Institute of Democracy and Cooperation

November 2008 - remembering the First World War

Publication day: 15/4/2009

Members of the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation visit the graves of Russians who fought in the First World War, Sainte Geneviève des Bois, 7 November 2008

THREE DAYS IN PARIS

On 5 November 2008, a conference was organised at the Sorbonne entitled “Russia, France and Europe in international geopolitics”. The conference was organised by the Pericles Institute and the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation in Paris. The meeting was chaired by Professor Jean-Paul Bled of the Sorbonne and the speakers were Dr Natalia Narochnitskaya, President of the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation in Paris; Colonel Alain Corvez; Paul-Marie Coûteaux, Member of the European Parliament and President of the Rally for the Independence of France; John Laughland, Director of Studies at the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation in Paris; and Jean-Pierre Arrignon, professor of history at the University of Arras.

Natalia Narochnitskaya underlined the importance of a reconciliation between Russia and Europe and attacked geopolitical projects which are intended to divide the continent. The other speakers wholeheartedly agreed with this point of view. Paul-Marie Coûteaux especially underlined the need for the Eastern and Western parts of the European continent to unite and deal with one another on a normal footing: he repeatedly said that it was necessary for Europe to “breather with both lungs”. John Laughland spoke about the future of East-West relations under a new American president, warning that the election of a young progressive president might give a new impetus to the project of consolidating American leadership over the whole world.

The following morning, members of the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation travelled to the Russian cemetery at Sainte-Geneviève des Bois to lay wreaths on the tombs of Russian soldiers buried there who had fought in the French and White Russian armies.

On the evening of 6th November, a commemorative evening was held at the Russian Cultural Centre, again in co-operation with the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation, to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War in Europe. The meeting was opened with words from Dr Shpinov, the Director of the Centre, and with a speech by Natalia Narochnitskaya, who again emphasised the importance of historical memory for the Russian national consciousness. Poems were read and documentary clips about the First World War were played. The meeting was also addressed by the sons of officers who had fought in the First World War.

On 7th November, in its first public event, the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation organised a round table of historians to discuss “The memory of the First World War in Russia and Europe.” The meeting was chaired by John Laughland, Director of Studies, and addressed by Natalia Narochnitskaya,Mikhail Shatsillo of the Institute of Russian History, Professor Olivier Forcade of the Sorbonne and Jean-Pierre Arrignon of the University of Assas.

Natalia Narochnitskaya made the point that the First World War in Russia is generally forgotten about, both by Russians and by non-Russians who forget the decisive role played by Russia in the war. Mikhail Shatsillo underlined how strong and economically developed Russia had been at the beginning of the 20th century – on a similar economic level to France and higher than Italy or Spain. Olivier Forcade emphasised that the memory of the First World War had undergone numerous changes: the population enthusiastically supported the war when it broke out but quickly came to attack it for the huge scale of the killing. He also mentioned how France had come to terms in recent years with the difficult history of the mutinies and how they were commemorated. Jean-Pierre Arrignon gave an interesting account of the way in which the war is remembered in his home town of Arras.

A discussion followed, with interventions from Professor François-Xavier Coquin, honorary professor at the College of France, who emphasised that the First World War had united the French nation after a long period of civil disputes, for instance over Captain Dreyfus and over the relationship between the church and the state. He emphasised how the memory of the First World War, and especially the sense that France had been betrayed by her Allies at Versailles and cheated of the fruits of her victory, led to the events of May and June 1940, and to the selection of Marshal Pétain, the victor of Verdun, as head of state following the German defeat.

The meeting was attended by a representative of the French Ministry of Defence (the department of memory and national heritage); a former French diplomat; a member of the Russian Institute of History; a researcher at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales; professors from the Sorbonne and other universities; and several other interested parties. The discussion was wide-ranging and extremely stimulating, and showed how the memory of important historical events can be a factor for the promotion of understanding between peoples, at a time when political projects tends instead to divide them.