RESEARCH INTO GENOCIDE OF SLAVIC PEOPLES - PATH TOWARDS CONDEMNING NEO-NAZISM, NEO-FASCISM AND USTASHA IDEOLOGY

PALE, OCTOBER 20 /SRNA/ – A thorough investigation into the genocide of Slavic peoples in the 20th century is necessary to strengthen condemnation of neo-Nazism, neo-fascism and Ustasha ideology, which are becoming increasingly prominent in the new geopolitical relations, participants in an international academic conference that opened in Pale said today.

The conference, entitled "Genocide against Slavic Peoples in the 20th Century", is being held at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Istočno Sarajevo and organised by the Institute of Historical Sciences.

Institute Director Mirjana Lukić told the press ahead of the opening that the topic was highly significant and represented a long-term research priority for the Institute.

"This is also evidenced by our Documents on Genocide publication series, the proceedings of last year’s conference, a scholarly monograph and the work of our researchers," Lukić said.

According to her, due to ideological frameworks and the narrative of brotherhood and unity, the subject of genocide against the Serb people during the First and Second World Wars, as well as the genocide of Slavic peoples in general, has so far remained on the margins of global historiography.

She thanked all partners and participants involved in the project.

Faculty of Philosophy Dean Vladan Bartula said that the 20th century was an era of major scientific achievements, but also of immense suffering and genocide against Slavic peoples.

"The conference's aim is to examine the immeasurable suffering, pain and hardship endured by the Slavic peoples," Bartula said, adding that the Faculty of Philosophy fully supported the historical research project.

Opening remarks were also delivered by Republika Srpska Minister of Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education Draga Mastilović, Russian Ambassador to BiH Igor Kalabukhov, Head of the Social and Information Cooperation Centre Eduard Popov, and University of Istočno Sarajevo Rector Milan Kulić.

Conference participants include Yevgeniya Pyadysheva, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of International Affairs, a journal published by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Kirill Shevchenko, a professor at the Minsk branch of the Russian State Social University; Mikhail Averyanov, Head of the Ukraine Division of the Second Department for the Commonwealth of Independent States at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Andrey Sidorov, an associate professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

The sessions will also feature Father Mikhail Samokhin, spokesperson for the Pyatigorsk and Cherkessk Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church; Yevgeny Palamarchuk, a professor at the Rostov Institute of the All-Russian State University of Justice; and Diana Rayevskaya and Danil Mararu, students at Rostov State Medical University.

Participants from Republika Srpska include Mastilović, Lukić and Bartula, as well as Ognjen Kurteš, Doctor of Literary and Historical Sciences, vice-dean and assistant professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Istočno Sarajevo; Vuk Vučetić, vice-dean of the same faculty; Draženko Đurović, Doctor of Historical Sciences; and senior associates at the Institute, Anđela Nešković, Lazar Škobo and Georgije Vulić.

A discussion and the adoption of conclusions are planned following the two sessions.