Bulat Rakhimzyanov: ‘Time when some Arab or dark-skinned resident of the Earth becomes Prime Minister of Sweden is about to come’

'Russians' affiliated with the West

To start with, Uppsala University is one of the oldest universities in Europe (it was founded in 1477). The Uppsala Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies appeared there in 2010. As I was told by a competent source, the centre was created after Russia's intervention in the conflict in Abkhazia in 2008, which, of course, makes think about certain analogues with the foundation of Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard that was created after Winston Churchill's famous speech in 1946 when he defined the USSR as a potential rival of the West.

Problems of perception of 'strange' cultures and identities were topics for discussion on the conference. The organiser of the conference Dr Gregory Simmons told that different players of the political stage considerably affect the problem of ethnic and religious identities. And it leads to a deficit of such a necessary open discussion of the topic. The forum's goal was to define how Islam was understood, studied and projected on social and media spheres of modern Russia. In order to reach these goals, the conference appeared and had many topics, so that different aspects of the problem both historical and modern sides will be covered. This is why the events included history, political sciences, sociology, religion and mass media, etc. Major questions the conference organisers solved were how Islam presents itself to 'other' communities and how these communities perceive this religion and react to it.

Many representatives from Russia, including Kazan, participated in the conference. There were people who grew up in Russia but affiliated with American, British, Swedish and other scientific centres. This is why the range of opinions is very wide.

Problems of perception of 'strange' cultures and identities were topics for discussion on the conference.

'Specialists from Russia 'bogged down' in factual account of events, they just minute them'

Now I can't agree with the opinion I shared when I was younger that specialists from Russia 'bogged down' in the factual account of events, they just minute them without reaching analytics, while so-called 'western' scientists have their heads in the academic clouds who escape sources, deal with fantasy and construction of the reality based oт their own visions of it. There is a grain of truth in this opinion, of course. But only a grain.

I think L. Gumilev was right to say that there can be three points of view of the reality: a view from mouse-hole, from barrow and a bird's eye view. Same reality seen from these angles will be different, which absolutely normal. All the three visions of the reality are necessary, they complement each other.

Russian scientific degrees define a subject for a reason – candidate of historical, biological, physical sciences. In the Anglo-Saxon system, they are all Ph.D. (Philosophy Doctor), only then they are specified, for example, Ph.D. in Russian History. First of all, they are all 'philosophers'. It has a certain impact on the style of thinking and presentation of one's thoughts.

The conference was excellent. Thanks to Swedish Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, as that competent source told me, that expended quite a big sum of money (by Swedish standards) to hold the conference. I would like to express my special gratitude to Greg Simmons, an employer of URCS, who cared about every participant regardless of his or her status. He was also personally responsible for the organisational burden. The organiser paid transfer, accommodation and meals during the conference. Information about the conference was here.

During the week, with the help of my friend Misha I visited Stockholm, walked in Uppsala many times

Karmic 'feedback'

I thought it would be a sin not to use the hospitality of the Swedish side, so I took a one-week unpaid leave. My good friend and colleague as well as URCS worker Dr Mikhail Suslov organised my accommodation in a cosy Swedish suburb of Uppsala Savija, which is 10 minutes from the city centre by bus. But the road was clothed in fields, it makes an impression of remoteness. It is a settlement of town houses in a Swedish forest. The air is very fresh and smells pines. A bus trip with a transport card is about €2. If you pay 'on board', the price is €4 (prices in Sweden are high as well as salaries).

What I remembered is that I did not pay cash, I just did not have it (crone, not euro is used in Sweden) during the 10 days. Everything is automated and very comfortable. Ruble salary card served very well in Sweden. During the week, with the help of my friend Misha I visited Stockholm, walked in Uppsala many times and also visited a small city of Sigtuna. In my partial point of view, the country resembles Germany – everything is clean and tidy, well thought out and works accurately.

However, I had an impression that in Sweden everything is cleaner and newer. All people fluently speak English from 10-year-old kids to elderly people and representatives of such exotic countries as Somalia (I met a talkative Somali man at a bus stop; by the way, he looked and behaved as if he had been the master of life here, in Sweden).

This episodic meeting made me think about the Swedish common wealth distribution system. Both the country and its native residents are obviously spoiled because of their solvency that leads to some faults. Emigrants frankly leave on other people's solvency like parasites. They often do nothing but live quite well here. But earlier too politically correct and 'democratic' western world lived on aborigines in the same way in the Middle Ages and Modern Era. This world stole a half of the globe during the Age of Discovery. So, in my opinion, now they are getting the Karmic 'feedback', which is just. It seemed that the time when some Arab or dark-skinned resident of the Earth becomes Prime Minister of Sweden is about to come. At least, probably only 1/3 of the kids at a school where I had lunch looked like Swedish. The rest of them represented the Arab world. They had a bad behaviour.

To start with, Uppsala University is one of the oldest universities in Europe (it was founded in 1477). The Uppsala Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies appeared there in 2010.

And the King is… rich

By the way, despite a sort of equalising wealth distribution system, as I was told, the Swedish King has at least ten castles in Sweden. One of them that I saw in Stockholm looks like a half of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg.

I am not a fan of museums – I prefer walking in the city at random. It is what I did in Uppsala and Stockholm. But I visited one museum – Spritmuseum. As it turned out, it can be renamed as the museum of anti-alcohol propaganda. So the Swedish people have quite unclear relations with alcohol. They used to drink much (the climate is severe). But later in the 20 ^th century they understood that their passion for the drink was harmful, they started to fight against it.

For instance, the museum offered to 'feel all the delightfulness of hangover (I don't think the Russians need such 'virtual' experience because they have a rich factual basis in this matter). The world's most famous vodka brands Stolichnaya and Absolut come from Russia and Absolut from Sweden for a reason (only they are sold in the USA, for example, in supermarkets).

Another thing that I understood is that Swedish girls are very beautiful even if I personally prefer another type of women's beauty. However, tall Swedish girls with shapes and faces as if they had come from a model agency impressed me. Ordinary Arab women with manicured nails, including kids, complemented pleasant thoughts about the feminine part of Sweden. In general, I had things to look at.

In brief, I liked both the conference and the country. But Russia and Kazan with boldness and some brutality is closer, of course. There are people to talk to.