George - Aug 1st, 1991-Chicken Kiev Speech - Against suicidal nationalism and ethnic hatred

The day before, Bush visited Moscow and assured Gorbachev of his full support for the transformation of the USSR into a democratic, social and market-economy state federation. He emphasized the importance of the Nine Plus One Agreement. Here are some excerpts from the speech: “The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities. (Lord Acton)” … “Yet freedom is not the same as independence. Americans will not support those who seek independence in order to replace a far-off tyranny with a local despotism. They will not aid those who promote a suicidal nationalism based upon ethnic hatred. We will support those who want to build democracy. By democracy, we mean a system of government in which people may vie openly for the hearts -- and yes, the votes -- of the public. We mean a system of government that derives its just power from the consent of the governed, that retains its legitimacy by controlling its appetite for power. For years you had elections with ballots, but you did not enjoy democracy. And now, democracy has begun to set firm roots in Soviet soil.” … “I note this today because some Soviet cities, regions, and even Republics have engaged in ruinous trade wars. The Republics of this nation have extensive bonds of trade, which no one can repeal with the stroke of a pen or the passage of a law. The vast majority of trade conducted by Soviet companies -- imports and exports -- involves, as you know better than I, trade between Republics. The nine-plus one agreement holds forth the hope that Republics will combine greater autonomy with greater voluntary interaction -- political, social, cultural, economic -- rather than pursuing the hopeless course of isolation.“ … Link to the Nine Plus One Agreement: … “And now, as Soviet citizens try to forge a new social compact, you have the obligation to restore power to citizens demoralized by decades of totalitarian rule. You have to give them hope, inspiration, determination -- by showing your faith in their abilities. Societies that don’t trust themselves or their people cannot provide freedom. They can guarantee only the bleak tyranny of suspicion, avarice, and poverty.” A few weeks later, Yeltsin staged a coup against Gorbachev and destroyed hopes of an organized, socially acceptable transformation of the USSR into a free federation of states. Unfortunately, the “West“ made the same mistakes as in Yugoslavia and was unfortunately far too quick to recognize the separating republics. We see the result today in Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Chechnya and most of the successor states of the USSR. The speech shows that the US has been aware since 1991 of the destructive potential of nationalism and ethnicism in the various former Soviet republics. The result was several wars and an all-plundering oligarchic economy and autocracies across the former USSR territory. The “West“ has shamefully abused this situation in order to get the raw materials cheaply and/or to prevent a reasonable development of these countries by means of economic coercive measures.