Vladimir Kalinin

I am MR.Vladimir Kalinin head of Smorgon information centre on children and HRE at the moment.I graduated from Air Force College former USSR and had been in the Air Force USSR and later Belarus. I graduated from Latvian pedagogical university in social sciences as well and when i finished my military carrier i joined education department .Lasst year team of my studnets won UNESCO prize in MOndialogo school contest(more than 136 countries took part in it ) and we have been invited to Rome Symposium for the awarding ceremony. I have classes on human rights at gymnasium and for 6 years had been as researcher in the field of children rights under our ministry of education framework. In 2006 i invited colleagues from UK and Germany to visit my office because my students published their articles about children and human rights issues ,Holocaust issues and we got good media covering in these countries.I am open for cooperation and collaboration with colleagues abroad.

Dear Colleagues, I am teaching and managing children and human rights education in country in tranisiton for the last 7 years.I ma responsible for 37 local schools for monitoring and collecting good practices , training process of children rights teachers. What i have to say.We have a psecial course human rights education at every school and during two years of teaching International human rights standards at the university. But going back to school issues. It is going pretty well here and i see that students are very active in this field and very creative as well.But it depends on the well trained teacher or school leader because it is very new subject for us after the collapse of the USSR.I was working with some colleagues from UK-Sheffield (www.timeforcitizenship.org and invited them to visit my office because my pupils got 1 and 2 places in the European school contest).But we are not members of EU-CE and other organizations like Swiss but only with bad recordsin HR and isolated in Europe.Anyway we have quite good school self government system,created voice of Ombudsman volunteer school service( and our ministry of education recognized my experience as a good practice for other 6000 schools in our country),made some video films about Holocaust in Belarus and Germany and had an exchange visits of our studnets to both countries and we found a lot of witnesses from concentrated camps in Minsk ( survived after WW2 and had meetings with them). Now i am trying to publish a book with students and teachers researches ,video film we have sent to USA students film festival and one film about local human rights hero and got 2 place and i have been at the awarding ceremony in California.Last year my team won UNESCO prize in MOndialogo school contest(more than 136 countries participated in it and we got 8 place at the INternational conference in Rome). It is only some of our activites and if we have an active teacher who is a leader and respectful person for students you must have success in this field.

I am Mr. Vladimir Kalinin from Smorgon, Belarus. At the moment I am head of information centre on children and HRE in gymnasium N4. I am working for the last 4 years as researcher in the field of HRE appointed by our ministry of education. ICT is new issue to us, so I see that all of you are very experienced in this field and I could learn from you and could share our way of work, innovations in the field of HRE and just talk to you and work in one project because Belarus isolated in Europe not and we continue to live at iron curtain despite of collapse of the USSR. Very strange situation form my mind.

I think we can talk a lot about taxes but government will listen to rich not to poor people. I do not understand your system capitalist one we are only moving towards it but I see that it is very wild by the nature. We got a period of wild capitalism now some people got all people's property oil gas natural resourses and have milliards of money but do not pay taxes because of corruption and millions are living in a poverty like in the region of Abramovich but he is a hero in UK and buying footbal teams and property from kings but people in his region slowly dying with gas oil and food. Berezovky Gusinkis and others made thier money in Russia but moved to Israel or UK (despite Berzovsky is under Intrepol investigation but laughing at all world society because he has milliards of money to behave himself like that). So we are talking they are working and making their business as they like to do. I only surprised that you have built capitalism 500 years ago but still have the same problems and I guess that we will get the same through some years. Now I can understand people who were building socialism to be equal but poor but it was a nice story with sad end...

I think that shouldn't and some of my colleagues already mentioned that it is up to people to make any changes even if they need some decades for that. I was involved into Afagnistan war and you can see that motivation at least on the words had been nice to help Afganistan to build just and new society like in the former USSR, the same now in Irag but only leaders changed now USA is saying about democracy around the world and doing things the same as former totalitarian Soviet Union Nazist Germany. No one democracy can't not be built at the people's blood and suffering. Our history (I mean USSR) show it very clear to build communism after killing of millions of our own people it was way to nothing. If people in Iraq or Iran or somewhere else do not want any riots or revolutions or invasions let them to live as they are ready to live and when they will be ready for social changes they will change their societies by themselves. So USA got an image as world police men at the moment when USSR lost in this battle because before it was a world evil.

