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Last Updated: Nov 20, 2008 - 10:37:09 AM |
It is difficult to imagine an ordinary American driving a “Zhiguli,”
drinking Russian vodka, wearing a Russian anorak and watching the
“Vremya” news program on a “Rubin” television set all the while cursing
all things Russian. But it is very easy to picture the reverse in
Moscow—a self-assured intellectual who uses Windows on his PC, wears
Levi’s jeans, drives a Ford and lambasts the United States.
It has become a sort of courtesy to be anti-Western and particularly
anti-American among ordinary Russians, as well as among “professional”
patriots. Their numbers are growing day by day. The government’s
effective propaganda is bearing fruit. The Pepsi generation grew up and
decided that Russia is surrounded by villains who want to disband the
Empire and take over its natural resources.
After the recent military conflict in Georgia, the Kremlin poured quite
a bit of oil into the fire of national patriotism, and reminded the
citizens that Russia is getting off its knees, which allegedly
irritates the West. Envy is one of the worst qualities, particularly
when a significant portion of the population suffers from it. Russians
have nothing to match Western high technologies or social achievements.
Europe and the United States still look at Russia as a third-world
country with miserable pensions, low salaries for teachers, doctors and
scholars, corrupt courts and police and rigged elections. While having
substantial natural and intellectual resources in the shape of
scholars, engineers and entrepreneurs, Russia has failed to become a
high technology power.
Today Russia is selling oil, gas and timber to the West, and imports
manufactured goods ranging from German paper clips to American Boeings.
In its thousand-year-long history, Russia has not come up with a single
product that would be in demand in civilized countries. Traditional
goods such as cars and weapons are exported to third-world countries
due to their low price tag.
This begs a question: why do Russian patriots hate the West, whose
goods they successfully use or overuse? In Russia, luxury items can be
purchased in large quantities. It is even less clear why Moscow sells
oil and gas to those it hates. Most Russians are convinced that
Americans are stupid and poorly educated, but at the same time almost
every Russian businessman dreams of sending his offspring to Harvard or
Stanford to study.
Russians have been trying to become Europeans from the time of Peter
the Great. Their attempts to adopt democracy have not worked out yet.
They have a parliament, but no opposition. They have a Central
Electoral Committee, but no fair elections. The Kremlin analysts came
to the conclusion that the people did not take to Western democracy,
and decided to build their own sovereign one instead. “Don’t tell us
how to live!” the patriots scream at every corner. “Go teach your wife
to cook!” Vladimir Putin once blurted to one of the European
parliamentarians.
The analysts are convinced that provincial complexes usually emerge on
the basis of an imperial conscience. During the 74-year-long Soviet
history, several generations of the so-called “Homo-Sovieticus” had
emerged. In the past century, our parents and grandparents had tried to
teach the entire world how to live, with whom to live, and who to love.
Now their children and grandchildren, their pockets stuffed with
petrodollars, are taking over these missionary tasks.
Other analysts are interpreting these provincial Russian complexes
differently – Russians are having a hard time giving up their
intellectual servitude, and hence the extreme shifts from right to left
and from idolatry to lordly arrogance. Andrey Konchalovsky, a famous
Russian film director, accurately noted: “A Russian is a person of
extremes, who is happy to spit at some and kiss others’ boots.”
Today gifts like pantyhose, chewing gum and Coca Cola are insulting to
Russians. But there were days when these were memorable souvenirs. When
the Soviet Union collapsed, poverty engulfed the entire country, and
everybody looked at the West as the Messiah. Humanitarian aid and
grants worth billions of dollars were rushed to the East. But a few
years later the market economy started working, and the first wave of
rich people emerged. The middle class was established and the Russians
changed overnight. Self-assurance, cockiness and a sense of
exclusiveness came to the forefront. Luckily, the people never lost
their sense of humor and conceived a series of jokes about the “New
Russians.”
As one observant Russian once noted, “One can easily recognize Russians
abroad by their tenacious, intelligent and unkind look.” Writer Viktor
Shenderovich gave a more profound description: “Many of our
fellow-citizens have that look of powerlessness imprinted on their
faces. In the recent past, you could recognize them by their clothes.
Today they are all well dressed, but the facial tensions are still
there. Our fellow-citizen will immediately turn his head if he hears
somebody shouting ‘Hey!’ A Russian turns his head because he expects to
be stopped and asked to produce his ID card.”
And there is another interesting phenomenon: a Russian can be nervous
talking to a waiter or a porter, but he can easily push around a
minister or some lord. One can’t help thinking of Niccolo Machiavelli,
who said that “people and a society that had endured slavery or
suppression for a long time lose God’s gift of love, self-respect and
independence. These are replaced by adulation and groveling. Such
people cannot take advantage of their freedom even if obtained by
chance.”
The formula of a mysterious Russian soul is probably beyond anybody’s
comprehension. Galina Vishnevskaya, the great Russian singer and
Mstislav Rostropovich’s widow once noted that a Russian is prepared to
sacrifice his last shirt if he has only one, but he will never give one
away if he has ten in his wardrobe.
The government has mastered the art of enticing: it cynically wraps the
people around its little finger, and the people are prepared to be
fooled. The “we are surrounded by the enemy” conspiracy theory is
effective and fruitful. Putin’s approval rating, as the real master of
the nation, is extremely high. He is skillfully bringing up a new
generation of obedient and malleable citizens, who are prepared to
ignore their own shortcomings but are willing to find putridity in
others.
Very few in Russia take notice of the fact that almost every “New
Russian,” having made or stolen the first million dollars, immediately
starts thinking of whether he should buy a house on Cote d'Azur, in the
UK or, if worse comes to worst, in Manhattan. A spare airport is always
good, when you are constantly watched by the special services or the
Kremlin “Papas.” We do not like the West but it will always accept us,
provide refuge for us and will never extradite us to the Putin regime.
This rule has been well-learnt by the prescribed patriots who steal
under nationalistic slogans, as well as by the cosmopolitan Russians
who serve the Kremlin on their mercenary motives. Hypocrisy and
cynicism are the main order of the day in modern Russia.
Putin has recently decided that television and cinematography do not
teach patriotism. Perhaps his enthusiastic anti-Western propaganda has
not completely worked out. We hate the United States and Europe, but we
have not learned to love our motherland. The prime minister has decided
that the state will impose government-ordered patriotic programs and
films, thus forcing us to love our country. Undoubtedly, a dozen
talentless or talented creators will emerge, jumping at the opportunity
to build air-castles of patriotism in order to disguise the Kremlin’s
spiritual bankruptcy. Putin’s tragedy is that he cannot understand that
“a slave can never become a patriot.” A salve can become like his
master, overthrow him and take his place. But never a patriot. The
Homo-Sovieticus Putin will never understand this.
Source:Ocnus.net 2008
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