Protest of the Italian Society for the Study of Contemporary History against the Russia's decree on falsification of history

Dear Colleagues,

Please find below the English version of the official protest of the Italian
Societ for the Study of Contemporary History (www.sissco.it) against the
application of Russia's recent decree on "the falsification of history to
the detriment of Russia's interests". The protest has also been been signed
by the Italian Association of Slavicists (
http://www.associazioneslavisti.it/).

all the best,

andrea graziosi, President
Società Italiana per lo Studio della Storia Contemporanea

************************
Società Italiana per lo Studio della Storia Contemporanea
SISSCo (www.sissco.it)

July 2, 2009

The Italian Society for the Study of Contemporary History is an associationof approximately 700 hundred Italian professors and researchers of 19 th and 20th Century history. It has always negatively viewed any state
interference in the scholarly debate. We deem such interference a threat to the advancement of knowledge and have been concerned by the Russian Federation President’s decree of May 15, 2009, “*On the commission to counter attempts at falsifying history that damage Russia’s interests*.”

The letter that Academician V.A. Tishkov, Academic Undersecretary, History and Philology Section, and Director of the History Section, Russian Academy
of Science, signed on June 23 in application of the above mentioned decree confirms our fears.

The letter asks “the directors of the Institutes of the History and Philology Section, Russian Academy of Science” to provide “an annotated (*annotirovannyi*) list of the cultural-historical falsifications in the
fields of study your Institute is engaged in (indicating the falsifications’ main sources, the individuals or the organizations producing or promoting a specific falsification, the potential danger such falsification poses to Russia’s interest, and preliminary proposals for the scientific confutation of the falsification in question).”

These words do not need any comment. We are amazed that a
distinguished colleague could put his reputation at risk without considering the impact the letter he signed will have in deterring intellectual freedom in the
Section he directs and in his country, as well as on how his actions will be judged by the international scholarly community. It is in fact evident to us that conceiving historical research this way will cause serious damage to
the interests and prestige of Russia as a community of free citizens and as the home of a rich and lively culture.

Fully convinced that only through a free and unfettered debate even the most absurd and unpalatable theories will eventually suffer defeat, and that any repressive intervention on the part of the state must be resisted, the
Italian Society for the Study of Contemporary History urges the international community of scholars, and in particular other scholarly societies, to make our Russian colleagues feel our support and those who promoted or executed such decree feel our reprobation.

This is especially important because similar measures are being discussed, and at times adopted in other countries, including some in the European Union. In these cases – as in Russia – self-proclaimed “good intentions” are paving
the way to the degradation of that freedom which is, and must remain, the only light directing the scholarly community.