Does Russia have a valid history?

[PeterWolf]

WITH LEADERS drawn from a pool of whores, drunkards, and murderers and a populace which minds little and pays little mind, Russia's continued stumble through the centuries is something of a miracle -* a history generated in spite of itself, which has less to do with cause and effects than bulk and blood and the sheer force of a giant, blundering momentum. And so, if a wave of terrorist attacks has again rocked this land of brutal paradox and worst case scenarios, who among us can claim surprise? A country which taught its citizens to distinguish degrees of hopelessness -- where Nihilists died for their beliefs -- has given up hope once again, and for all their tragic cost, the explosions in Moscow this past week had the ultimate effect of bullets fired into a corpse.


The death toll in Moscow's explosions has already topped the number of casualties from the botched military operation against Chechen fundamentalists in Dagestan, and in spite of a paramilitary crackdown that's seen 27,000 of Moscow's 30,000 residential buildings searched this week (and not a few Azerian and Chechen "blacks" beaten along the way), the feeling in Moscow is that this latest wave of terror has only just begun, and the government is powerless to stop it. "General Lebed Wants To Play Up Authority's Impotence," Izvestia reports: "The current situation in Russia is such that the image of a 'brutal general' who will be a strict but just 'father of the nation' may play into his hand." The former bastion of disinformation may be right, though all that's likely to result from Lebed's (and, for that matter, Primakov's) criticism of Yeltsin's incompetence is to push Russia further towards a new totalitarianism. "Democracy is to blame," one woman told the Times. "The Government is to blame," said another. Other suspects include biznissmeni builders, Chechen mobsters, corrupt officials, and a President eager to suspend the coming elections *- in other words, one mafia or another is behind the blasts.

More likely, the blame lies with Islamic militants in Dagestan, a republic consisting of 30-some ethnic groups -- where unemployment hovers at 80% and $4 is the average weekly wage -- and with the Soviet regime which cobbled it together in 1920. But the point is moot -* in today's Russia everything is to blame, and nothing can be done. "Boris Yeltsin's recent firing of whoever the **** the Prime Minister was, and subsequent installment of whoever the **** the Prime Minister now is signals a sea change in whatever the **** his policy has been to whatever the **** it will be." This, a report on last month's developments from the American expatriate journal The Exile, summarizes the sentiment neatly.

The only flower to grow on Russian soil following the fall of Communism is a sneering cynicism that corrupts all it touches; the only alternatives? Dumb submission to ignoble burdens and the nostalgic hankering for Stalinism. And as Russia finds itself pulled into another Afghanistan -* this one, it seems, to be fought on the home front no less than on the Caspian *- all that remains for those of us outside this damned country to do is to hope against hope that the latter can be held in abeyance till some other miracle rescues Russia from itself.

Alex Abramovich is an Editor at FEED.
Post your thoughts on today's column in the FEED Daily Loop. For discussion of other recent FEED Dailies, check out last month's Daily Loop.

[Lilly]

Your article could have described some the scandals, KAOS, and problems occurring in Washington and Los Angeles. Give Russia a chance to get out from the Iron Curtain that has kept her closed off from the West for many decades. You have to learn to crawl before you can walk, with the occasional stumble along the way. Admittedly, the fall of Communism has caused the situation in Russia today, to go from one extreme to the other. It will take time.

Paramilitary crackdown? The searching of apartment buildings and stores was necessry to ensure the safety of residents and to hopefully find any unexploded bombs (which they did, mind you). This was a state of emergency and unfortunately panic ensues. Everybody blames and points fingers at everyone.

Had nothing been done about the bombings, you would be spouting verbage about the lack or responsibility of the government and how what the %$#@ Prime Minister's name is doing nothing about it.

Do you remember what happened after the Oklahoma bombing a few years ago April, and what about the situation with the way the Israeli's are handling conflicts with the Arabs. It was "more than a few blacks beaten" then. Sound familiar Mr. Abramovich?

As for the history or Russia? I suggest you read up on it. Russia has fought off many invaders, intruders and anhihalists from and within her borders. A lot of blood was shed, mostly Russian. Look at the Russian flag, red for blood, blue for the heaven (sky), and white for peace.

When heads of State, Kings and Popes in Europe could only make a scratch mark to make their seal, Russia and even Serbia had a complete alphabet and written language.

The Dagastani's might not be the ones responsible for the bombings. Oh, let's see...look to the West maybe? Has it ever occurred to you that some Super Powers want to keep Russia in the state she is in today?
Russia was mighty once, and for her to be mighty again, would cause a lot of discomfort for other nations. Think about it.



[This message has been edited by Lilly (edited 05 October 1999).]

[PeterWolf]

Lilly,

I posted the Abramovich article, because I thought it captured an element of public sentiment in the US, and I wanted to hear a response from an opposing point of view. You provided such a point of view. Thank you.

I have travelled in the FSU (mainly Crimea), and I have an inkling of how complex are conditions there. My feeling after reading your response is that, yes, any criticism is two-edged, and you seem to have covered that aspect well.

However, as a scientist I have to bring up the fact that FSU is facing massive ecological tragedies that will take many generations of sustained effort to remediate. This has a larger impact on the political and physical health of Russia and environs than you may realize.

I am not a member of that interest group to which you referred, the one which opposes a strong Russia. I feel however that the Soviet system created some terrible messes due entirely to its own policies and conduct of operations. This residuum from the recent past is like a set of shackles on the Russian nation.

PW

[BriannonWolf]

Keeping everything in perspective, we live in a Global community now. I have friends whom live in Russia that I have not seen in 4 years and I worry about them. These actions of political nature are exactly that. They are of political proclaimers, people who feel they are fit to speak for the feelings of an entire country.
So, Now I beg all of you....
Keep in mind each country's people sees and knows what each govt. wants them to see. If there is a truth out there, it is that we the people of this planet are scared.
Scared of what we do not understand,
Scared of what is different,
Scared of death,
and finally, scared of the truth.
I read a few of the reply's and saw fear,anger, and frustration.
The most any of us can do is keep cool heads. We all need to think with our hearts, and remember we are all human beings, just trying find our way in the world.
Russia has gone threw sociological upheaval, it was an abrupt change. Too quickly did things change for them.
People are creators of habit. Weather a person makes a habit of changing there minds quickly, or they have a steadfast rutine to carry out there daily lives. We all carry a source of security when things are familiar. Yet when things change to fast, faster then we can adjust, it causes us stress and anxiety.
Russia is under such stresses, and it will be awhile before they can show the world who they are with out feeling like they are under the world's parental magnifying glass.