Maria Privalova is a Russian independent journalist. She writes here under a pseudonym. This article was originally published on opendemocracy.net. by Maria Privalova I always looked forward to New Year’s Eve in Russia, despite all the consumption and vulgarity associated with the holiday. For some reason, the apparent miracle of changing from one year to the next always won out over rational arguments that the turning of clock hands meant little.
TY, TC. Grim but enlightening. I have been wondering how people in Russian have been coping. The daily moral choices to help, speak out, actively resist.... sobering, challenging. Power gone amuck, putting all in danger.
I appreciate the opportunity to hear from this clear voice in Russia. This was a reminder of our common humanity. I can’t help but feel sadness for the people of both Russia & the Ukraine.
Its good to hear that the Russian people are fighting this war at home in every way they can. To know that this war is not THEIR choice in any way. They're in the same mess the Ukrainians are - without the bombs. This winter likely has been and will be very hard on the Russian PEOPLE. Just not to the degree it is in Ukraine. But It sure is grim - as Carol said.
My heart goes out to the Russian people. They are living in a nightmare of oppression. Putin is a monster who has no love for his people. He controls them by terror.
I remember when President Zelensky spoke to Congress he said something like they will never be free in Russia until they defeat the Kremlin inside their minds. That will be the hardest part of it.
This is a beautiful piece, and a sensitive reminder that "Russians" are as diverse a people as we are when it comes to political opinions. This woman speaks for those whose consciences and survival instincts struggle to find a tenable position in an oppressive country.
There are many articles however that paint a picture of ordinary Russians (particularly older folk whose news is delivered primarily or solely by state controlled television) believing the Ukrainians brought the war on themselves by oppressing Russian speakers in their east, electing a Nazi, and (most laughably) having been poised to invade Russia. There are numerous reports from young Russians in Ukraine who called Russian relatives at home only to discover to their astonishment they weren't believed; even their first hand experiences were being denied. They were being told they were delusional and gullible by earnest friends and family.
Here in America, it is popular to profile Republicans as hateful and entitled, with martyr complexes and as either gullible or just not caring about the truth. In far too many cases that's probably accurate.
It's good to remember though that there are enormous information deserts where the local radio stations' and papers' content is controlled by far right owners, and the vast majority of the folks on the street, in one's church or living next door are red as the stripes on the flag. It is awfully difficult to listen to opinions and sentiments one "knows for a fact" to be untrue - even outrageously untrue. Consider how difficult it is for someone raised from birth in those places not to change the channel from NPR if they can even "pull" it, or to subscribe to a more liberal paper.
We have our own state controlled media, even if the state is the state of being obscenely wealthy. All I'm really saying is "Russians" don't seem much more monolithic than we are and there sound like there are plenty of parallels. This depiction of one Russian's efforts to live an acceptable, survivable life within what she sees as the current Russian emotional landscape is a valuable reminder it's a mosaic.
So well said. "Information deserts" indeed. Here we are with all the technology to easily provide any human on the planet a full range of information and opinion. But we don't.
The idea that a rural "MAGA" fool is as limited as a rural Russian should set off loud alarm bells. There is some small hope in the expansion of broadband in the US. For Russians...?
There is the fact that younger Russians demand technology. They can seek more information accordingly. But the truth is that Russians will only rise up when the suffering is worse. Much worse.
I have a friend from Russia who has naturalized here. One day she said: "You need to understand the Russian mentality. When I lived there, we thought life was terrible, it will always be terrible, it will never get better."
Lordy, what hell Putin has unleashed on the citizens of both countries; there is no excuse for the Putin lovers in this country. It is exactly where repubs would take us, and the world
You are right, there is a faction in our country that I think would rule in similar way. It is much like the racism in our country, where a large sector of our population have delt with oppression, and still at times, fear for their life.
The word despair comes to mind. That some Russians continue to strive to change things in the face of so much defeat is inspirational. That so many Russians succumb to despair is understandable.
Putin is now announcing that the siege of Leningrad in 1942 was not just a German attack, that other now NATO countries also participated. I suspect he wants to inflame Russian passions and lay the PR work for future forays into NATO countries, maybe even to draw Xi into the mess. What Putin isn't telling the Russian people is that as independent nations other countries did not participate, only Nazis and Nazi sympathizers. He is expanding the Ukraine War with his current public statements intended to justify revenge.
The Germans were the only ones around Leningrad. The Finns came in on what they called "The Continuation War" from the "Winter War" of 1939-40. But they only fought to regain the territory they had been forced to cede to the Soviets. Never around Leningrad.
The Hungarians fought on the southern Eastern Front in Ukraine with the Germans, as did the Romanians. But Kyiv's nowhere near Leningrad.
Soldiers from the Baltic States the Soviets had occupied in 1940 did fight with the Waffen SS, (which was organizing "Europeans" into the force - Belgians, Dutch, the Baltics, etc.) and some of them could have been around Leningrad, so Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania - by really stretching things, he could say "NATO countries" were involved in the siege of Leningrad. But if they composed 1 percent of the troops there, that would be stretching it.
