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That book might have been relevent in 2005 but throw it out the window now. All anti-Russian sentiment in the world is due to the fact Russia is literally engaging in genocide against Ukrainians, right now.
Are you suggesting that bigotry is now okay towards all Russians?
If you're interested in some constructive arguments why this article is wrong, please see a thread: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1516162437455654913.html
I love Galeev threads - but he is sometimes a bit slopy. In this tread the quote "Submit, Cherkes! Both West and East, May soon share your fate, When the time comes, you'll say arrogantly: Yes, I'm a slave but a slave of the Tsar of the World!" he attributes to Pushkin is from "Ismail Bey" by Lermontov.
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I'm going to challenge this because I think it suggests that reading the Russian classics is an intellectual challenge with a perquisite of studying Russian history and culture. Dostoyevsky's works are amazing without any background knowledge. No 'intellectualism' is required, just a love of stories. With a few tweaks they could be set in a modern era and turned into Netflex series. War and Peace is considered a chal…
I don't think there was an inference that the books are opaque, just that people reading these books in 2022 are already weird ducks. Well, as weird as anyone reading, say, Tao Te Ching or other non-standard-academic-curriculum "classic" books you'd have to go out of your way to read.
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> Take a beloved in the West author like Solzhenitsyn, whose "compassion" suddenly evaporates when Ukrainian question is raised. Solzhenitsin is one of the best literary chroniclers of repressions in the Soviet Russia (One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, The Gulag Archipelago, In the First Circle), with the degree of earnestness and realism that approaches Tolstoy's. How does his compassion to Ukranians, or lack…
I think the point OP was trying to make was that due to A.S. demonstrated disdain for the Ukrainians his books deserve a boycot. Cant disagree more. To understand modern day Russia one needs to have read Solzchenitsyn's books. The country today is a product of decades of strong negative selection favouring the immoral and strongly discouraging moral acts. Those who live in Moscow and make up the modern Russia are the…
Me too :-) I don't accept anyone's authority to tell me what I should or shouldn't read (watch, listen to, etc.); and I wonder at anyone who would.
However, I couldn't help noticing that the vocabulary of your comment ("negative selection", "descendants") was rather biological. As I am sure you know, it isn't just the Moscovites who have navigated their way through the communist times, but the populations of the former Soviet republics as well. I also think I won't be too far off the mark if I say that superficial social adaptations or morality aren't hereditary, and people are very malleable creatures.
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This makes me wonder, is it possible that the pool of solutions available to Russia's leaders is objectively limited due to Russia's geopolitical and sociopolitical realities and they really don't have too much of a rational choice?
That's a point that deserves deeper study. They have (from memory) 13 countries on their borders, and almost no "natural" borders, e.g. rivers or mountain ranges. They have a history that's blood-curdling. Expecting a new czar to make it like Denmark is a bit much. The West tried in the 90s, and Boris Yeltsin is not remembered fondly over there. The emergence of gangster capitalism was the result.
they have all of them on one side (Western border), and majority of these countries are small and weak. Comparing to Germany, which is surrounded by potential enemies (I am talking about pre WW2 time), Russia had significant advantage.
I think it’s important to understand that russian culture has failed. If it can’t guide a nation towards humanistic values, what is a culture’s point?
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I’m quite certain a very similar article could be written about, say, UK and Ireland with quotes from famous authors. It’s not that the English lack an imperialist past and feelings of superiority.
If UK will take weapons and go on a killing spree to “restore the great empire”, I’m gonna boycott them just as much.
Sure, there may be plenty to boycott. Boycott anyone who supports the genocidal regime. The dead ones didn't get a say, though.
A Ukrainian here - couldn't disagree more with the author. Take a beloved in the West author like Solzhenitsyn, whose "compassion" suddenly evaporates when Ukrainian question is raised. Even a modern sci-fi author Sergei Lukyanenko does not shy away from racial jokes against Ukrainians or Lithuanians in his Dozor books. Ukraine is a pawn at the world stage, but if the West is serious about battling russia (for its ow…
If ordinary Russians look out at the world and perceive that they and their culture are despised and hated, they'll rally around their xenophobic leader. If Russians look out at the world and see a consensus that their leader has impoverished their nation for his personal benefit, they'll be more likely to question his motives. Ukraine's best shot at winning the war is for Putin to lose the support of Russian soldier…
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Do you consider it crazy to think authors can influence culture?
I consider it crazy that there is talk about banning literary classics
It is possible to be critical towards the philosophy of some litterature without banning it.