|
World Jewish News
Anti-Semitic Textbook for Russian MIA Causes Scandal
02.04.2009
An attempt to train the future law enforcement officers in anti-Semitic ideology was reported on Monday by federal and regional mass media, television, radio, internet editions. Yesterday, this story has become major in the "Petersburg Hour" on "The Fifth Channel." In addition, the current scandal has led to an immediate reaction in the St. Petersburg State University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Yesterday the circulation was withdrawn from the departments of the university, from every university book-stall, where it was being sold during the month of March, and its annotation was deleted from the "news"
section on the site of the institution.
The Leadership of the University, recognizing that in preparing the publication "irregularities have occurred," asserts that none of the teachers opened the book or knew about the Black-Hundred direction of the "scientific and
historic" manual. On Monday, at the specially assembled briefing, the Deputy Chief of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Andrei Kochin said: "For now, the chief has appointed a service inspection, and
it is in progress. The circulation is removed. None of the publications got to the hands of students". According to the university management, previously the author did not deal with propaganda of anti-Semitism. However, the edition was brought to the "Vremya Novostei" by somebody who had bought it at the university kiosk.
According to the STO TV channel, the author of the textbook Vasiliy Drozhzhin does not know about the inspection. He sees nothing criminal in his edition. All comments are taken from various sources, which he merely quoted. He worked in collaboration with two PhDs from the same university.
Internet newspaper Fontanka.ru has investigated some of the author's merits. "Honorary Lawyer of the Russian Federation" (as it appears on the last page of the book) is an academician of the so-called Petrovskaya Academy of Arts and Sciences. "The Professor himself, who will turn 80 on April 7, continues to work with students. The bewilderment about how the State University could have printed this work, somehow draws attention away from the personality of the professor Drozhzhin, an academician of the Petrovskaya Academy, which has already been seen in extremist stories," writes "Fontanka.ru". "The names of academy members were heard, particularly in the sensational case the chief
editor of 'Rus Orthodox' Konstantin Dushenov, who is charged with incitement of national hatred. Professors of the Petrovskaya Academy of Sciences and the International Slavic Academy, which were brought to analyze his publications, did not notice any sedition in the texts of his edition".
As commented Petersburg human rights advocate Yury Vdovin, "deformation of history, which the gentlemen of these academies are trying to achieve, built on all sorts of national-patriotic and Stalinist ideas, is horrendously dangerous for Russia... From my point of view, this should be the subject of increased attention of Mr. Nurgaliyev (Head of the MIA. - Ed.), and people, who allowed
the emergence of such a textbook, should be cashiered from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This is not the lack of freedom of speech - it is unacceptability of distribution of anti-human ideas in the XXI century".
We have not yet been able to contact Vasily Drozhzhinov himself. However, according to a source of "Vremya Novostei" in Saint-Petersburg State University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on Tuesday, Professor Drozhzhin was invited to an interview with the head of the university. Its outcome, as well as results of official investigation, will be announced at a press briefing, which the university leadership is planning to hold today. In addition, at the initiative of the university, an open lesson will be held with the author of a textbook Vasily Drozhzhin and young teachers of the university.
Dmitry Polyansky
|
|
