yes, russia is such an enigma to us here in the usa, because we lived with so much propaganda for so long about the ussr and there are still too-little cross-cultural experiences between us. it does seem to me that there are many similarities between our two countries, though, but in russia it looks like leaders are a lot more comfortable flaunting their sinister nature and oppression, whereas here they like to cover it up and pretend they are "one of us." i don't know....i wish i could visit russia someday, because it's figured so strongly in the american consciousness and yet it's mysterious.
they are alike because they are two empires, i guess. russia is an almost oriental coutry with oriental style of state corruption and violence, and it's getting more so because we are in the reaction phase. in the progressive phase, russia is trying to catch up with the west. lol, indeed. it looks like a non-stop failure, and yet this lifestyle survives somehow. there's really something funny in this :)
well, i think it shows that people just lead their lives, regardless of government. i see it every day here in the usa, where 1 out of every 32 people is in prison or on parole; i see it every time i'm in the middle east; i see it in "the real europe"--the europe that made jordy a number one hit and votes to prevent all kinds of freedoms, etc--we just go on. it's kind of encouraging, and funnnny, as you say!
yes, it's a two-way street of delusion. on the one hand, we're used to thinking that 'most people are okay.' but then nazis come, and it turns out that most people are happy to march together and hand each other on the lampposts, as long as they believe they are personally safe. on the other hand, when you worry about the state of politics, you forget that politics have very little to do with people. this country, for example, was quite xenophobic in the era of internationalism, and invariably voted for communists in it's most aggressive market economy phase etc etc. popular taste and poppular political ideas are awful, and so are those of most individuals, and yet you know from experience that most people are bearable, maybe because they are not defined by their taste and political ideas? for example, my grandmother was a stalinist until perestroyka, and then rapidly converted to a democrat. the worst type, right? and yet, she was a good person in many respects.
yeah, i completely see your point. what i think is interesting about what you've said is that it reveals the inconsistant nature of humans. i think about this a lot because my students are always expecting history to be this rational, linear thing. like yesterday: in my class, my students could not understand how people who claimed to believe in religions espousing peace could committ violence. and i'm always having to remind them that people are inconsistant. hitler was a vegetarian because he thought killing animals for food was wrong. he loved dogs. he murdered millions. etc etc. here in america, there are a lot of "good people" who would still do nothing to help people of a different race, or if they heard someone being raped in the street, they would just stay inside and lock their door--it's the inconsistancies that are most common, i think.
yes, people are half energy, half water, volatile thing :) i see it in everyone and in myself. if i weren't [potentially] many different faces, i wouldn't be able to adapt and survive. that's the one thing in people i have the worst time understanding and reconciling with: i somehow expect people and myself to be inherently reliable, and we are inherently elusive and inconsistent. and then again, people can achieve phantastic levels of reliability, if they want or have to. this is good, but it only adds to the inconsistency :)
спасибо товарищу сталину за наше счастливое детство! :) когда я работал на станции юннатов она уже превратилась в подсобное хозяйство измайловского парка, там выращивали кроликов и овощи для сотрудников. и вот там была свалка старых бумаг и документов и среди них этот архив, было это лет 15 назад. самое обидное, что я тогда отобрал наиболее интересные фотографии и отправил знакомой в америку, которая изучала русский язык и культуру. она жила в кампусе и наверное их потеряла. теперь даже не помню, что на этих фотографиях было.
да, неудивительно, что рожденные после ссср это время часто романтизируют. это, конечно, очень однобокая картинка, практически глянец, но все равно завораживающе выглядит :)
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Date: 2006-12-06 04:27 pm (UTC)i posted your book on monday!
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Date: 2006-12-06 04:58 pm (UTC)about putin - yes, i agree, it's a global trend with scary politics, it's just that we usually get the worst of it
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Date: 2006-12-06 05:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-06 05:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-06 05:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-06 06:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-06 06:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-06 07:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-06 07:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-13 12:43 am (UTC)(i'm russian ,btw, but live in los angeles) ;)
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Date: 2006-12-13 08:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-13 08:54 pm (UTC)offline? that's too bad
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Date: 2006-12-13 11:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-14 08:10 pm (UTC)замечательный архив у вас сохранился )))
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Date: 2006-12-15 11:48 am (UTC)когда я работал на станции юннатов она уже превратилась в подсобное хозяйство измайловского парка, там выращивали кроликов и овощи для сотрудников. и вот там была свалка старых бумаг и документов и среди них этот архив, было это лет 15 назад. самое обидное, что я тогда отобрал наиболее интересные фотографии и отправил знакомой в америку, которая изучала русский язык и культуру. она жила в кампусе и наверное их потеряла. теперь даже не помню, что на этих фотографиях было.
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Date: 2006-12-15 09:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-16 10:26 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-17 08:07 pm (UTC)