PROJECT - проект- “EUROPE's TWO LUNGS”

Canova's "Three Graces"

Starting page of the Project "Europe's two lungs"

Первая страница проекта "Europe's Two Lungs"

Prima pagina del progetto "Europe's Two Lungs"

Première page du projet "Europe's Two Lungs"


Erste Seite  des Projekts "Europe's Two Lungs"

“Europe’s Two Lungs” is a short term publishing project (starting from an existing manuscript), ad aiming, within the shortest delays (tentatively, still within the “Year of the Italian Culture in Russia and of the Russian Culture in Italy”) to have a co-production in all countries of Europe in several languages, and with contributions of experts of all over Europe, dealing with the theme of the history of the relationships between the cultural memories of Russia and of Europe.

The general framework of the co-production already exists in its simplified form in English, and is ready for being discussed quickly among prospective co-authors, co-editors and co-publishers. The initial form would be constituted by a blog, already under construction, which could constitute the starting point of several publications.

According to us, the moment for starting such project and such blog could not be more opportune. In fact, It is precisely in these days that the scheduled discussions among, from the one side, the Russian federation, and, from the other, the European Eunion are taking place, about the important themes which are on the table, such as the access of Russia to the WTO, the abolition of visas, the Common Market from Lisbon to Vladivostok, the new Cooperation Treaty, the new Security Treaty, etc…

The core concept of the project is that the pretended core cultural divide between Russia and Europe results to be, at the end, just a prejudice. In fact, the whole course of our histories, from pre-history up to now, shows that the same historical and cultural phenomena have characterized both areas.

The contributions which we are seeking from the most different sources (historians, cultural institutions, Russian and West European Publishers, Institution, Press, Filmmakers) are aimed at arriving s soon as possible at a product of synthesis, apt to be distributed and appreciated Europewide.

We are aware that, for achieving our goals, we must pass through a series of different steps.

-conceptual,

-organizational;

-editorial;

-financial,

-commercial,

-communicational.



We summarise here below the most important questions to address:



1. CONCEPT

The question about the real content and significance of the relationships between Russia and Europe is one of the most controversial in the history of our cultures.

Notwithstanding long lasting disputes, a clearcut standpoint about this question has not yet been achieved. This is not just a theoretical question, but, much more, a political one. Hence, it may be answered in different ways, case-by-case, from time to time, according to the political goals and perspectives which are pursued by each collective subject, in each specific instance.

Presently, after the fall of the Communist system, with the impending globalization and the ongoing difficulties to build up a European Federation, the question is becoming more and more stringent. Secondly, present days energy policy - including, first of all, its tight network of gas pipelines throughout Europe and a deep involvement of European industrial groups in the development of the Russia’s economy-, is laying the grounds for a growing and growing business and political integration between the two areas. Thirdly, the paralysis of the decision-making processes within the European Union has emphasized, by contrast, the potential, for innovation in European politics, constituted by Russia, which, together with Turkey, can become , thanks to the force of their dynamism, one of the energizing factors for the European “inner” politics.

Finally, the increasing assertiveness of China and of other new world players renders it still more necessary to consider possible ways of synergy between Europe and Russia, in order to safeguard the possibility, for our Continent as a whole, to maintain and to improve its specific weight in a world growingly dominated by geopolitical giants.

The above trends show that the relationships between Europe and Russia cannot remain confined to a sort of informal partnership. In the most recent period, the discussions for a tighter cooperation in various areas, such as WTO, visa and energetic policy, are making large progresses.All of that confirms the urgency of a deepened study about the historical relationships between the cultures of Europe and Russia.

We would like to stress that, starting from Greeks and Romans, up to the Migrations of Peoples and Christianity,and going on through royal family alliances and cultural connections, the mutual influences between Russia and the whole of Europe had never ceased to exist.

The Author of this essay is not a a professional historian . He is a European citizen, engaged, on a voluntary basis, in European cultural politics.

According to us, an item as important as the European-Russian relationships may not be left to the swinging balance of powers among competing politicians, either in Europe or in Russia, nor to technical negotiations permanently under way among diplomats, but must become also a concern for the public opinion and for the civil society.

It is with this aim that we have worked about this book, which we hope can become an operational tool for opening up a debate on this theme.

2011 is the year of Italian Language and Culture in Russia and of Russian Language and Culture in Italy. This book tries to provide a contribution to this event, offering, to both Russians and Italians, but, at the end, to all Europeans, a quick instrument for diffusing the interest for this theme across Europe.

Our aim is not to take part in favour of one, or of anther, of the two “parties” into which almost all the preceding literature on the matter may be subdivided: the convinced “Pro-Western Russia-bashers”, like the historical “Westerners”, and the shrowd tenants of the superiority of the “Russian Soul” (like the historical “Slavophiles”). We don’t think that the relationships between peoples have to be evaluated on the basis of a sort of “superiority-inferiority” approach, but, on the contrary they have to be judged according to each people’s contribution to the development of Mankind, however different it may be.

