I have read your editorial “A shrinking world?” with great interest and satisfaction1, and I cannot help writing some words inspired by this text.
I am under the impression that at last our European colleagues are arriving at the idea that a certain servility, which exists today in relation to the USA, is neither productive, nor justified. Without lessening America’s merits and leadership in many fields, we should not belittle our own significance. However, I cannot help but ask myself if your paper was not inspired by the changing balance of forces in the world and the entry of a new and potent player – China– on the world stage. If that is true, are we not facing a new servility?
I was greatly impressed by your words on European internationalism. At the same time –no matter how sad it sounds– it appears to me that European physicians manifest a certain tendentiousness towards their fellow physicians in Russia. While there are many reasons for this including the long-time isolation of our country in the past, today our achievements do not find their way into Western journals. The fact that Russia is not represented on the Editorial Board of EuroIntervention itself is just one example of this ongoing state of affairs. I believe that, in any case, this should not be a reason for neglecting the integration of Russian physicians into the European and world medical communities. Surely, in all fairness, though it can be noted that we may not be up to leading European countries in certain fields of science, we have a large number of cardiology centres working to the very highest professional levels and worthy of being known in Europe and worldwide.
Finally, your article suggests to me the idea that we are probably witnessing the birth of a certain tendency in some major Western countries – a tendency similar to that which caused the infamy of the former USSR. That tendency is the wish to intervene everywhere and to control everything, even far beyond their own frontiers. Maybe it is time for us to change the way we think about the idea of European internationalism and form equal relationships between all countries and peoples without fear or favour, irrespective of their social and economic systems, religions and ethnicity. Our world is so small and fragile: let the politicians create and then solve the problems –the physicians of all countries must maintain their common cause together.
I close my letter, with thanks for letting me present my impressions and thoughts provoked by your editorial, and trust that certainly other readers of your editorial will draw their own conclusions as well.
Conflict of interest statement
The author has no conflict of interest to declare.
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