Warning: the following is not an analysis, it is a “cri du coeur” !
Looking at the photo of the three stooges oh so proud of having “prevailed” over that evil Russia I have very mixed feelings. On one that, I have a sense of immense disgust. No, not for the the Eurobureaucrats or for Poroshenko – they are true to character. No, my disgust is directed at that sorry pseudo-ethnicity called “the Ukrainians” and which now has fractured into two mutually exclusive groups: the real “Ukrainians” – the Russians from “core Russia” (which is the real meaning of the expressions “Malorossia” or “Small Russia”) who live on Russia’s western frontier (the real meaning of the word “u-krainy”) and the pseudo-Ukrainian ex-homo sovieticus (I call them Ukies) who mutated into pseudo-Europeans and who now fancy themselves as “Europeans” just because they volunteered to become the next AngloZionist colony. These are the folks who traded a 1000-year old history for the (imaginary) prize which the capitalists have been dangling in front of their collective noses like a carrot before a donkey. Two things characterize these folks: they are phenomenally ignorant of pretty much everything, but especially of their own history, and their credulity is quite literally infinite. In other words – they are terminally stupid. As for their spiritual or cultural values, they don’t extend beyond what is shown on a typical commercial on TV.
It is at this point my thinking that I move from disgust to relief. Relief that modern Russia will not have to deal with such a morally degenerate and spiritually corrupt population.
I am Russian. My family roots go far back into the Russian middle-ages and for me each phase in Russian history – whether good or bad – has its own spiritual significance. From the birth of Russia at the baptism of Saint Vladimir, to the heroic resistance of Saint Alexander Nevsky, to the gradual formation of a new Russia under Ivan III, to the tragic period of Ivan IV, the Stoglav, the tragic Old Rite Schism, the spiritual desert of the reign of Peter I, to the rebirth of Russia through the times of Alexander II and Alexander III and to the martyrdom and final transition form an earthly empire to a spiritual reality under the Czar-Martyr Nicholas II – each of these moments in history can only be understood through spiritual eyes and not by means of materialistic categories. And even though modern Russia is still spiritually sick, very sick, I clearly perceive the signs of a spiritual revival, or a gradual shedding of the materialistic delusions which had been imposed upon the Russian people during the 20th century.
What some (correctly) call a “clash of civilizations” between Russia and the West is a reality. Likewise, when the Ukrainian propaganda speaks of a “civilizational choice” it is inadvertently expressing a profound spiritual truth. Russia is barely standing up, still shaking and in many ways confused, but already it is resisting the capitalist rot which is corroding the western civilization and Russia is already (correctly) perceived as a threat by the western plutocracy. If this is what a weak and still confused Russia is capable of, just imagine what it could do if it fully recovered its true spiritual and cultural identity and strength!
So this for me is a crucial question: does the slowly healing Russia really need to live under the same cultural/civilizational roof with the kind of folks which brought Iatseniuk or Poroshenko to power? I say let Europe deal with them! In fact, the Ukies and the EU richly *deserve* each other.
Yes, I know, Kiev is the cradle of the entire Russian civilization, but did Christ Himself not say “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.“ (Matt. 5:29). I don’t want Russia to perish for the Ukraine, much less for for the pseudo-Ukraine I call “Banderastan”.
The Pope’s Crusaders came from the West. Napoleon’s Masons came from the West. The German and Austro-Hungarian imperialists came from the West. Then the Nazis came from the West. Now the AngloZionists are coming from the West. In the past, each time the “outer-Russians” (the correct translation of “Grand Russians”) came and saved the Ukraine from these invaders and they did that a a huge cost for Russia. But at least in the past the real Ukrainians never confused the occupier and the liberator. Nowadays this has changed. In fact, the modern “Ukrainians” think that they are feeling a deep kinship with the invader, they even identify with him. I think that Russia should stop pretending that this is not happening and that these two are “brother” nations. Okay, maybe they were brothers in the past, but now all they share is the brotherhood of Cain and Abel.
There is no continuity between Saint Vladimir and Poroshenko and what we are observing in Kiev today is what the Scripture call the “the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place“. And the Ukies like it that way. They have no use for holiness. I say let them have it!
