RMP representatives carried this text to the United Kingdom Embassy in Moscow on September 11, 2001

To:
His Excellency
Sir Roderic Lyne, KBE, CMG,
Her Majesty’s Ambassador in the Russian Federation
Copy:
Richard Turner,
Head of the Press and Public Affairs Section (PPAS),
British Embassy in the Russian Federation
From:
Russian Maoist Party (RMP)

Your Excellency!

We always put a very strong emphasis on the ideals of academic freedom and therefore cannot but respect the right of students from any country in the world to receive higher education wherever they want. However, the decision to send the English prince William to study the history of art at the Scottish University of St. Andrews this September 24 has much less to do with the principles of academic freedom than with the state policies of the British Cabinet. This is an obvious propaganda move, an action by the “Great” British government that is aimed both at encouraging the most reactionary prejudices in your society and at exacerbating national strife between the peoples of the British Isles.

The institution of the English monarchy is far from being simply an archaic tradition or a sentimental relic of times past. The royal House of Windsor concentrates immense influence, political power and riches in its hands – both in your country and in all the member-states of the British Commonwealth. It may seem that many of the practically unlimited constitutional rights vested in the royal family have become mere formalities by now. However, there is nothing to prevent these formalities from becoming reality – if such is the wish of the ruling élite in your country. In that – certainly hypothetical, but not impossible – case, all the parliamentary and other democratic institutions of England may disappear overnight. So long as a country (any country!) remains a monarchy, genuine democracy – majority rule – remains an illusion there.

Members of the royal House of Windsor are treated like living gods. Any movements, any actions or utterances by any of these persons are eagerly seized upon by the media and immediately become the property of the public. The real and imagined personal virtues of members of the royal family are exaggerated out of all proportion and offered to the public as models to be imitated. This is a perfect way of diverting the attention of the English, Scottish and other peoples from the very real political, economic and social problems faced by your society, of stifling critical thinking in the population, of emotionally tying it to the existing régime and of nipping in the bud the very idea of any alternatives to the latter.

The cult surrounding the future king, prince William, a figure that has not yet shown himself in anything except for the fact of his “noble” birth; the hype blown up around a routine event in his life, entering a university – all this perfectly fits the above-mentioned pattern and is clearly directed at giving a boost to the recently falling popularity of the English monarchy.

The place where the prince is planned to receive his education has been chosen far from accidentally. The fact that he is entering a Scottish university, moreover, one of the oldest and most venerable ones in that country, is evidently intended to symbolise the “national unity” of the “United Kingdom,” to emphasise the allegedly not simply English, but “British,” including “Scottish,” nature of royal power. Prince William’s projected stay at St. Andrews University is part of a series of carefully thought-out political actions by the British authorities that are calculated to make the Scottish people resign itself both to the monarchical form of government and to Scotland’s lack of national freedom.

The “British nation” is a myth. The concept of the “United” Kingdom of “Great” Britain and “Northern Ireland” is used to cover up a regime long since founded on the supremacy of the English nation and the oppression of the other nations in the British Isles. The centuries-old history of Ireland’s struggle for independence and the contemporary heroic resistance in the Occupied Six Countries illustrate this perfectly. The Scottish people has fully tasted all the “joys” of life under the English crown. The entire history of Scotland since its absorption by the English State has been a history of the economic exploitation, political subjugation and national, linguistic and cultural suppression of its people. The Scots are understanding better and better that the “British” State and the “British” Monarchy are in fact nothing else than an English State and an English Monarchy – institutions that have nothing Scottish in them and that are in contradiction to the fundamental interests of the Scottish people. Consequently, we can observe a growth of separatist feelings and an upswing of national liberation movements in Scotland. The attempts by the British authorities to contain this process via various measures such as “devolution” or convening a Scottish Parliament have no possibility of succeeding. Creating an independent Republic of Scotland has been on the agenda for a long time.

We believe that the decision concerning prince William’s stay at St. Andrews is a national insult to the Scottish people. The events of the recent months show that this people will never understand or accept this decision. Its protest manifests itself in the most varied forms, from eccentric actions to outright political extremism. On the whole, we express our solidarity with the actions of the Scottish people in the struggle for its independence and are convinced that the English government will show enough state wisdom to cancel its decision to send William Windsor to study at St. Andrews University. If the prince is interested in the history of art, he may well study it at any of the English universities – for which your country is justly famous – or in any foreign country where his stay will not have the nature of a political propaganda move. We are also certain that any university in Russia will gladly accept prince William as its student.

Sincerely yours,
Chairperson of the Russian Maoist Party
Dar ZHUTAYEV
September 11, 2001