Moscow, November 1, 2013
"We are used to thinking that only small nations need protection. This is not true. In many republics the Russian population is a minority, often suffering from national and religious discrimination," said the Metropolitan on Thursday at the meeting of the World Russian People's Council in Moscow.
According to him, one has to face these processes, in particular, in the east of the Stavropol territory.
"Uncontrolled processes of migration, ethnic conflicts, which are often called “everyday quarrels”, lack of workplaces, poor quality of education and health care make the Russian population leave their homes and move to other regions," states the hierarch.
In his view, it is possible to avoid many ethnic conflicts in the Stavropol territory, "if residents of neighboring republics who are coming here feel absolutely certain that should they commit a crime, not only will they receive no protection and patronage from their diasporas, but will also have problems in their native homes".
"It is important to understand that a resolution of burning issues of the day, which the Russian people face in the Caucasus, will give an impetus to development and peaceful coexistence of other peoples," notes Metropolitan Kirill.
He has reminded government representatives that "they have been given high offices by the state not so that they could hide there from their voters and their problems, but to solve them (these problems)".