Yes, of course, there is Novorussia which Russia cannot and will not abandon. And Crimea will forever remain part of Russia. And there are still real Russians in Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Mariupol, Nikolaev, Odessa and even in Kiev. But these Russians either cannot or don’t want to fight to free their land from the current western occupier and they need to live with the consequences of this choice.
As for the rest of Russia, I hope to see it turn to the North and the East were its real future lies. Let the EU deal with Banderastan, let Banderastan deal with the EU and let them jointly enjoy their role as faithful servants of the plutocratic elite which administers the European AngloZionist protectorate on behalf of the USA. Let the Ukies, the Balts and the East-Europeans all race each other to see who will get the title of “employee of the month” from Uncle Sam. Let them bask in their newfound pride to have finally become full members of the civilization of Walmart and McDonalds. And let them keep on digging a deep trench all along the Russian-Ukrainian border. While it is, of course, militarily useless (what in the world are the Ukie generals thinking?!) it is a fantastic symbol of what the ex-Ukraine now “EU-associated Banderastan has become”. Russian kids should be bussed in from their schools and shown this trench while their teachers explain to them what kind of people dug this trench and why.
Russia’s western frontier has become a desert. It is high time for Russia to accept this reality and act on it.
The Saker
[A bit off topic:]
An article by an Indian explains why Russia is liked in India.
[Quote:]
The call of Russia strongly resonates in these places where people believe it is country that can be trusted – in a way the West can never be. In many parts of the Middle East, South America and Africa there is a belief that Russia can stop Western expansionism and bullying. Russia is seen as counterweight to the West.
The fact that Russia has never claimed racial or religious exclusivity is extremely important to Asians, Africans and especially Indians, who were at the forefront of the war against colonialism.
The Russians also embarked upon colonial expansion, especially in Central Asia. But here’s where they differed from the West. When the West was kicked out, they left behind industrial wastelands such as India, China and Algeria. However, when the Russian left in the 1990s, they left behind heavily industrialised countries such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
Hopefully Russia won’t fritter away the vast deposits of goodwill in the most unlikely places in the world. For, it is goodwill that translates into strong economic, security and cultural ties, raising the possibility that tomorrow’s Russia will be as influential as the Russia of yesteryears.
http://in.rbth.com/blogs/2013/10/03/why_russia_should_care_about_the_russian_world_29867.html
I would not call myself pro-Russia (I claim to be ‘objective’!), but many Indians I know well are staunchly pro-Russia!
–VN
The majority of Russians are the direct descendants of the Aryan tribes which first appeared on the territory of modern Russia and Kazakhstan (Andronovo culture).
Arkaim stands witness to this past (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sintashta_culture).
The Aryans of the Vedas had their ancestors in nowaday’s Russia.
The R1a marker prevalance in the higher varnas of the Northern India stand witness to this.
The ancient Slavs called themselves Anty or Vendy (they were called Wends by their Germanic neighbours).
Of course, Anty/Vendy are a later variation of the Indo-European root which has also produced the world Hindu. Incidentally, the southern border of the ancient Aryavarta lies in the modern central-western India and is called the Vindhya hills/mountains.
Some Russians are aware of this.
I think that some Hindus share this awareness.
In russian the word brother is written brat, in sanskrit it is bharatar.
I hope that Russians and Hindus would learn more about their common ancestry and share more ties in the future.
“No, for the the Eurobureaucrats or for Poroshenko – they are true to character.”
I think you probably meant:
Not, for the Eurobureaucrats or for Poroshenko – they are true to character.
It sorts out in the next sentence, but thought I’d mention it in case you want to fix it.
I agree about western Ukraine, there is not much hope for it. I think the real problem is where to divide the region up in the central part, since it’s very mixed and any solution will be opposed by a high percentage of the local population.
I think, at least in Russia, they are passing through a time in which it’s leaders will face great challenges, and if they are successful, will be forever remembered. As an American, I think that the Russian people are lucky to have their leaders.
