LEO SEMASHKO

BIOGRAPHY

Leo Semashko, State Councilor of St. Petersburg, Ph.D., was a Professor of Sociology at the Departments of Sociology at the Universities of St. Petersburg (1994–2002, lecture courses on Sociology, History of Sociology, Sociology of Politics, Law, Family and Children). At present, Leo Semashko is the Director of the Public Institute of Strategic Sphere  (Tetrasociological) Studies in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is furthermore an IFLAC Director in Russia and ISA member. From 1990 to 1993, he was the Deputy of the Urban Legislative Assembly (of Lensovet/Petrosovet), and a member of the Commission on Economic Reform, as well as member of the Commission on Family and Childhood. From 1990-1997, he was the Founder and President of the F. M. Dostoevsky Children's Foundation in St. Petersburg. Prior to that, Leo Semashko was the Chief of the Developers Collective for the "Russian Family Code" project, with the first chapter devoted to the rights of children. From 1981–1989, he was a Senior Scientific Fellow of the "Lensistematekhnika" Institute, and between 1970–1981 he served as an Assistant and A/Professor at the Philosophy Departments at the Universities of St. Petersburg (lecture courses on Philosophy; History of Philosophy; History of Sociological Doctrines). His latest book is entitled Children’s Suffrage: Democracy for the 21st Century, Priority Investment in Human Capital as a Way toward Social Harmony, St.-Petersburg State Polytechnic University, 2004. Tetrasociology: Responses to Challenges (St-Petersburg Polytechnic University, 2002) is his main book devoted to the sphere classes as the natural actors of social harmony and harmonious peace.

Professor Semashko is the Founder and Director of the website A New Culture of
Peace from Harmony, publishing the works of more than one hundred authors from 24 countries in four languages: Russian, English, Esperanto and Portuguese. The fifth Spanish language will be installed soon. The mission of A New Culture of Peace from Harmony is summarized as follows: "To build a harmonious, new culture of peace, and to strengthen its social foundation," which includes children, parents and other caregivers. The site’s main goal is the creation of a priority of children in the world and organization of the appropriate global civil movement: “Making Children a Priority in the World”.

December 26, 2005

 

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LETTER by

 

Leo M. Semashko

State Councillor of St. Petersburg, Ph.D., Professor, Director, Public Institute of Strategic Sphere (Tetrasociological) Studies; Website Director www.peacefromharmony.spb.ru, IFLAC Delegate in Russia; Member of Advisory Board, Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies; Member of the International Sociological Association

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7/4-42 Ho-Shi-Min Street, St. Petersburg 194356, Russia.

Tel 7 (812) 513-3863 * E-mail:semashko4444@mail.admiral.ru

 

September 1, 2005

 

To: President of Russian Federation

Mr. Vladimir Putin

 

Making Children a Priority in Russia

 

Dear Mr. Vladimir Putin!

 

On the anniversary of the unprecedented Beslan tragedy, which carried away the lives of 186 children, I count it as my moral and civil duty to address you with an appeal: Making Children a Priority in Russia. It is necessary for practically all aspects of the nation’s development and transformation into a developed country. But, primarily, it is necessary for the prevention of similar tragedies in the future, for the strengthening and development of family, for the formation in future generation of a culture that is immune from terrorism about which you spoke on September 13, 2004, for overcoming the political apathy of our youth, for making the children’s sphere a budgetary priority thereby ensuring a new quality basic, human, resource, that can only grow from our children. You see, from this resource, the prosperity and socio-economic development of the country depends first of all.  Making children a priority is the most effective way of stating Russia’s civil society and social state, reinforcing positive image of Russia and establishing its new peaceful role in the world.

 

The Beslan tragedy was not accidental. It became possible as one of many consequences of the plight of children in our country and the unworthy relationship of the state to our youngest citizens. I shall remind you of only some, the most shocking, facts from the children’s sphere which includes their families, educational establishments, public health services, rest, sport and leisure and together with their parents, grandparents, teachers, doctors and other caregivers, covers up to 70 % of the country’s population. In Russia 45 % of families with children have incomes below the living wage (Arguments and Facts, 49, 2003: all references are from this source below).  That means that almost half of the children, about 20 million, live in poverty, eat poorly, are frequently sick, attend inferior schools and have very little chance of attending a university. This trend, unfortunately, does not improve and is aggravated, by the new data confirming that 60 % of the country’s population is poor (AaF, 33, 2005).

 

Other facts: In 2003 fires at two schools resulted in the burning deaths of about 50 children, and in a university’s hostel about 40 younger students. In 2004, in Beslan, 186 children were killed in a terrorist act.  In 2005, five children were burned in Krasnoyarsk. More facts: In answer to a question, what you would like to see for your child, 45 % of the parents were at a loss to answer (AaF, 46, 2003). That means, that almost half of parents do not think about their children, the children’s destiny and their responsibility for them. It means, not only the state, but also society, is appreciably indifferent to children. The youth have no incentive to have children therefore the death-rate in the country steadily exceeds the birth rate, which means the slow extinction of the nation.

 

More facts: "In Russia up to 2000 children perish annually at the hands of their own moms and dads." (AaF, 29, 2005). "Out of hopelessness or alcoholism thousands of Russian children are either killed or abandoned by their mothers annually. In our children’s homes about 40 thousand children suffer from a terror of the adults.  Why do we not mourn as bitterly as the victims of Beslan, Russian children becoming invalids from the cruelty of their own parents, from chronic underfeeding, from childhood  tuberculosis mowing down young life in the crude and cold barracks which have remained with us from Stalin’s times?" (AaF, 31, 2005). "Each year approximately 15 thousand children leave the children’s homes.  Out of these, 5 thousand end up in prison during the first year. Five thousand enter the ranks of the homeless and 1.5 thousand finish life by suicide" (AaF, 30, 2005). "In the Yaroslavl correctional house - boarding school for mentally retarded are 30 children - orphans. They begin to smoke at three years, to drink – at four, and they live by the laws of the jungle." (AaF, 33, 2005). In another children’s home "teenagers are held naked in the punishment room for one month" (AaF, 24, 2005).