The Russians were content to have their evil little troll in charge for twenty three years and only now they ALL begin to experience the consequences? So be it, no sympathy from me - they made the bed that they are waking up in. Happy nightmare.
Back in the 90s he had a reputation as a "reformer" when he was working for Boris Yeltsin. Then Yeltsin named him his successor so he ran for president the first time as the "incumbent" and he campaigned against the "theft of the country" by the Oligarchs. He "seemed" to be a "good guy." Even westerners thought so. Of course once he was in office, that was a different thing...
One that they repeatedly accepted, while he rewrote their constitution, giving himself unlimited terms and unlimited power, creating false-flag terrorist operations that killed fellow citizens to create the war in Georgia. The majority chose to meekly shut up and accept that for access to McDonald's cheeseburgers.
Ever been there? Or just making sweeping generalizations? Ever lived under an autocratic regime? Visited a country where one is in power? Tell me about the atmosphere and the interactions you had with everyday people, please.
Russia, no. My survival instincts tend to lead me to avoiding such places. I have spent some earlier years living in a society ruled by a callous and corrupt politician. Joh Bjelke-Petersen's Queensland Australia where the length of my hair was cause enough for the police to stop me more than once while walking in the streets of 1980s Brisbane, to search my pockets for drugs and my arms for needle marks. Friends and acquaintances had businesses threatened and/or raided unless monthly extortion payments were made. A few testified to the Fitzgerald Inquiry and one participated in obtaining secret recordings that were used.
TY, TC. Grim but enlightening. I have been wondering how people in Russian have been coping. The daily moral choices to help, speak out, actively resist.... sobering, challenging. Power gone amuck, putting all in danger.
I appreciate the opportunity to hear from this clear voice in Russia. This was a reminder of our common humanity. I can’t help but feel sadness for the people of both Russia & the Ukraine.
Its good to hear that the Russian people are fighting this war at home in every way they can. To know that this war is not THEIR choice in any way. They're in the same mess the Ukrainians are - without the bombs. This winter likely has been and will be very hard on the Russian PEOPLE. Just not to the degree it is in Ukraine. But It sure is grim - as Carol said.
My heart goes out to the Russian people. They are living in a nightmare of oppression. Putin is a monster who has no love for his people. He controls them by terror.
I remember when President Zelensky spoke to Congress he said something like they will never be free in Russia until they defeat the Kremlin inside their minds. That will be the hardest part of it.
This is a beautiful piece, and a sensitive reminder that "Russians" are as diverse a people as we are when it comes to political opinions. This woman speaks for those whose consciences and survival instincts struggle to find a tenable position in an oppressive country.
There are many articles however that paint a picture of ordinary Russians (particularly older folk whose news is delivered primarily or solely by state controlled television) believing the Ukrainians brought the war on themselves by oppressing Russian speakers in their east, electing a Nazi, and (most laughably) having been poised to invade Russia. There are numerous reports from young Russians in Ukraine who called Russian relatives at home only to discover to their astonishment they weren't believed; even their first hand experiences were being denied. They were being told they were delusional and gullible by earnest friends and family.
Here in America, it is popular to profile Republicans as hateful and entitled, with martyr complexes and as either gullible or just not caring about the truth. In far too many cases that's probably accurate.
It's good to remember though that there are enormous information deserts where the local radio stations' and papers' content is controlled by far right owners, and the vast majority of the folks on the street, in one's church or living next door are red as the stripes on the flag. It is awfully difficult to listen to opinions and sentiments one "knows for a fact" to be untrue - even outrageously untrue. Consider how difficult it is for someone raised from birth in those places not to change the channel from NPR if they can even "pull" it, or to subscribe to a more liberal paper.
We have our own state controlled media, even if the state is the state of being obscenely wealthy. All I'm really saying is "Russians" don't seem much more monolithic than we are and there sound like there are plenty of parallels. This depiction of one Russian's efforts to live an acceptable, survivable life within what she sees as the current Russian emotional landscape is a valuable reminder it's a mosaic.
So well said. "Information deserts" indeed. Here we are with all the technology to easily provide any human on the planet a full range of information and opinion. But we don't.
The idea that a rural "MAGA" fool is as limited as a rural Russian should set off loud alarm bells. There is some small hope in the expansion of broadband in the US. For Russians...?
There is the fact that younger Russians demand technology. They can seek more information accordingly. But the truth is that Russians will only rise up when the suffering is worse. Much worse.
I have a friend from Russia who has naturalized here. One day she said: "You need to understand the Russian mentality. When I lived there, we thought life was terrible, it will always be terrible, it will never get better."
And that's the way it's been in Russia from the beginning.
There is an expression: "Boiling the frog" which I think applies to many human conditions, both individually and severally.
First time I have read a Russian woman's account from inside the country. No words. Sharing.