My only worry is that Russian leaders have also bought into capitalistic exceptionalism and will go the route of survival. The minute Russia relaxes the Maidan will come to Moscow. The Empire cannot co-exist.
I’ve been following your blog for about a month or so, and I find your comments and reports much more believable than what my local paper prints (mostly from Reuters and the Associated Press, which I find really unbelievable!) I also follow Varvara Drezhlo’s stuff, translated from Voices of Russia.
Coming from colonials who landed here in the US right after the Mayflower, I’m appalled at the lies, and worse, the inability to tell the truth, that we in the US are presented with by our ‘establishment’. As a convert to the Orthodox Church for 25 years, I also relish the ‘story’ of my adopted faith, but that in itself is another ‘story’.
Thank you, Saker, for being here for all of us who want the truth.
Russia needs to keep doing what it is doing.
It can’t ignore the program of destabilization and troublemaking all along its borders in the Western zone.
NATO will nullify the nuclear shield of Russia.
NATO can contort Crimea and the East if allowed to be inside Ukraine.
Putin will cripple the relationship of Kiev and the EU and NATO. He must.
Ignoring the mortal threat, the persistent program to destroy Russia will be a fatal error.
What if four years from now Ukraine is fully armed and invades Russia, backed by NATO air power.
What does Putin do?
Push the button to end the world?
No, you act today. Never allow Ukraine to be used against you.
Tie down the West, ruin Ukraine, destroy all hopes of NATO basing anywhere in Ukraine.
Russia must be pro-active with all other means and outlast the scumbags in Washington, Brussels and Kiev.
If a hegemon intends to destroy you, you devise a means to kill his potential.
Putin is doing that. Because he cannot sleep knowing one night the killers will come and kill Russians in their beds.
You call Shame on the ditch, Shame on the Wall.
But you actively defend Western Russia and its sphere of influence.
When that Chinese development money transforms Crimea and Novorussiya in a few years, and the awesome market of Eurasia is built by the New Silk Road development Russia will be the European base of the greatest zone of progress and profit in the history of the world.
You don’t give that up because Kiev disgust you.
Sake, you are quite correct. I know you and many have want more oblasts to join, but why let the two heroic oblasts wasted for the others who do not want to fight? (I can not believe Kharkov still building tanks sending to the front.) When those Oblasts are ready, they can always use Novorossia for base, and join anyway.
on a slight different topic, There is a Chinese expression, when you give some one a cup of rice, he thanks you profusely, when you give some one a bucket of rice, he will demand more. I think that is what happened in Ukraine.
Saker,
This is a truly profound piece — not “just” in its spiritual dimension or the depth of your cri de coeur, but in the (at least partial) volte face (if there is such a thing!) it represents in your thinking and the challenge it presents to everyone who reads what you write and factors in your opinions and analyses before reaching their own hypotheses and conclusions.
I’m needing to chew on it some more but I”ve been leaning in your direction ever since I started reading about the austerity in Kiev: essentially what you’re saying is let them stew in their own juices. Which of course they already are and they will continue to braise quite nicely for the foreseeable future. The issue to me for some time now is all the innocents getting splashed by this nonsense, some rather permanently, as in having thereby met their Maker. I.e., Novorossiya.
But my very first thought on reading this was, honestly, maybe Putin’s been where you are now all along. He has certainly been working hard not just to present to the world an alternative to our crass, violent hegemony, but to create it. And the contrast could not be greater! And Novorossiya in any case must stand up for itself; horrible that it has to, but that’s just the way things are. So they’re learning and he’s letting them, while taking care to provide whatever humanitarian relief he can. I.e., a measured, principled and caring approach — again, a contrast in every way with the Empire.
Thank you for this, truly. Thank you.
Saker, I hope to meet you in person one day just to shake you hand.
bravo Brother.
Dear Saker,
It is no doubt satisfying to make such sweeping statements about the Ukrainians you call Ukies, but is it helpful? Is it even helpful to the Russia you love in which you have a great heritage?