 

Your councillor, Anatoly Pristavkin, testifies: "Today on streets are thrown out, by some accounts, 4-5 million children from 10 to 15 years old. This means in five years we will have the same number of criminals. It is a criminal nursery! The present situation is catastrophic.  It’s not that the children are worse, it is society that has lowered the standard of meanness" (AaF, 20, 2005). In response to Pristavkin’s article there is this figure: "each year the number of children who have stayed without care of their parents is increased by 110 thousand" (AaF, 27, 2005). I summarized only some facts and only from one edition. Actually, similar examples are much worse. Through them appears the shape of an antihuman system, hostile to childhood, cherished (fostered) by a communistic regime and remaining with us even now.

 

How do we overcome this system, menacing to a nation, which kills and ruins the children of the country, its young generations, depriving Russia of hopes for a healthy and prosperous future? Certainly attention is given to children in this country but it is not enough to enable them to grow into productive citizens. To break the "meanness of society", the unworthy attitude of the state towards children and to turn the tendency of residual financing of the children’s sphere around and make it a priority, it is necessary, first of all, to establish the socio-cultural and politico-legal institute of children’s suffrage executed by parents. This institute is based on the appropriate law. It will democratically ensure that the children of Russia will be a priority in society, both in the family and in the state. (We should note that making children a social priority is not a new idea; it was proclaimed in different forms and cultures by many scientists, writers and public figures: Dmitry Mendeleyev, Janusz Korczak, Mahatma Gandhi, Elmar Sokolov, Cardinal Gustaaf Joss, Nobel Peace Laureates and others).

 

Certainly, this law is only the first step, but a key step, to making children a priority in our country, a reality which is only achievable to the fullest extent in a long-term perspective. The initial project for Russia is prepared (it is published in our with Martha Ross DeWitt book Children’s Suffrage…, St-Petersburg, 2004, on Russian) and waits for wide scientific research and public discussion. This will not begin, in view of the large political and social importance of the theme, without your approval. In the West this idea has been actively discussed since 1991. Your presidency could be marked as a turning point in history and the salvation of the country by taking this step for children. It will be supported by the majority and best part of the population. The Stabilization Fund could be used for this purpose.

 

Children’s suffrage executed by parents puts the priority of children in place of the priority of money.  Priority will be given not to those who has much money but to those who have children or are engaged with them. Children are an incomparably more important resource than money. Children are not only our future but also part of the present. Only children’s suffrage can ensure making children a priority in the present.

 

The institute of children’s suffrage executed by parents was submitted by me to two International Congresses: International Institute of Sociology in Beijing in July 2004 and "Childhoods 2005" in Oslo in July 2005, and also in my books Tetrasociology: Responses to Challenges (2002), Tetrasociology: Multicultural Dialogue … (2003, with 14 coauthors), Children’s Suffrage… (2004, in the co-authorship with Martha Ross DeWitt), and in articles on this theme in the Journals Telescope (2005, № 2) and Star (2005, № 9, in the co-authorship with the writer V.V.Kavtorin), and in the several foreign publications.

 

In the world the appeal Making Children a Priority was born. For the first time it was sounded in Hilarie Roseman’s letter, a mother of 8 children and grandmother of 12 grandchildren from Australia, which on May 25, 2005 was sent to the Prime Minister Mr. John Howard with the appeal Making Children a Priority in Australia. Then, a similar letter to the President of USA Mr. George Bush was written by the mother of three children and grandmother of two, Rose Lord from USA with the appeal Making Children a Priority in USA and to head the appropriate global civil movement. These letters are published on page 8-3 of our International Website A New Culture of Peace as Harmony, which unites more than 80 authors from 18 countries.  Similar letters prepare in a number of other countries, which form a basis for the new Global Civil Movement Making Children a Priority in the World.

 

Russia could occupy a leading place in this movement if it will not lose time and will be the initiator of research, discussion and inculcation of children’s suffrage executed by parents. Such an initiative will essentially improve the international image of Russia; just as the image of Sweden has substantially improved since 1979 when it was the first country in the world to pass the anti-spanking law forbidding parents to use corporal punishment on their children.  Sweden can be proud before the face of the world and a shining example.  Russia has a similar chance to get rid of her negative image created by corruption, the international Russian Mafia, etc. You see, the aforementioned law, adapted by every culture and civilization in the multi-polar world of an information society of the 21st century, will form the basis for a new order of social harmony, preventing wars, terrorism and poverty. Such an initiative gives you the opportunity to become the Nobel Peace Laureate in future years. This initiative will find support by the UN, UNICEF and other International organizations and the political leaders from other countries.

 

Such is our (my and my adherents in the world) vital appeal (Making Children a Priority in Russia) to you, because we understand, that the solution to modern problems of peace, sustainable development and children, closely connected among themselves in our country and in the world, in many aspects will depend on your kind political will.

 

With deep respect,

Sincerely yours,

 

Leo Semashko

 

P.S. The basic ideas of this letter are supported in St.-Petersburg: writer Vladimir Kavtorin, Professors Nina Litvinova, George Toulchinsky and others.

 

P.P.S. The responses to this letter are published on the page 7-6 (http://www.peacefromharmony.spb.ru/eng/contents/disciplines/worldpublic/ ) and on the Forum of our International site "A New Culture of Peace from Harmony" (www.peacefromharmony.spb.ru) in the theme "Making Children a Priority in the World". The new responses will be added to them