Thank you for this very interesting text! Indeed, I have always wondered why the Russians have no problem with paradoxal thinking. They can venerate both the Orthodox Christian martyrs of the early Soviet era, and the Bolcheviks that killed them. I've even heard them say that the both walk hand in hand in the immortal regiment. This is impossible to understand for anyone with a Western mindset. Now I understand better. Thank you for these thoughtful blog posts.
American Indians are, of course, far relatives of us, Altaic peoples, not only genes, but also languages have some similiarities. Patagonian Indians' word for water is su, you know.
That's interesting. I didn't know that. Actually now I'm wondering, are there any studies classifying Amerindian languages? To which language family do they belong? Are they in any way related to the Altaic family?
Russians seem to have dead eyes. That would be from centuries of being ruled by autocrats, Tsars the latest Tsar being Putin, where thoughts and words critical of the leader, and direct superiors were harshly punished.
Latin Americans are very different in this manner. As for Brazilians, they were not really interested in repression at all.
Precisely they were ruled by FOREIGN autocrats. Russians are since the 9th century (arrival of Viking pirates and slave-traders) under foreign, un-Russian, rule.
I suspect that by modifying all the specific historical and cultural particulars one could make the same argument that the Chinese people have an egually high propensity to blur truth and falsehood. This is just a function of living for centuries in a totalitarian society. But I would also love to be wrong about this and have an expert on both societies make a compelling case that there can be different totalitatianisms with different effects on a personal level.
There is nothing in the essay that I would dispute (especially the part about lying), but as a diaspora Ukrainian who lived there all through the 1990s, I would suggest that emphasizing only the enigmatic "dushá" of the Russians and the dubious "closeness" to their dead (rather than a supreme indifference) is gravely inaccurate. Other crucial features must be factored in to fully understand the nihilistic Russian soul. One such (whose origin is mentioned but not developed) is the culture-historical dominance of medieval oriental sensibilities (with an Orthodox veneer); this really sets the common folk apart from ordinary Westerners—who since at least as far back as the Enlightenment have been raised with a considerably greater sense of personal responsibility and agency (which form the foundation of a civil society).
Thank you very much for your comment. Yes indeed, I didn't intend to put all my thoughts on this matter in this short essay. I aim to explore much more, as you said - other crucial features, in my future articles and develop everything into a coherent understanding of Russians.
The original article has been scrubbed, but it was an accurate, if astounding, assessment that was published in early January 2000, just after the unknown Рutіn started his presidency.
Well, Kök Böri - this is a pure after-construction of history. In 1945 the ideas and principals of the heritage of the French Revolution won a most important victory - the strict rule telling that never separate liberty from equality from each other - against the brutal ultra-conservative aggressive reactionary ideas which was in the long run against the quislings of Europe - the brown and black.
The most important thing (and theme) nowadays for all Europe, is to preserve all peoples' liberty and dignity against Europe's new quisling parties.
Russians have traditionally a very impressively deep sence of psyche and a very trustful mind of personal and deep psychology. We can see this deep psychological phenomenon all from literature of Fiodor Dostojevskij to Rasputin, the tragic holy Siberian priest of the Romanoff family - and even into the books of Mihail Bulgakov, like The Master and Margarita which cover the stories when 'evil' and the many forms of 'Satan' arrived in town and to several families and to the reality itself. Had Mihail Bulgakov lived (he died in 1940, Stalin often in his life visited Bulgakov's theatre and just loved his works!) when the innovative manuscript was found in the mid-1960's and published for the first time - he would absolutely - and easily - got the Prix Nobel de la litérature in the 1960's!
Russians, and also Ukrainians and Belorusians, very often take with them food and beverages to the family graves and spend some time there and toast with the glasses and even leave a glass with Russian vodka for the grave. Their mental contacts with the life after this is in so way very formed by the Orthodox church's traditions and emotional world.
We other Europeans can really see all of this with impression and warm hearts. Their deep spiritualism and contact with the soul are in many ways a role model for the European cultures.
Today 8-9 May is the Victory Day over fascism, nazism and brutal conservatism in Europe. We all feel some days of grief and sorrow and remember all them who gave their lives for Europe and liberated us from the brown and black evil. Long live the Victory over Fascism!
This was a defeat of Europe. One occuper, Germans, were replaced by two, the Soviets and the Anglo-Saxons, which both are neither White, nor Europeans, and have nothing in common with Europe at all. They both wanted to detsroy Europe and to degradate Europeans to slaves of Globalist ideology. In 1994 the Soviets have gone, but the Anglo-Saxons stayed and they did and do everything to bring the Europeans to their doom, which we see now. The Anglo-Saxons have provoked all world wars, since the WW0 (1793-1815) and untill the current one (2022-?). Of course they did it with proxies, using Germans, Poles, Russians and Ukrainians as their puppets. So this was just one more "victory" of Globalists, which is simply another word for Anglo-Saxon imperialism.
Thank you for this very interesting text! Indeed, I have always wondered why the Russians have no problem with paradoxal thinking. They can venerate both the Orthodox Christian martyrs of the early Soviet era, and the Bolcheviks that killed them. I've even heard them say that the both walk hand in hand in the immortal regiment. This is impossible to understand for anyone with a Western mindset. Now I understand better. Thank you for these thoughtful blog posts.
