I certainly had more than enough of the depressing Russian soul when I lived in Moscow in the early 1990s. People trudged around in the bitter cold, worn down by the challenges of everyday life but feeling there was nothing they could do to change it. Even the heady hopes of the Yeltsin coup failed to deliver any lasting transformation. ‘Life is hard, but that’s our fate, what can we do?’ So bleak.
I know what you mean. Growing up in Belarus, which borders Russia, and being immersed in Russian culture and Russification, I experienced the same. “Russian soul” is a very depressing, dark, and hopeless place. Ukraine, Ukrainian culture and mindset are in stark contrast to this.
I think you mostly captured it: those of us born and raised in the Western Powers have more in common with the Imperialist mind set than that of the Colonized, and certainly the narrow mindedness of the self righteous plays a factor as it takes an ability to rationalize and think critically.
But we should also never underestimate that in order to see russia and its barbaric medieval soul, one has to admit to being wrong about past glorifications, sentiments and sympathies, and actually admit that those who know russia best are those who have suffered the most, and this is a bridge too far for most especially for those people and institutions which have built careers and reputations around their supposed understanding despite having been proven wrong by what we see daily.
You are right. They will never be convinced nor admit to being wrong.
Thank you, Mark. I absolutely agree with your observation that the inability of people to admit that they are wrong is one of the key factors in Western glorification and whitewashing of Russia and Russians. As you said, for many, it’s a question of their reputation and the image they built about themselves. For others, it’s emotional immaturity because only emotionally mature people understand that admitting that you were wrong is the strength, not the weakness.
We all see that the old systems and ways are not working anymore — not in terms of defense and peace in the world, not in terms of clearly assessing reality and learning from the long history of Russian colonialism and aggression. However, I believe that things are slowly starting to change as more and more people become aware of this.
Tim Snyder recently wrote a piece called Trump's Hitlerian Month in which he talks about emotional logic and fascism. The links are worth following, too.
Hi Darya! Really important stuff here about the so-called “Russian soul” and the behavior of the Western press. You make a very interesting point about emotional immaturity and moral superiority. I like how short and clear this piece is and I read it several times, but I don’t mean to discourage you from writing longer ones. If you keep writing this way then I believe that eventually you will break through.
I certainly had more than enough of the depressing Russian soul when I lived in Moscow in the early 1990s. People trudged around in the bitter cold, worn down by the challenges of everyday life but feeling there was nothing they could do to change it. Even the heady hopes of the Yeltsin coup failed to deliver any lasting transformation. ‘Life is hard, but that’s our fate, what can we do?’ So bleak.
I know what you mean. Growing up in Belarus, which borders Russia, and being immersed in Russian culture and Russification, I experienced the same. “Russian soul” is a very depressing, dark, and hopeless place. Ukraine, Ukrainian culture and mindset are in stark contrast to this.
Aren’t they just! I only went to Minsk once in 1991 - wish I had been able to see a bit more of Belarus …
This is truly perplexing and infuriating.
I think you mostly captured it: those of us born and raised in the Western Powers have more in common with the Imperialist mind set than that of the Colonized, and certainly the narrow mindedness of the self righteous plays a factor as it takes an ability to rationalize and think critically.
But we should also never underestimate that in order to see russia and its barbaric medieval soul, one has to admit to being wrong about past glorifications, sentiments and sympathies, and actually admit that those who know russia best are those who have suffered the most, and this is a bridge too far for most especially for those people and institutions which have built careers and reputations around their supposed understanding despite having been proven wrong by what we see daily.
You are right. They will never be convinced nor admit to being wrong.
Thank you, Mark. I absolutely agree with your observation that the inability of people to admit that they are wrong is one of the key factors in Western glorification and whitewashing of Russia and Russians. As you said, for many, it’s a question of their reputation and the image they built about themselves. For others, it’s emotional immaturity because only emotionally mature people understand that admitting that you were wrong is the strength, not the weakness.
We all see that the old systems and ways are not working anymore — not in terms of defense and peace in the world, not in terms of clearly assessing reality and learning from the long history of Russian colonialism and aggression. However, I believe that things are slowly starting to change as more and more people become aware of this.
If I may also share some links:
Tim Snyder recently wrote a piece called Trump's Hitlerian Month in which he talks about emotional logic and fascism. The links are worth following, too.
https://open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p/trumps-hitlerian-month?r=8jzxn&utm_medium=ios
The New York Times Is Failing Our Country by Mark Jacob
https://open.substack.com/pub/stopthepresses/p/the-new-york-times-is-failing-our?r=8jzxn&utm_medium=ios
To Beat The Devil by Kris Kristofferson
https://youtu.be/dNEiUoegCGQ?si=SpzzjsskfVqSbxis
Lyrics
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kriskristofferson/tobeatthedevil.html
Thanks
Hi Darya! Really important stuff here about the so-called “Russian soul” and the behavior of the Western press. You make a very interesting point about emotional immaturity and moral superiority. I like how short and clear this piece is and I read it several times, but I don’t mean to discourage you from writing longer ones. If you keep writing this way then I believe that eventually you will break through.