Dear friends, We never been one monolistic society even during socialist society.One party -yes others had been destroyed by new leaders (educated and financially supported by west countries like Lenin and his company;from our archives we got an information through TV that Lenin got a lot of money to do revolution in former Russia Imperia). According to Marx your countries should be the first in this field -to change social system and extablish new rules , parties and orders but Lenin decided to be first and situation had been quite good for that at the moment. But it is another topic.Going back to the point i have to say that we thought that if we have newclear weapons nobody will attack us because they should be destroyed immediatelly(you remember that USA was every time ahead and created new and new weapons just to destroy socialist economy by these weapons race).Because of brainwashing of socialism system we were ready to die but should to help and support our brothers(only poor people ) abroad to fight rich people and capitalists and deliver them paradize.Now it is funny but i believed as well and was prepared to fight capitalists anywhere in the world.I never seen them or any foreigners (it was not possible during socialist period for military personnel to do and easy to teach who is your enemy) but later i realised that they are the same people and want to live in peace and dignity ,they are different because of their civilisation and way of life and it is better to try to find common language for cooperation and friendship that look at each other through eys of newclear weapons .But our politicians were thinking in a different way. Still now i think that capitalism system is very brutal and our former system was full of false ideas and rules and now we have what we have-dreaming about better system ...

I am not an optimist concerning Mr. Bush Presidency for the next 4 years. The point is that USA got a special declaration concerning my country just to continue our isolation in Europe and world (but who gave them such a right to be a world judge?????) but the most dangerous thing is that USA top officials are talking about the using all possible actions and activities like in Iraq to teach our top officils how to live and build democracy. So even after the collapse of the USSR our world will be divided we and they and now our people are looking for Russia just to be sure that there exist someone who could defend us. When we were living in two big "camps" I was more secure that now when only one superpower exists and the world should follow the rules of it. Our life is so short and I guess that I never will live without all these troubles how to educate and raise my children just to be peaceful and optimistic ....... But I am finishing my remarks with peace and love to all people who are waiting, fighting for peace and tolerance and dreaming for the better future (like I was building and waiting for communism in my country....)

I was in the East Germany in this period of time (in the former Soviet troops in Germany as pilot of the USSR). We were "staying" not very far from the residence of Mr.Eric Honneker just to protect him in cooperation with Germans special forces. It was nice time for me, I never could imagine that such a giant as USSR could collapsed in one day. I could say you frankly that when we were living in a different systems world was much more safe and perdictable (maybe I am wiong) but now anarchy everywhere and I feel that new wars are coming if our top politicians can't find solution and cooperation agaginst terror and could escape double standards as well. Because what is acceptable for one partner is not acceptable for other, I mean some of Chechen terrorist are living in UK, USA and they are political immigrants in these countries but in Russia they killed hundreds of people and are criminals. Now our world is open for cooperation and collaboration but very selective one. I mean Belarus continue to live at iron curtain because of isolation in Europe, despite any riots or wars, or terrorist attacks and we are not even members of CE or EU but were founders of UN system after WW2. A lot of questions without clear answers for me at least.

; Hi John, You are right it is very interesting topic especially for us here in country in transition, I am from Belarus. We crushed socialism and are trying to build something ... nobody knows what-capitalism or again socialism or mixed society. Very sad that country is part of Europe but in full isolation at the moment and we continue to stay at iron curtain and view what are you doing in the west. But it is nothing compare with terror attacks in Russia and former USSSR -Caucasus is the palce where terrorist have homeland and could prepare their horrible actions against peaceful people, children and women. As you can see a lot of them from arab countries, just joined chechen gangs and have a lot of money to do their dirty business. I can't understand that a lot of them found residence in UK but their hands in a blood like Zakaev who is living in London and got status of refugee.So, now we are living in a society where we are not defended against terror and it could be happened in any country in the world if we all together will create a common policy and strategy how to fight terror.

Dear Colleagues, You are right when you say that in many of post soviet countries there are authroritarian dictatorships like in Uzbekistan, people form this country are telling horrible things that nobody will never hear. Some of them about torture, killings and human rights violations became known because UN expert on torture attended country last year. But as there are US military bases in Uzbekistan it means that this country will never appear on agenda even in UN CHR. Turkmenistan is even more horrible country with regime like during Stalin rules. Kazahstan became authoritarian as well and all the president's relatives have power in his administration like in Kurgyzstan but all the se states are part of CE and going to join EU in the future. Azerbaidjan and Georgia are no better because of corruption, injustice and permanent civil wars. Poverty is growing and rich people became richer now. This gap exist everywhere in post soviet republics - wild capitalism with wild face. Baltic states are members of all possible European organisations but half of their population do not even have the right to vote for member of EU parliament and denied any rights within their own countries. What are you building in Europe, which one common house for national minorities, what about human rights for them? All these post soviet countries need 50 years just to prepare their civil society to live in democracy. They understood one thing after the collapse of the USSR that that they should talk about rule of law and democracy just to join your community, During socialism, people in power were talking about right things but doing completely different and you can see that a lot of former communist are in power now in many post soviet countries, but now they call thelselves democracts.

