Representatives of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) took part in an expanded meeting of the Presidium of the Union of Diasporas of Russia (UDR), which took place in Moscow. The meeting saw a discussion of UDR perspectives in 2011-2012, as well as a hearing of UDR propositions for interacting with the authorities of the Russian Federation and institutions of civil society. Among those participating in the discussion was Andrei Rotermel, Councilor to the Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation.

 

The participants of the meeting discussed a number of questions which require, in their opinion, a modernization of Russia's national policy, including a) the unequal position of different peoples of the Russian Federation, caused by the country's ethnic-territorial division; b) the unclear administrative status of the Russian ethnicity; c) the insufficiently developed legal standing of the ethnic diasporas, both historic and “young,” which only appeared through the dissolution of the Soviet Union; d) the very dire situation of the Northern peoples, quite deficient in numbers, whose very existence is under the threat of extinction.

 

It was noted at the meeting that the UDR is a unique community of experts, which can be a reliable resource for the modernization of the country.