You mention a spiritual decline during the reign of Peter the Great, and the schisms and strange permutations his westernizations caused, but even you must know that some of those ‘new ideas’ were good ones. Look at the churches; remember even the musical heritage on which the great composers built. The great literary heritage of western writers without which Russian literature would never have made the achievements it has made.
There must be a similar goodness dormant in the citizenry of the Ukraine, even if it is not obvious today, in Ukrainian children and their mothers just wanting peace with their neighbors; there must be! If they are more western oriented, they are hoping for good things for their children, not bad.
Saint Paul says ‘hold fast to the good’ and it is not for us to condemn. Sure, we think there is foolishness and obstinacy and unwillingness to be fraternal in many people, especially when brother is killing brother, but even Cain was given a mark on his forehead to protect him by God, and Adam and Eve also were clothed before they left paradise.
We don’t have incorporated in Orthodox liturgies the texts from the Apocalypse of John as that was for him a crie de coeur also. We need more his other great works, his saying, ‘Little children, love one another.’
We are Gospel bearers, not old testament prophets. We cannot afford the luxury of condemnation. We must also say with Christ, ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,’ and that will be Russia’s great contribution to the spiritual understanding the world must have.
God bless you for the pain in your heart which you feel more than I who have a far different heritage. But I am also Orthodox and so I love to be in its embrace and I love the same heritage from Russia even only by ‘osmosis’ – it is a human heritage that embraces all peoples and doesn’t call them names. Forgive me, but it really doesn’t.
Just recall that the greatest illustration of important commandments Our Lord gave was of a Samaritan, unexpectedly the true neighbor to one in great need. I am sure that lesson given among Jews can apply among true Russians as well.
Saker, readers,
You pointed out a reality which finds to be the source of some problems there. Yeah, many people in western Ukraine – and even in Kiev – believe that whole Ukraine is it’s western part (let’s say Lviv), and that everybody has tho think like them. I was told a few days ago by a Kievian friend of mine (who’s btw not banderist nor nazi) that Bandera is a national hero. WRONG. Bandera is a regional hero, usually considered the opposite in the eastern part.
Most of the combat units active in Maïdan came from western Ukraine (UPA fans). Now, most of the combattants fighting in the east for what they call “United Ukraine” against what they call “Terrorists” are largely composed of radical western Ukrainians. The Azov batalion seems to be formed of western people whose ideologies have things in common with the nazi ones, and with the satanic ones for some of them.
So no need to be a skilled conspirationist to wonder that something’s going wrong in Kiev where the government and his western allies should not allow their troops to show such ideologies if they’d be congruent with those they claim at home (e.g. jew-related intellectual terrorism).
Peace.
The photo of these 2 stooges with this baby in the middle makes me feel ashamed, deeply, deeply, deeply ashamed being an European.
Russia, Ukraine and international law (I)
In contrast to Novorossia, Crimea had a long struggle for independence, building its own political and national structures since 1990. A review of its recent history (1917-2000):
Jul 16, 1990: The Ukrainian SSR declares its state sovereignty.
Jan 20, 1991: A referendum is held in the Crimea on restoring autonomy to the region. Over 80% of the electorate participates, of which 93% supported the restoration of the Crimean ASSR.
Feb 12, 1991: The Ukrainian Supreme Soviet restores the Crimea as an autonomous republic within the borders of the Ukraine.
Sep 4, 1991: The Crimean parliament declares the “state sovereignty” of Crimea as a constituent part of the Ukraine after the coup against Gorbachev (obvious contradiction: sovereign and autonomous).
May 5, 1992: Crimea’s parliament declares total independence subject to approval in a referendum to be held in August 1992.
May 13, 1992: The Ukrainian parliament declares the Crimean parliament’s independence declaration unconstitutional and gives them until May 20 to rescind it. They also give President Kravchuk the power to use all necessary means to halt Crimean independence.
Jun 1, 1992: Crimean and Ukrainian parliaments agree to a compromise in which Crimea is granted greater autonomy and special economic status.
Jun 30, 1992: Kiev passes a law granting Crimea greater autonomy as they agreed to, but made its enactment contingent on (1) Crimea’s amendment of its constitution to bring into line with the Ukraine’s, and (2) the complete annulment of the independence referendum. Crimea later imposes a moratorium on the referendum.
