migrants from the North Caucasus “defiantly violate the Russian cultural standard.”
“Some peoples in Russia are more equal than others, and the Russian people are now in the position of a discriminated majority,” he said, in comments cited by the Kommersant, a daily newspaper.


Author: Ellen Barry, ‘New York Times’, September 8, 2011
Tweet