The Russian identity has been molded by a century of totalitarian rule, more or less. With that totalitarian rule has come intense propaganda, and an almost constant skewing of the view of the outside world.
Russia is the largest microcosm in the world. The vastest landholdings and territorial span, are inhabited by a mere 120 million people, who have not been able to avail themselves of non biased regime or media offerings for nearly a century. Russians are now having to come to terms with their legacy of alienation from the outside world.
The rumblings are clear. The internet has seen to that. Not everyone is willing to accept that the status quo must remain as it is, to honor the bolshevik tradition or because of Russia's superior 'singularity'.
Corruption, crime and repression have taken a toll even for the ultra nationalists Russians. In a new book by famed Russian novelist Erofeyev, Russia is taken over by the zombies of the Bolshevik revolution, a metaphor for the present return to totalitarian rule under Putin, after the Perestroika dream of yesteryear.
But what the writer really intended to do is to show how the Russian people are driven and ruled by dead people: Stalin, Lenin and all of those people that have made Russia into the fearsome empire it has been for decades.
But the zombies are also the gatekeepers to the future. Their legacy is shackling the Russian will from breaking free, as if the mere thought of adopting a western style democracy is an insult to their revolutionary fathers.
What has become of Russia then, is a historical stall, a place in time where almost everyone wants out, but everyone is standing still.
What the Russians need to do, Erofeyev says, is to listen to the voice of discord, of ambivalence and doubt that live within them. To let loose the demon of revolution again in a sense, and breath new life in hope itself. Hope for change that is.
But the aging writer cautions the west from isolating Putin and Russia. Without more opening of the channels, and a vigorous intellectual exchange, Russia's isolation will grow stronger and so will the rejection of western values so innate in many Russians. In many ways, the Russian will keep Putin because they see him as a defender of Russian values and will tolerate his hegemony just to spite the West.
The only way to make Russians rise out of totalitarian rule is to chose values that are not imposed, and if they are not shamed by it. But Russians also love a strong leader. they innately understand that for "mother Russia' to survive and remain whole, only strong leadership will do.
Conversely, if Putin senses as he keenly does, that the West wants to unseat him and get rid of him, his reaction will be to close channels with the West even more.
Another reason for better communication and understanding of the Russian people, is to let Russians be Russians. Europeans think Russians are some of their own. But they are truly not. Divided by the enormity of the land mass and a very closed society, Russia is an insular society, which has very little in common with Europe. Just because Russians want more democracy or better governance, does not mean that they want to become Europeans in character or in total. That must be given to Russia and the Russians. Their pride does not stem from vacuous claims: they have proven their greatness through the centuries. All they want is to live in a better environment, without the oppression, crime and corruption that they are forced to live under now.
Russia is also one of those rare countries where women have more power and clout societally than men. Men are seen as dull. In that sense, women represent life in Russia, and strength. So in that sense, Europe and the rest of the world could learn a thing or two from Russia.
From that strength, many believe, change will come to Russia, albeit slowly.
Source : Spiegel/ 9.13.13
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