Sep 17, 1993: The Crimean parliament passes a law providing for the election of a president of the Crimean Republic.
Mar 27, 1994: The Crimea holds the referendum: 1.3 million voted, 78% of whom supported greater autonomy from Ukraine, 83% supported allowing dual Russian-Ukrainian citizenship.
Apr 1994: Crimean President Meshkov removes the chief of internal affairs ministry who was appointed by Kiev and replaces him with a Crimean, Kuznetsov. The situation becomes decidedly heated. General Kuznetsov declares on Rossiya Radio that Crimea is in essence Russian and will be a part of Russia.
Jul 1, 1994: The Crimean parliament votes to assume full powers on the territory of Crimea except for those which it voluntarily delegates to Kiev. They also condemn the Ukrainian leadership for violating the Crimean Constitution and law.
Mar 1995: The Ukrainian parliament rescinded Crimea’s constitution and abolished the post of Crimean President. Ukrainian president Kuchma said the region’s parliament could be dissolved if it continued to violate Ukraine’s Constitution.
May 31, 1997: Presidents Kuchma (Ukraine) and Yeltsin (Russia) signed a treaty which promised that the two countries would respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will not interfere in each other’s internal affairs. It marked the first time Russia had formally recognized Ukraine’s independence, and was decried by some Russian politicians as a sign of giving up hope of protecting Russians or the Russian language in Ukraine.
Dec 22, 1997: Ukraine’s parliament refused to review the 1989 law on languages, which declared Ukrainian the country’s state language.
Feb 4, 1998: The Crimean parliament voted overwhelmingly to put a proposed referendum on the peninsula. It was to question the return to Russia, the restoration of the less restrictive 1992 Crimean constitution, and the adoption of Russian as official language.
Oct 21, 1998: The parliament of the Crimea approved a new version of the republic’s constitution, the fifth proposal since 1992. In contrast to some earlier drafts, it did not call for attributes of statehood such as separate citizenship or a separate legal system.
http://www.refworld.org/docid/469f38ec2.html
Video on Ukraine with English subtitles:
Europe and the Western MSM are silently watching murderers in Ukraine and don’t condemn them. It means they are murderers, too.
http://bread-circuses-today.blogspot.ru/2014/06/ukraine-red-code-video.html
BR,
shed
Hi Saker,
although I agree with your theasis – let them have each other – it could only be true under the condition that Russia will be left alone after this. And that’s where it’s turned on its head – me thinks.
As I said before, zionazis from the Ukraine want to make another croatia – an ethnically cleansed springboard into Russia proper. Just look what this strategy did to Serbia?! Only four years after accepting that ethnic cleansing of croatia as a “necessary evil,” Serbia itself was savagely bombed “back to stone age.”
Of course, no zionazi is such a fool to attack Russia proper in the similar manner, but a destabilization campaign from the newly-occupied territory is their next protocol.
They are already talking to Russia in terms of ultimatums – aren’t they arrogant? – and will keep the pressure as long as it does them no harm.
One thing I can’t understand, however: there are over at least 10 million (pro)Russians in that frankenstein of a nation, & they can’t organize a decent self-defence, let alone a political entity similar to what we Serbs did in another frankenstein of a nation, bosnia? There was 1.3 million of us there, & we had an army of around 110 thousand! What are those people thinking?
Anyhow, let’s hope Russia has an appropriate answer to this concern of mine, & it deals with the further destabilization properly & successfully for, it will not be left in peace.
Best regards, & many thanks for your wonderful work!
Saker, I love you. And I’m so very grateful that you exist and that you work your heart out to bring us the best truth you can discover. But dude, you can seem bi-polar at times, you know?
I believe Vladimir Putin believes all beings are redeemable, and also that those who commit crimes should meet their justice. Can we not possess ourselves of the same patience and even-handedness?
Why do we need to condemn tens of millions of people just because we can’t see the end of this tragedy yet?
In fact from several data it appears that the stirrings of rebellion in the west are already becoming visible, as the economy collapses and winter darkens the horizon.