Lordy, what hell Putin has unleashed on the citizens of both countries; there is no excuse for the Putin lovers in this country. It is exactly where repubs would take us, and the world
Thank you for sharing that!!
Thank you, Tom.
Millions of Russians who didn't passively accept any of the dictatorships that have been
their country's history, from its
near founding, are buried in
unmarked graves throughout
Mother Russia. Russians have
been taught to keep their mouths
shut, or else. To not look any
authority figure in the face.
None of us can possibly understand
what it's like to live in a country like
that. To be regimented day in and
out by what we consider bullshit,
but what they've been raised on from the cradle.
We are FREE.
We can cast our stones at them,
but in the same instance, we better
be very careful. There IS a faction
within our own country that could,
and would, if given an opportunity,
be just as deplorable as Putin.
Please don't forget, there are mothers, wives, sisters and sweethearts, fathers and little
brothers who didn't want this war
with Ukraine and who will be
burying their loved ones, just as
those in Ukraine are.
You are right, there is a faction in our country that I think would rule in similar way. It is much like the racism in our country, where a large sector of our population have delt with oppression, and still at times, fear for their life.
😪😟😱
Yes. All of them
The word despair comes to mind. That some Russians continue to strive to change things in the face of so much defeat is inspirational. That so many Russians succumb to despair is understandable.
Putin is now announcing that the siege of Leningrad in 1942 was not just a German attack, that other now NATO countries also participated. I suspect he wants to inflame Russian passions and lay the PR work for future forays into NATO countries, maybe even to draw Xi into the mess. What Putin isn't telling the Russian people is that as independent nations other countries did not participate, only Nazis and Nazi sympathizers. He is expanding the Ukraine War with his current public statements intended to justify revenge.
The Germans were the only ones around Leningrad. The Finns came in on what they called "The Continuation War" from the "Winter War" of 1939-40. But they only fought to regain the territory they had been forced to cede to the Soviets. Never around Leningrad.
The Hungarians fought on the southern Eastern Front in Ukraine with the Germans, as did the Romanians. But Kyiv's nowhere near Leningrad.
Soldiers from the Baltic States the Soviets had occupied in 1940 did fight with the Waffen SS, (which was organizing "Europeans" into the force - Belgians, Dutch, the Baltics, etc.) and some of them could have been around Leningrad, so Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania - by really stretching things, he could say "NATO countries" were involved in the siege of Leningrad. But if they composed 1 percent of the troops there, that would be stretching it.
The Russians bombed Babi Yar.
I wasn't aware of that. Given the anti-Semitism of the Soviets, following the traditional Russian attitude, it doesn't surprise me.
I think Xi is too smart to fall for that. I like to think that he cares for his people.
With the emphasis on "his"; the submissive.
I think he at least cares for them enough, that he would not send people to die based on lies Putin is telling.
This is heartbreaking.
The Russians were content to have their evil little troll in charge for twenty three years and only now they ALL begin to experience the consequences? So be it, no sympathy from me - they made the bed that they are waking up in. Happy nightmare.
I had/have friends there. Not everyone was on Vlad's circus wagon.
Like here, so many of us have fought the fight with mixed results. Doesn’t mean that every person in Texas signed on to the trio of evil.
“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it.
He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”
Martin Luther King - A Testament of Hope 1969
I guess I have always assumed that their elections were a farce. Do you think that Putin was a choice that they made?
Back in the 90s he had a reputation as a "reformer" when he was working for Boris Yeltsin. Then Yeltsin named him his successor so he ran for president the first time as the "incumbent" and he campaigned against the "theft of the country" by the Oligarchs. He "seemed" to be a "good guy." Even westerners thought so. Of course once he was in office, that was a different thing...
Oh yes! Once a KGB thug,
always a KGB thug. Sweet
Vlad.
so true
One that they repeatedly accepted, while he rewrote their constitution, giving himself unlimited terms and unlimited power, creating false-flag terrorist operations that killed fellow citizens to create the war in Georgia. The majority chose to meekly shut up and accept that for access to McDonald's cheeseburgers.
Ever been there? Or just making sweeping generalizations? Ever lived under an autocratic regime? Visited a country where one is in power? Tell me about the atmosphere and the interactions you had with everyday people, please.
Russia, no. My survival instincts tend to lead me to avoiding such places. I have spent some earlier years living in a society ruled by a callous and corrupt politician. Joh Bjelke-Petersen's Queensland Australia where the length of my hair was cause enough for the police to stop me more than once while walking in the streets of 1980s Brisbane, to search my pockets for drugs and my arms for needle marks. Friends and acquaintances had businesses threatened and/or raided unless monthly extortion payments were made. A few testified to the Fitzgerald Inquiry and one participated in obtaining secret recordings that were used.
I'm not completely naive and unaware.
https://theconversation.com/issues-that-swung-elections-the-dramatic-and-inglorious-fall-of-joh-bjelke-petersen-115141
So that would be a no, correct?