Meltha Magazine Online

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2002 May Conference page 25

Forming a Political Elite is the Main Mechanism of National Revival

Edward A. BADALOV

Mankind entered the third millennium. What will the new millennium bring to long-suffering

Assyrian nation, which, as the fate willed, turned out to be scattered all over the world? As a result of the World War I, part of the Assyrian refugees found itself in Bolshevist Russia. However, this appearance, partly, wasn't casual. But as a consequence of this, they were separated from their relatives and near relations almost for eight decades. Together with all nations of the USSR the Assyrians endured the horrors of Stalin' s repressions in thirties and forties of the last century .But at the same time, one can't but mark that exactly during the years of soviet power an educational level of the Assyrians greatly increased and intellectual elite was formed. And at the same time a misfortune connected with loss of the language overtaken the Assyrians as well as other nations residing in Diaspora and deprived of the opportunity to study the native language. This tendency is especially neatly observed in Russia. Exceptions are Armenia and Georgia where these processes proceed slower. It's connected, first of all, with existence of Assyrian villages in the above mentioned states.

Due to the policy of openness, proclaimed by President M. Gorbachev at the end of eighties, the Assyrian national movement reappeared. Assyrian Congress of the USSR, to which the Assyrians pinned great hopes, was formed. However, with the fall of the USSR and as a result of a destructive stand, taken by some representatives of former union republics, the Congress discontinued its existence.

At present uncoordinated elitist groups, forming their own views and ideological priorities, exist in the Assyrian community. They are the so called "potential elites". However, the things, which happen in the world Assyrian movement, testify not to the existence of professional political elite but to the activity of leaders with very poor supply of ideological, conceptual and strategic ideas and plans but with rather rich, almost infinite store of ambitions, bringing to naught all efforts aimed at national revival.

At the same time, absence of leaders and political elite among the Assyrians of Russia, to my firm belief, isolates the Assyrians of Russia from processes happening in the world national movement. In the current situation only political elite could stop an assimilation process of the Assyrians in Russia. Only political elite having a distinct program of cultural revival of the nation in cooperation with scientific and creative intellectuals is able to resist an inevitably approaching threat of assimilation.