In particular, for what Europe is concerned, we think that the question is not the one of which of the peoples in Europe is the best, but, on the contrary, through which approach we can trace a viable “European Identity”, capable to express a useful contribution to tomorrow’s World Civilization.

These “Core Themes”, which we have jointly discovered, are the following:

- a common Eurasiatic space;

- the “Three Romes”;

- Russia and America as the two possible European Utopias;

- Empires and Nations;

- the crisis of the European subjectivity.

2.THE PROPOSED PORTAL

The development which arose at the Turin Book Fair, and, in particular, during the presentation of the Project EUROPE’s TWO LUNGS with Franco Cardini and Riccardo Botrini is that, under the present circumstances, the appropriate vehicle for conveying the idea of a European-Russian cultural interaction is a web portal.

In fact, whilst a collective book would be the outcome of a lengthy process of interaction, debate, goal-setting, collaboration, coordination, financing, editing, publishing and distribution, a web portal would work much more simultaneously, in the sense that it would allow to carry out all of the above tasks in the same moment.

Moreover, the spirit of the web could be useful for allowing to soften a possible trend towards an excessive personalization.

As a cosequence, whilst not giving up the idea that, at a certain point in time, a joint work should be published in book form, we are starting a blog called “Europestwolungs” and are working for a more extensive web portal. Such portal could be created utilizing the Moodle Format, which is utilized by all major universities, is open source, is easy to utilize, and contains all typologies of social networking which are useful, among scholars and/or amateurs, for the exchange of their opinions (such as blogs, forums, FADs, ecc..).

According to us, such blog should not be limited to the exchange of literary, historical, or even political, information and news concerning the relationships between Russia and Europe, but, on the contrary, would be devoted to general European questions, but seen from the point of view of the East-West relationships, including Russia but also orther Former Soviet Republics, as well as the Balkans and Turkey.

A large attention will be given to the multilingual character of contributions, as well as to the link to other qualified portals, websites and blogs, as well as to databases useful for the study of the above problematics.

The newly opening blog “Europestwolungs” will constitute a simple axample of such orientation.

3.THE OUTPUTS OF THE TURIN BOOK FAIR (12-16 MAY 2011)

The Turin Book Fair has constituted a fundamental occasion for proposing our project: “Europe’s Two Lungs”.

a) Presentation of the Project on Friday 13th, with Franco Cardini and Riccardo Botrini.

Although the timing schedule fixed by the fair’s organization was not, according to us, the most appropriated for launching a so challenging project, as “Europe’s Two Lungs”, however, we considered our objectives as achieved.

In fact:

-the presentation of the project, by our guests, was outstanding:

-the outlining, by Franco Cardini, of the origins of Europe’s prejudice against Russia, starting from Middle Ages religious struggles, was a masterpiece of non-conventional historical science;

-the flashes devoted, by Riccardo Botrini, as a manager and a cultural entrepreneur, to the sociological aspects of the “symbiosis” between Europe and Russia, as concerns demography, languages, industry, careers, showed an unusually concrete view on a subject matter which, in most cases, is characterized by an abnormal ideological approach

-the intervention of Anna Roberti, Director of the Cultural Association Russkij Mir of Torino, outlined very opportunely the fundamental role that the Association Russkij Mir exercises worldwide in the diffusion of the Russian culture and language;

-the intervention of Marco Casazza, a Researcher of the Faculty of Mathematics of Torino, allowed Franco Cardini to outline a feature of Russian culture which is surely unknown to the vast majority of Europeans. The absence, in Russian culture, of the prejudice against science and technique which is dominating in Western Europe;
-Meetings with representatives of Russian Culture at the Book Fair.

b) Meetings during the Book Fair

The whole Book Fair has constituted an outstanding opportunity for everybody for deepening one’s own knowledge of traditional and today’s Russian Culture.
The ongoing events organized within the Russian stall were a unique occasion, for each one of us, for listening to first class Russian intellectuals and also for expressing, through interventions and questions, our point of view about many of the most important issues of present days European culture.
But also the professional meetings within the framework of the International Book Forum were very fruitful:
In particular, we appreciated very much the friendly reactions of Alexandra Shipetina, Vice-President of the Russian Publishers Association, as well as the one of Irina Volkova, who have been very helpful in establishing contacts with the responsible people in the different cultural and official realities of Russia. We have also had the occasion of proposing the Projet to outstanding personalities of Russian- Italian cooperation.
It goes without saying that, after the Turin Book Fair, as after any other worldwide cultural event, it will be necessary to follow-up the projects which have been initiated during the Fair.

4.NEXT STEPS

To collect, around the hypothesis of the Web Portal, contributors and possible sponsors.

To work out the technica frame work of the portal.

To publish, in the following posts of this blog, the full text of the preliminary script of "Europe's Two lungs", whereby all interested people would be encoraged to post comments.