Tiraspol, 11 June. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The Institute of Public Administration, Law and Social Sciences of PSU held a scientific and practical conference, "Historical self-consciousness as a factor of national unity." It was timed to coincide with the celebration of Russia Day on 12 June. The scientific and research laboratory "Historical, cultural and spiritual heritage of Pridnestrovie" was the organiser of the scientific forum. Its head Natalia Gavrilyuk said that the Supreme Council is the lab's permanent customer ordering various research.
Among the participants of the conference were representatives of state authorities, ethnic communities and public organisations, teachers and students.
In his speech, the head of the Supreme Council committee on education, science and culture, Mikhail Burla, focused on economic and social aspects of Russian-Pridnestrovian cooperation.
"The economic interaction is an important component of our relations with Russia, which the Pridnestrovians strive to join. It is testified by the results of the referendum held on 17 September 2006. Economic cooperation is largely based on the presence in Pridnestrovie of the Russian capital, both enterprises owned by Russian businessmen and those that are part of large Russian industrial holding companies. In Russia there is a large segment of our labour market; many of our fellow citizens earn their living in the Russian Federation and transfer their earnings to maintain their families here," said Mikhail Burla.
The parliamentarian also focused on common ideological, historical, cultural, linguistic, spiritual ties, as well as mentality and directions for future development. Answering the question of Stanislav Gonchar, a member of one of Bendery's public organisations, about the possibility of using Russian presidential grants, Burla said that this mechanism was being worked out. Supreme Council members constantly raise this issue during meetings with their Russian colleagues, as well as with representatives of the Russian government and presidential administration. Twelve billion Russian rubles have been allocated from the Russian budget for grants this year. But the first stumbling block preventing our public activists, even those who are Russian citizens, from obtaining them is the place of residence and taxation.
"I think this mechanism will be found in the course of time. After all, no one could earlier imagine, for example, that Pridnestrovian pensioners would receive monthly bonuses to their pensions. Everyone said it was impossible. But it became possible," Mikhail Burla stated.
The president's state advisor, Anna Volkova, highlighted her speech the multi-ethnic and multicultural nature and, at the same time, the unity of the Pridnestrovian people, as well as the Russian guidelines of Pridnestrovian statehood.
"The first words of our Constitution are 'We, the multinational people of the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublika...' It was the language issue, the desire of the Pridnestrovians to speak their native language, that prompted us to create our own statehood on the basis of centuries-old common history with Russia. However, an important factor of our unity with Russia is the harmonisation of Pridnestrovian legislation with the Russian one," Anna Volkova believes.
The PSU's vice rector on science and innovations, Elena Bomeshko, dedicated her report to Russian education in the multicultural environment of the university.
At the end of the conference, the head of the research lab "The historical, cultural and spiritual heritage of Pridnestrovie, Natalia Gavrilyuk said that last year the laboratory had organized an ethnographic dictation. More than 70 Pridnestrovians determined to test their knowledge. The youngest participant was 12 years old, and the oldest 78.
The final point of the conference was the presentation of an exposition held in a new ethnography centre, the Supreme Council's press service reported.