I have much more to say but – later.
With much love.
Putin’s Eurasian vision leads in the right direction as it’s the basis for any attempt at sustainability once the global economy gets vastly destabilized by Global Warming, particularly the rising acidification of the oceans. Thinking outside the box means planning for the world of 2100 ASAP.
I had the beginnings of a discussion with Daniel Rich and Petri Krohn in an earlier thread about Kiev’s strategy regarding the Russian border.
This article by Olga Shedrova was linked by at least a couple of comments in the previous thread:
Kiev Is Starting a War to Avoid a Revolution
It suggests that Poro’s and the Kiev thinking is to start an actual war with Russia – which would be lost of course – but thereby to blame all of Kiev’s ultimate nation-building failures on Russia.
Hence the border provocations – which I saw as suicidal but couldn’t understand the reason.
Much of this article outlines the current failing of the Ukraine state, and the potential rebellions in the west.
So. The footwork of Russia is (1) to avoid “war” at all events – including the false flags yet possible from chemical, biological and radioactive agents, (2) to destroy all right sector rats who come within easy range, and (3) to let the world watch Ukraine sink into a mud of mediocrity, while all the good guys to the east mysteriously manage to be living large.
And finally, (4) to nurture the rebellion as far to the western border as the decent people want to take it in the coming months.
And let THIS be the meta-message for all the western whores to absorb, against the next time the US comes around with its fucking stupid plans of third-party proxy destruction!
Un cri du cœur bien réussi. Bravo!
Dear Saker, I think I’ve posted here 1 or 2 messages irrelevant for this post – about bandera, azov, etc. Please excuse me for the mistake. Could you remove them, for the convienience of the other readers ? Thanks !
Greed and power are primitve and will remain so… Talk is of no impetance but lies are. It is this part of the worl which controls the rest. It is st the end between dark and bright, good and evil, intelligence and barbarians… Cunning
> … they are phenomenally ignorant of pretty much everything, but especially of their own history, and their credulity is quite literally infinite. In other words – they are terminally stupid. As for their spiritual or cultural values, they don’t extend beyond what is shown on a typical commercial on TV.
> It is at this point my thinking that I move from disgust to relief. Relief that modern Russia will not have to deal with such a morally degenerate and spiritually corrupt population.
Sounds like a racist slur to me – stereotyping of the crudest kind. The far western Ukrainians aren’t “real” Ukrainians anyway, and the rest are deeply divided over what to do.
“And Crimea will forever remain part of Russia” an interesting reflection here with subject “NATO will attack Russia in 2 years to fight for Crimea”. I can’t figure out who said what from the English translation [and i’m not sure that matters] – but if anyone can further comment it’d be appreciated.
“… No, my disgust is directed at that sorry pseudo-ethnicity called “the Ukrainians” …”
That tells it all.
oops, the link to “NATO will attack Russia in 2 years to fight for Crimea” here:
http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/26-06-2014/127902-nato_russia_crimea-0/
The optimal and politically correct translation for Malorossia is Russia Proper.
The Greek word for small does not here refer to physical size. It only signifies the opposite* of “Greater Russia” or “Great Russia.” The real meaning is analogous to “Russia in the narrow meaning of the word” as opposed to “Russia in the wide meaning of the word”.
(* Nor does the name Great Britain make a reference to the great size of the British Empire.)
My dearest and most inspiring Mr Saker. Their is only one problem with that and it’s this – Ukraine and the crisis are part of a process which I would call ‘the route to Moscow runs through Kiev’ I agree that the Zionist links are obvious ie phosphorus racism and a wall but there is something else as well – Latin America. Pariuby said something very interesting , that the US would be helping the new ukraine substitute for Russian arms contracts with hybrid war, listing counter insurgency spy ops and criminality (!) as the factors which would be specialized in. make no mistake the EU and NATO are showing signs of being identical and are planning to build a ‘School of the Americas’ aimed at russia doubtlessly nestling beside ABMs. If as we suspect the centre has indeed broken there is a need to acknowledge the depth of enmity which the EU, NATO and UN hear our for russia and make those preparations.
