From November to December 2021, the Principal Research Fellow V.G. Shubin, Research Fellow A.A. Arkhangelskaya, Senior Research Fellow V.A. Sidorov and Junior Research Fellow D.A. Turianitsa conducted field research in South Africa supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project No. 19-514-60002 “International solidarity against apartheid: historical memory in Russia and South Africa”) which is organized jointly with the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) RUSA 180 7043 494 44.
The main goal of this research is to study the existing ideas of solidarity in the context of the joint struggle against apartheid, as well as to get a deeper understanding of the problems that both countries face in the process of preserving their past. This is especially important for the analysis and reconstruction of the shared past by future generations of researchers.
The final stage of the project was discussed with the head of the South African research team, Professor of the University of South Africa (UNISA) S. Ndlovu. Conversations with the ex-president of South Africa K. Motlanthe, ex-minister R. Kasrils, the chairman of the board of the National Institute of the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) A. Sitas, the head of the organization "History of South Africa Online" (SAHO) O. Badsha, employees of the Universities of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, Tshwane University of Technology and the National School of Management, veterans of the national liberation struggle were held. In addition to that, the team of scientists visited the Constitutional Court of South Africa, where a tour led by the former judge Albie Sachs was organized.
The results of the field research will be studied in detail and published in scientific reports and articles.
The authors express their deep gratitude to everyone who agreed to take part in the study.