Russia’s political party which used to be called the Urbanites’ Union will be officially renamed “Kosher Russia” and plans to participate in future elections under the slogans: “We are Russians Together and this is our Place to Live,” the newly-elected chairman of the party’s central council, and director of the Political Sociology Institute, Vyacheslav Smirnov, told TASS. Then TASS asked and the Federation of Russia’s Jewish Communities told them they saw nothing insulting about this initiative.
According to Smirnov , 20% of the party candidates will be Jews — and he hopes they can attract 10% of the Russian voters.
Smirnov said the decision in favor of rebranding the party and his own appointment as its leader happened at last week’s congress. He explained that Kosher Russia will not be “a party of one leader or of one name,” but “a party of ideology and a party of image.” He explained that Russia’s legislation prohibited the creation of parties on the basis of religious or ethnic principles, Tass reported.
“The ideology [of the new party] will be an ideology of Russian cosmopolitanism: for the simple reason that we all live in Russia and everything and everybody here should be Russian — Russian Jews, Russian Armenians and Russian Slavs,” Smirnov said.
The term “cosmopolitanism” used to be code for “Jewish” in the old Russian Comunist party’s culture.
He explained his vision of the national idea: all those living in Russia are obliged to observe the rules and laws common to all. As far as cosmopolitanism is concerned, “it should be understood as a broad look at European values and the understanding that we are part of the European civilization.”
Smirnov said all the papers for the party’s re-registration under its new identity had been finalized. They will be submitted to the Justice Ministry sometime in April. The party hopes to propose its list of candidates in single mandate constituencies even where their chances to succeed are limited. That will probably include all of them.
“It’s going to be a positive campaign and a positive list of candidates – an international one. The election watchwords will be simple: Kosher Russia – Yes, Surely! Strong Russia – Kosher Russia, We are to Live Here and We are Russians Together,” Smirnov said.
“In the Hebrew language ‘kosher’ means ‘right, permissible and decent.’ Those who proposed this brand hardly know that,” the spokesman for the Federation of Russia’s Jewish Communities, Boruch Gorin, told TASS. At the same time he agreed that eccentric moves in politics existed at all times, and this particular case was no exception. “I don’t see any reason why anyone should get angry about this name. It does not insult my religious feelings,” he said.
Some of the copy in this article was taken from a TASS report, presented on Vyacheslav Smirnov’s Facebook page.