Anonymous said…
[A bit off topic:]
An article by an Indian explains why Russia is liked in India.
———————————-
I can post thousand pro-Russian articles from Croatian media.
Is Russian soft power able to use it?
“…each of these moments in history can only be understood through spiritual eyes and not by means of materialistic categories…”
…This idea of Tolstoi, although based on Christ’s injunction, is not so much a reflection of Christianity as it is of the basic Russian assumption that any physical defeat must represent a spiritual victory, and that the latter could be achieved only through the former.
Such a point of view could be held only by persons to whom all prosperity or happiness is not only irrelevant but sinful. And this point of view could be held with such fanaticism only by persons to whom life, family, or any objective gain is worthless.
This is a dominant idea in all the Russian Intelligentsia, an idea going back through Plato to ancient Asia: All objective reality is of no importance except as symbols for some subjective truth. This was, of course, the point of view of the Neoplatonic thinkers of the early Christian period. It was generally the point of view of the early Christian heretics and of those Western heretics like the Cathari (Albigenses) who were derived from this Eastern philosophic position.
In modern Russian thought it is well represented by Dostoevski, who while chronologically earlier than Tolstoi is spiritually later. To Dostoevski every object and every act is merely a symbol for some elusive spiritual truth. From this point of view comes an outlook which makes his characters almost incomprehensible to the average person in the Western tradition: if such a character obtains a fortune, he cries, “I am ruined!” If he is acquitted on a murder charge, or seems likely to be, he exclaims, “I am condemned,” and seeks to incriminate himself in order to ensure the punishment which is so necessary for his own spiritual self-acquittal. If he deliberately misses his opponent in a duel, he has a guilty conscience, and says, “I should not have injured him thus; I should have killed him!”
In each case the speaker cares nothing about property, punishment, or life. He cares only about spiritual values: asceticism, guilt, remorse, injury to one’s self-respect. In the same way, the early religious thinkers, both Christian and non-Christian, regarded all objects as symbols for spiritual values, all temporal success as an inhibition on spiritual life, and felt that wealth could be obtained only by getting rid of property, life could be found only by dying (a direct quotation from Plato), eternity could be found only if time ended, and the soul could be freed only if the body were enslaved. Thus, as late as 1910 when Tolstoi died, Russia remained true to its Greek-Byzantine intellectual tradition…
http://real-world-news.org/bk-quigley/03.html#7
You are partially right.
To those Russians, who are the spiritual heirs of Bysanthine Orthodox Christianity the spiritual is superior to the worldly.
This was indeed the point of view of the early Christians, not only heretics, but the “mainstream” ones too (Satan was seen as the “Prince of this world” etc.).
You are correct when you trace this heritage back to neoplatonic philosophy, to Plato and ultimately to the Asian spiritual traditions (Dharmic ones).
However, you do unfortunately overemphasize the negative aspect of this philosophy.
The outcome of this spiritual stand is not some philosophical masochism rooted into the rejection of the world.
The true outcome of this philosophy is to passionately desire bringing the world up to the level of the Higher Truth.
A truly Russian spiritual thinker can be happy in this world, but only if he is working towards bringing the True, the Beautiful and the Good to this world, if he is working towards the world salvation.
This person is not a masochist or a pathetic looser who is crying in a dark corner, while life is passing him by.
This person is an active idealist who will not reconcile with this world’s imperfections.
In russian there is a saying: “To live by the truth” (Zhit’ po pravde).
This is what the Russian spirituality is all about.
Russian Orthodoxy (especially the pre-Schism Old Rite one), Russian Cosmism and even Russian Communism could be understood in this vein.
Anonymous said…
“NATO will attack Russia in 2 years to fight for Crimea”
———
Very likely.
Recall how Egypt attacked Israel in Yom Kippur war.
NATO could arm Ukraine and then Ukraine could do a Blitz Krieg.
Military Crimea is defenceless.
Crimea must be by territory joined with Russia
Spaniard
In ” having “prevailed” over that evil Russia” and ” Russia’s western frontier has become a desert. It is high time for Russia to accept this reality and act on it.” you appear to posit constants instead of a moment or moments in a lateral interactive process, and some perceptions based there on by some people.
