Centre TV, Moscow, Russia
Feb 27 2013
TV talk show discusses Romanov dynasty, Russia-Armenia ties, anti-gay law
The 27 February edition of the weekly programme “Russian question” on
the Moscow city government-controlled channel Centre TV discussed the
Romanov dynasty’s contribution to Russian culture, Russian-Armenian
relations and anti-gay sentiments in Russia. The 50-minute programme
was presented by pundit Konstantin Zatulin, head of the CIS Institute.
The first part of the programme began with a video report that said
that the years of the Romanov dynasty had played a great role in the
development of Russian culture. The discussion went on with two guests
in the studio: historian Aleksandr Bokhanov and art historian Mikhail
Allenov. Both praised the Romanov dynasty and admitted that art was
flourishing during its rule. Asked by Zatulin why intellectuals and
the autocracy began to drift apart, Bokhanov said: “They lost their
roots. The reason was secularization and de-Christianization, the
elite turned away from the church. The year 1917 was a spiritual
catastrophe first of all as Russia had the altar fallen first and only
then the throne fell.” After a further discussion of the role the
Romanovs had played in Russian culture, Zatulin concluded by saying
that Russians should be grateful to the Romanov dynasty since “it was
the best thing we had been able to invent”.
The second part of the programme focused on Russian-Armenian
relations. It began with a historical overview of the Russian Empire’s
policy in the Caucasus, concluding that the Russian and Soviet
periods, despite their shortcomings, turned out to be a time of the
greatest stability in the Caucasus history. However, after the USSR
collapsed, Russia was practically ousted from the Caucasus, Zatulin
said, adding that today only Armenia, which is a member of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) together with Russia,
remembers what links the two countries. A video report that followed
detailed complicated relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Zatulin
travelled to Armenia to interview a prominent Armenian writer, who
looked back at the history of Russian-Armenian relations, suggesting
that Russia should give Armenia more support when it came to its
disagreements with Azerbaijan. The discussion continued with Russian
ambassador to Armenia Vyacheslav Kovalenko, who said that Armenians
did remember Russia’s role in Armenian history and showed great
respect for various historical monuments, as opposed to Georgia for
instance. Zatulin concluded this section of the programme by saying
that Russia had never left and would never leave Armenia for as long
as works by Aleksandr Griboyedov, a 19th century Russian writer and
diplomat who was brutally killed in Tehran after he refused to give up
three Armenians who had sought refuge at the Russian mission, were
studied in schools there.
The final part of the programme looked at the legalization of same-sex
marriages in Europe and what impact the move would have on Russia.
Following a video report on the history of homosexuality in Russia,
the discussion went on with a studio guest, Yelena Mizulina, head of
the State Duma committee on family, women and children affairs. She
was critical of same-sex marriages and justified the adoption by the
State Duma of the bill banning promotion of homosexuality among
minors.
[Translated from Russian]