Dear Anne, I am head of information centre on children rights education from Belarus-Vladimir Kalinin. I have HRE classes at gymnasium and we are UNESCO ASP school. We never had experiences how to work together with colleagues abroad, so if you have some interest to country in transition from communism to capitalism you are welcome! Let us start our cooperation. Have a nice weekend, Vladimir

Vladimir Kalinin is from Belarus. A former soldier in the Red Army he is now a teacher in Smorgon. http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showuser=258 My name is Vladimir and I played quite an active role during the so called cold war period. As millions of former soviet people I grew up under communist ideology and believed in it at the very beginning. Later I saw that it is false system but more than 20 years came just to understand that. I graduated at a Air Force College and was an officer in the former USSR (later I obtained a degree from University in the social sciences). For five years I served in East Germany and helped defend Eric Honneker in Berlin. I thought that the balance of power between USA and USSR quite a good thing because they were both afraid of each other and checked each other over the world. Now we see a completely different situation - one super power and they are doing what they want. I have to say something following the discussion about your visits to the former USSR. A lot of people were rather satisfied by the former soviet system especially in terms of social protection - no jobless people, free of charge medical care, rest on resorts were covering by trade unions, free education, equal salary for women and men, voting for women (in many developed countries like Switzerland, Canada, maybe in USA as well, women got access to vote just 10-20 years ago. I guess that in this period of time your people could only dream about that. But in terms of political and civil rights - a lot of problems. We have not any experience what it is about and what is it civil society and democracy and still now former soviet people do not know what it is. Concerning Lenin, former communist leaders made an idol out of him but in his last letters he asked to bury him but they made completely different thing. In Russia they need some time to do that now. They are afraid of old communist generation, they do not want to listen about killings and horrible nature of the former soviet system. You got new EU members but I guess that very few of you know that in Latvia and Estonia half of their people denied civil and political rights because they are not citizens of these countries despite helping to rebuild their economies after the WW2. Members of their parliaments are going on demonstrations with former nazi soldiers. Now they are national heroes in these countries. UN, EU, CoE passed a lot of resolutions about situation of minorities rights. Now they do not want to correct the situation and we accept them as potential hot spots on European map. I was in some EU countries including UK and I was shocked by the picture when young people were sleeping on the street, drug issues and poverty as well as racial discrimination and etc. Now all these things we have unfortunately. So, we have not perfect system where people could live in dignity and peace.

Dear Colleagues, I think that European enlargement is politically motivated decision and economically west countries will get benefit because former republics of the USSR are in a deep crisis and they just crushed their system but did not build new one.all former so called people's property are in a dirty hands/just few cases -of Lithuania president ,Latvia sold all property and have not nothing in their own hands , and they are waiting for foreign help and support but some years ago they were the most strongest republics/ of mafia and former communist leaders,but now they are new businessmen ...... All these issues about enlargement for Europe will bring new troubles i guess because these so called democracies are not ready for joining Europe, despite they have signed all necessary documents and Conventions including European CHR.But in Latvia 450 000 people without any civil and political rights because denied even citizenship,the same situation in Estonia but they are our neighbors and we see what is going on.they just have changed old holders for new one.It is normal thing because they are small countries and can't survive alone. Independence-- according to UN research only 20 countries in the world could say that they do not depend economically and politically form others , others... depend completely form developed world , so .. we have what we have ... War in Irag and UN crisis because USA took decisons without Security Council just alone but others should follow them if they want to survive.Sorry, quite pessimistic perception but it is my point of view.

Dear Colleagues, I am very pleased to take part in your new topic because we had lost 3 million people during WW2 and every family defeated by this war. My students are working with veterans now, writing their memories, stories, getting photos and documents from this period of time. A lot of them we placed in our school museum. I'll be happy to translate some of them and re-send to your forum. As Russians we were "sentensed by nazi" to death because belong to slavonic race but nobody and never could do so in our current history. Unfortunately, still now we are isolated in Europe, all our neighbors are members of EU-CE but we continue to live at iron curtain. Anyway, I am working with my teachers and students just to feel that we are part of Europe and would like to cooperate and collaborate with my colleagues abroad. My best wishes to all veterans of WW2 who won this struggle for freedom and independence, a lot of happiness and good health for all of them, we remember you and admire you because you are an excellent example for the next generations. With peace and love, Vladimir

I am Mr. Vladimir Kalinin from Smorgon, Belarus. At the moment I am head of information centre on children and HRE in gymnasium N4. I am working for the last 4 years as researcher in the field of HRE appointed by our ministry of education. ICT is new issue to us, so I see that all of you are very experienced in this field and I could learn from you and could share our way of work, innovations in the field of HRE and just talk to you and work in one project because Belarus isolated in Europe not and we continue to live at iron curtain despite of collapse of the USSR. Very strange situation form my mind.