‘Be Interested in Germany like we are Interested in Russia’
On October 13th Christian Wulff, President of Germany, spoke to HSE students about ‘Germany and Russia: Partnership for Modernization’.
Watch a video of German President Christian Wulff’s lecture (in Russian)
The speech at the Higher School of Economics was part of Christian Wulff’s official visit to Russia, which included negotiations with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev as well as visits to several regions where German and Russian companies work together on joint economic and educational projects.
Yaroslav Kuzminov, Rector of the HSE, opened the meeting, welcomed the German President and spoke about the traditions of educational and scientific contacts between the two countries as well about partnership between the HSE and German universities. “It is German universities that were a model for the first Russian universities, which then further developed mainly on the basis of Humboldt’s ideas.” he reminded us, “ Our great compatriot Mikhail Lomonosov studied science in Germany, and Radishchev, the first to rise against the law of serfdom, studied at Leipzig University. Generally, it is difficult to overestimate Germany’s cultural input on the forming of the Russian intellectual elite”. And today, according to the HSE Rector, many of the issues that faced in Germany on the way to the creation of new type of economy – the knowledge economy – are also relevant for Russia. Thus, the formation of the group of National Research Universities resonates with the German government’s policy towards the development of innovative educational programmes.
Today more than 12 thousand students from Russia are studying in Germany. And in turn, Germany has more students studying in Russia than any other European country. “And no matter that there are only about a thousand of them now, not as many as we would like, it is important that we are becoming more and more attractive for German colleagues as partners in research and education programmes.” Yaroslav Kuzminov said. Those words were underlined by the fact that a group of German students of the HSE and several German teachers lecturing at the HSE were present in the audience. Moreover, a programme of joint degrees in Economics with Humboldt University has been running at the HSE for over ten years, and in total, more than twenty leading German universities and research centers are partners of the HSE.
Following Yaroslav Kuzminov Andrey Fursenko, RF Minister of Education and Science, came onto the stage. He emphasized the “HSE’s active position in terms of international, particularly, Russian-German, cooperation” and said that the basis for strengthening educational contacts between the two countries was built following the joint declaration of strategic partnership in education, science and innovation signed in 2005. After four years that document was amended and extended with a new agreement on scientific and technological cooperation between Germany and Russia. According to Andrey Fursenko, these agreements have already brought noticeable results. “We have something to present to our society and our researchers – the minister claimed. – That’s why we have agreed that starting from mid-2011 we shall hold the Russian-German year of science, research and education. We shall consolidate the results we’ve already made and outline key directions for further development.”
One such direction, outlined by the minister, is the creation of a new higher school structure which would be in line with the demands of the changing economy, as well as the elaboration of new approaches to professional non-university education. German business already actively participates in the development of professional education in Russia. For example, Volkswagen is carrying out this type of work in Kaluga.
“Education is not a goal in itself, but an essential institution for both economic and social development.” Andrey Fursenko summarized, ‘We are creating a new society in our countries, and there are few countries with which Russia has so much in common as with Germany’.
German President Christian Wulff started his speech by remembering Russian reformers who tried to implement modernization in the country, namely Ekaterina the Second, who “250 years ago founded engineering schools which still exist” and Mikhail Gorbachev, whose policy of perestroika “opened up so many opportunities, and made it possible for the German President to speak here today and exchange opinions with us”.
The contemporary world is changing very rapidly, and even the most developed countries should be able to adjust to these changes to stay competitive on the world arena. There are problems common for many European countries, including Germany and Russia. One of them is the ageing population, which increases pressure on the pension system and economically active citizens. There are also common external threats, such as climate change, international terrorism, and nuclear proliferation, which can be fought only by means of joint action.
“I greatly respect the way Russia has moved from a socialist economy to a market one.” Christian Wulff said and reminded us that a considerable number of Germans also had to rebuild their life after the reunification of Germany. “We can share our experiences with each other, but it would be wrong to impose them. It is necessary to keep in mind that the original circumstances where our countries exist are different”.
The approach to modernization, according to the German President, should be “maximally wide”: it is impossible to merely renovate economic and technological processes without changes in political and social systems. The new knowledge society should have open discussion forums, free access to information should be provided, and the decisions made should be transparent.
“Today we understand that not all our advice to Russia was useful,” Christian Wulff admitted, ” But transparency and freedom of opinion are as important for the development as the protection of the property right and other rights. Democracy works when civil society works, when we respect freedom of expression and assembly, when there is an opportunity to freely create political parties, and when an independent court supervises the observance of those rights. It is useful to have not only a strong government, but also a strong opposition. It is necessary to modernize not only the economy, but also state and social structures”.
Such problems are discussed a the ‘Petersburg Dialogue’ forum, but the President of Germany also hopes for the creation of one more scientific, educational and discussion space – a planned German House of Science and Innovations in Moscow. Christian Wulff emphasized the importance of educational exchange and also said that over 6500 German companies working in the Russian market can give an example of entrepreneurial culture and social responsibility. At the same time, it is necessary to get rid of bureaucratic obstacles standing in the way of German business in Russia as well as Russian business in Germany. Broadening the field of joint activities is in line with the interests of both countries, Christian Wulff believes.
“We want to be a good, reliable partner for Russia, and never forget the good and the bad times in our relations, about the suffering of World War II,” the President of Germany said, “And I think of Russia’s friendly attitude towards us as a gift. I do not know any other country that would be so open to Germany despite all the problems of the past. We are very grateful for this, and this implies an additional responsibility for the development of our partnership. But Russia should also keep working so that future generations of citizens live in a country which holds a decent position in the world.”
The questions by the HSE students after his speech varied from the cooperation of the two countries in the energy industry to the problems of migration and the political activity of young Germans. The German leader sees Russian-German cooperation in energy as very promising, but there needs to be joint projects and research on renewable sources of power. Russia, if it wants to keep its exports strong, will have to invest in alternative power industry. At the same time, Christian Wulff admitted that it is difficult to convince a country possessing such great resources of oil and gas to preserve them and effectively use alternative power sources.
Speaking about the current level of political and social activity in Germany, Christian Wulff mentioned that the share of the population who are politically active has decreased, which usually brings the threat of the growth of extremist activity. As for the social integration of East Germans, according to the German President, it will take several more generations to overcome nostalgia for the GDR and to finally adjust to the current situation. ‘Generally, the problems of origin, of personal experience, are always very hard,” Christian Wulff said, “And this relates to many people in the Post-Soviet territory – the past is never just black or white.”
One of the most difficult problems for modern Germany is the integration of migrants from Turkey and some Arabic countries. Christian Wulff believes that it is necessary to respect human dignity regardless of ethnicity, skin colour, religion or physical abilities. “This problem has been discussed in Germany since WWII, and we are proud of what we have achieved in this sphere”, the President said. But those who come to Germany, while enjoying all our rights, should be tolerant, accept German laws and obey them. Religious ideas should not be misapplied, and the use of religion to claim political or geopolitical interests is absolutely unacceptable. But, the President believes, we should not be afraid of cultural diversity. On the contrary, such diversity is a country’s advantage. And to prove this thesis, Christian Wulff gave the example of the results of a football match between Germany and Kazakhstan, which had taken place the previous day. All three German goals were scored by players whose parents had come to Germany from other countries.
At the end of the meeting with the Higher School of Economics students, Christian Wulff made an appeal to the audience: “Visit Germany, be interested in Germany like we are interested in Russia”.
Oleg Seregin, HSE News Service
Photos by Nikita Benzoruk