Webinar: Do Black Lives Matter in Russia? Historical Perspectives & Contemporary Realities (panel 1)

Understanding the current media and public response in Russia to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement requires a historical perspective on constructions of race, blackness, and Otherness in Russia. In this two-part panel, we hope to facilitate conversations about the history of racial discourse and policy in Russia (including constructions of blackness), and the experiences of people of color in the Soviet Union and contemporary Russia, that will appeal to a wide range of scholars and students.
Panel 1: Histories of race, blackness, and Otherness in Russia
Panelists Raquel Greene, Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, Maxim Matusevich (moderator)

[@svetlanalvova1128]

What is the point of talking about the history of racial discourse and policy in Russia, when none of the panelists, especially Ms. Greene with her "analysis" of Nu Pogodi (by the way, it is a wolf, not a fox), addressed the core issue, which is that historically most of the Russian population has had little to no significant contact with black people, as in being face to face, neighbors, colleagues, friends, family, heck, simply talking to a black person on an every day basis. Of course, Russians see black people on TV and in movies and at a distance in the streets, buses and subways, but, for the most part, there were too few black people in Russia throughout the whole history of the country for black people to be an everyday, normal presence in the life of an average Russian. The figures in Wikipedia state that during the time of the SU help programs the number of Africans that came to study and left was about 70 000, and the figure for black people in Russia today is about 120 000, including sportsmen, etc, who became Russian citizens for contract purposes and who, naturally, will be citizens only for a time. Compare these figures to the population of the SU, which was 190 million in 1939 and 290 million in 1991, while the population of the Russian Federation is 146.7 million in 2020. The official population of St. Petersburg is 5.4 million, of Moscow - 13 million. Consider the ratio in terms of depth of connection with or impact on or importance to the everyday life of an average Russian and then add the average reaction to the unexpected, the unfamiliar, the unknown and out of the ordinary. My average for the last 40 years is seeing in the city metro about two students from the local university in a calendar quarter as we all head for the exit in a commuter district.

[@volodyamihaelovich4576]

Russia has never engaged in colonization of Africa or had anything to do with black people. Thus, Russian people have absolutely no obgligation to black people. Russian people have nothing to prove or give. If you decide to come to Russia, it is not our priviledge, but your priviledge.

[@galrod64]

What a stupid webinar. Russia is a multinational country. There are hundreds of big and small ethnicities of different religions living in Russia. Blacks are not a part of this multinational fabric of life. There are foreign students and expats working in Russia. Many of them choose to settle there, married a Russian citizen. Since the Soviet Union times the official policy was and is the equality and respect for each nationality and ethnicity. Nobody can be discriminated against. In everyday life you can find some people could be apprehensive about other nationalities. But overall Russians are friendly and welcoming people.

[@dictuspapa1334]

Блин it is a wolf not a fox. A bit more true cultural knowledge instead of diversity fetichism ... that would be wonderful.

[@marinaanton4880]

They can go but will end up in prison. The prisons in Russia are not resorts like in USA. For Russian people africans are strange creatures.

[@Silver_Prussian]

SHORT ANSWEAR: NO!
LONG ANSWEAR: NO!

[@SmokeConsciousHipHop]

This comment is the dislike button.

[@tolikhab8280]

Поднятый вверх кулак это символ коммунизма bandera Rosa triumphera

[@morganjeffreymorgan]

They dont matter anywhere

[@thegrandmasabrina]

Enjoyed watching this video. I learned a lot.

[@jamesruscheinski8602]

human choice decentralization; God's kingdom centralization through Jesus' body and blood in life and death

[@scottamus8593]

No

[@hugojames85]

Of course not. What a stupid question....