Federation Council deputy speaker says Europe has lost its status of trend-setter

Federation Council deputy speaker says Europe has lost its status of trend-setter Konstantin Kosachev traced this decline back to the collapse of the Soviet Union, which he believes marked the beginning of the West's efforts to incorporate former Soviet republics into its sphere of influenceMOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. In an interview with TASS, Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, has reflected on Europe's shifting role in global leadership. "For a long time, a united Europe truly set the tone - defining the style, establishing the standards. It was the trendsetter. Yet, no other entity really attempted to craft its own worldview on these issues," Kosachev remarked. "Having held this leadership position in shaping values for so long - through the European Union and NATO - so-called 'united Europe' has now relinquished its right to lead, its right to interpret the truth unilaterally." He traced this decline back to the collapse of the Soviet Union, which he believes marked the beginning of the West's efforts to incorporate former Soviet republics into its sphere of influence. "This was especially apparent during the accession of the Baltic states to the EU," Kosachev noted. "Despite actions that contradicted widely accepted European values, the union turned a blind eye." According to Kosachev, "There was a political superstructure behind this: the primary goal for a united Europe was not to uphold European values in these countries but to swiftly detach them from the post-Soviet space, erasing their shared history with Russia and other former Soviet nations." He emphasized Russia’s efforts to preserve the cultural and historical integrity of its republics. "Unlike Western colonial powers, the Soviet Union actively developed these regions while respecting their languages, customs, traditions, and religious practices - elements that fundamentally constitute European values," Kosachev said. "This allowed Russia to shape its own developmental trajectory in these territories." As an illustrative point, he cited UN statistics from 2000: "Throughout the 20th century, 70 peoples worldwide acquired written languages. Of these, 50 were within the territory of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. This is a legacy of which we can be truly proud.". 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