Thank you for your words and additional insights.
American Indians are, of course, far relatives of us, Altaic peoples, not only genes, but also languages have some similiarities. Patagonian Indians' word for water is su, you know.
That's interesting. I didn't know that. Actually now I'm wondering, are there any studies classifying Amerindian languages? To which language family do they belong? Are they in any way related to the Altaic family?
In Internet you can find something to this topic, but I do not know how seriously all this is, like
https://www.facebook.com/groups/iranistika/posts/6608965012485519/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350372551_Lingvokulturnye_paralleli_drevnih_turkov_i_indejcev_Severnoj_Ameriki
https://milli-firka.org/%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%8E%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B8-%D0%B8-%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%86%D1%8B-%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D0%BE-%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B0/
Russians seem to have dead eyes. That would be from centuries of being ruled by autocrats, Tsars the latest Tsar being Putin, where thoughts and words critical of the leader, and direct superiors were harshly punished.
Latin Americans are very different in this manner. As for Brazilians, they were not really interested in repression at all.
ruled by autocrats
Precisely they were ruled by FOREIGN autocrats. Russians are since the 9th century (arrival of Viking pirates and slave-traders) under foreign, un-Russian, rule.
I suspect that by modifying all the specific historical and cultural particulars one could make the same argument that the Chinese people have an egually high propensity to blur truth and falsehood. This is just a function of living for centuries in a totalitarian society. But I would also love to be wrong about this and have an expert on both societies make a compelling case that there can be different totalitatianisms with different effects on a personal level.
There is nothing in the essay that I would dispute (especially the part about lying), but as a diaspora Ukrainian who lived there all through the 1990s, I would suggest that emphasizing only the enigmatic "dushá" of the Russians and the dubious "closeness" to their dead (rather than a supreme indifference) is gravely inaccurate. Other crucial features must be factored in to fully understand the nihilistic Russian soul. One such (whose origin is mentioned but not developed) is the culture-historical dominance of medieval oriental sensibilities (with an Orthodox veneer); this really sets the common folk apart from ordinary Westerners—who since at least as far back as the Enlightenment have been raised with a considerably greater sense of personal responsibility and agency (which form the foundation of a civil society).
Thank you very much for your comment. Yes indeed, I didn't intend to put all my thoughts on this matter in this short essay. I aim to explore much more, as you said - other crucial features, in my future articles and develop everything into a coherent understanding of Russians.
The original article has been scrubbed, but it was an accurate, if astounding, assessment that was published in early January 2000, just after the unknown Рutіn started his presidency.
https://iol.co.za/news/world/2000-01-19-paper-in-the-outhouse-over-russia-remark/
Well, Kök Böri - this is a pure after-construction of history. In 1945 the ideas and principals of the heritage of the French Revolution won a most important victory - the strict rule telling that never separate liberty from equality from each other - against the brutal ultra-conservative aggressive reactionary ideas which was in the long run against the quislings of Europe - the brown and black.
The most important thing (and theme) nowadays for all Europe, is to preserve all peoples' liberty and dignity against Europe's new quisling parties.
brutal ultra-conservative aggressive reactionary
These all are labels, which were sticked to everybody, who does not want to obey the Globalists (i.e. the British Empire).
Among the winners was Stalins SU, and it was not brutal ultra-conservative aggressive reactionary, or was it?
Russians have traditionally a very impressively deep sence of psyche and a very trustful mind of personal and deep psychology. We can see this deep psychological phenomenon all from literature of Fiodor Dostojevskij to Rasputin, the tragic holy Siberian priest of the Romanoff family - and even into the books of Mihail Bulgakov, like The Master and Margarita which cover the stories when 'evil' and the many forms of 'Satan' arrived in town and to several families and to the reality itself. Had Mihail Bulgakov lived (he died in 1940, Stalin often in his life visited Bulgakov's theatre and just loved his works!) when the innovative manuscript was found in the mid-1960's and published for the first time - he would absolutely - and easily - got the Prix Nobel de la litérature in the 1960's!
Russians, and also Ukrainians and Belorusians, very often take with them food and beverages to the family graves and spend some time there and toast with the glasses and even leave a glass with Russian vodka for the grave. Their mental contacts with the life after this is in so way very formed by the Orthodox church's traditions and emotional world.
We other Europeans can really see all of this with impression and warm hearts. Their deep spiritualism and contact with the soul are in many ways a role model for the European cultures.
Today 8-9 May is the Victory Day over fascism, nazism and brutal conservatism in Europe. We all feel some days of grief and sorrow and remember all them who gave their lives for Europe and liberated us from the brown and black evil. Long live the Victory over Fascism!
This was a defeat of Europe. One occuper, Germans, were replaced by two, the Soviets and the Anglo-Saxons, which both are neither White, nor Europeans, and have nothing in common with Europe at all. They both wanted to detsroy Europe and to degradate Europeans to slaves of Globalist ideology. In 1994 the Soviets have gone, but the Anglo-Saxons stayed and they did and do everything to bring the Europeans to their doom, which we see now. The Anglo-Saxons have provoked all world wars, since the WW0 (1793-1815) and untill the current one (2022-?). Of course they did it with proxies, using Germans, Poles, Russians and Ukrainians as their puppets. So this was just one more "victory" of Globalists, which is simply another word for Anglo-Saxon imperialism.