The war has been, is and will be lateral, and of some duration.
Unlike chess, in life including war, you can make various moves simultaneously – there is no restriction to taking turns with your opponent and waiting for his move before making yours.
Two of the major keys are relative focus at points in the process, and patience in allowing reactions previously catalysed to work.
Consequently Russia’s western border is not a desert, but a field sown, watered and fertilised
to be monitored and ocassionally weeded to optimise growth.
The field is not entirely populated by weeds – the definition of which is a function of perceived utility.
Some of the major food crops were initially perceived as weeds.
The opposition and the lateral interactive process will aid this.
However I note your warning that your blog is not an analysis but a cri du coeur which some hold is a necessary pressure or safety valve in war, although my direct experience suggest that it is better not to relieve pressure if an explosion is required, and that notions of safety can be debilitating in war.
EU and NATO are created to destroy Russia.
EU’s task is economically fight Russia.
NATO’s task is military to endanger Russia.
EU and NATO are created by America to serve USA to create UNIPOLAR world.
The goal is to isolate, to destabilize and break up Russia.
The same story would be applied later for China too.
Croat and Russophile
TomasL
http://www.vpk-news.ru/articles/20777
TomasL from Czech republic
http://www.vpk-news.ru/articles/20777
Here is a video from 27 June showing a couple of seriously cooked Uke BTRs near Slavyansk. It looks like the Donbass Liberation Army has been using some serious weaponry.
While the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France are discussing the fate of eastern Ukraine during the country’s weeklong ceasefire, the eastern city of Slovyansk — which is occupied by the rebel forces and surrounded by the Ukrainian army — remains under siege.
Amid consistent clashes, residents are gathering to mourn civilian deaths and pray for a quick end to the conflict. For the rebel fighters defending their positions in the outskirts of the small town, the ceasefire is something happening elsewhere. They don’t trust it, and say the Ukrainian army is only using the opportunity to bring in more heavy weaponry and refill stocks of ammunition.
Early on June 21, VICE News embedded with a small group of rebel fighters as they walked quietly through a field of high grass to an abandoned chemical plant controlled by the pro-government troops. Their mission was to stage an attack and collect intelligence about the enemy’s sniper positions.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=byfre-t5cT8
If Banderastan is to be left to it’s fate, two issues need to be sorted out:
1)Ukie-Russia trade treaty should not return to “most favored” neighbor, but to standard relationship (and less favored relationship as next step). Russia can offer tax holidays for certain sectors of Ukie economy if they relocate to Russia and become Russian companies.
2)millions of Ukie workers in Russia must be resolved. There is no replacement for this workers so they can’t be simply booted. But visa regime should be reintroduced and they should be offered Russian citizenship IF they relocate whole family(wife or husband and kids) to Russia. The purpose is to keep this working force and lower the flow of Rubles to their families in Banderastan (equivalent of 20% GDP pre-Banderastan).
-There should be also some plan for refugees. If former Ukraine was important as a huge market why not bite a piece of it and simply get as many Ukrainians as possible to relocate to Russia and become consumers on Russian market.
Saker,
This isn’t really a comment to your lucid “cri de coeur” but rather I see it an as add on. Zbigniew Brzezinski recelty gave a speech about Russia, Ukraine, the West & NATO. It offers a great deal of insight to the mindset in operation in “Euro-Atlantic” land.
June 16, 2014: A group of analysts talked about European security and the challenges facing the transatlantic relationship following the crisis in Ukraine. Regarding news that Russia had cut off Ukraine’s gas supply, Stephen Pifer said Western sanctions had not yet had an impact on Russia. Zbigniew Brzezinski predicted that Crimea would become an economic burden on Russia. Wilson Center President and former Congresswoman Jane Harman made introductory remarks.
Zbigniew Brzezinski’s comments are very pertinent to what you said Saker.
I’ve posted them on LepontduDahu but here are some extracts:
“A divided people is the point of departure for the chauvinistic claim that Russia’s sovereignty embraces all Russians. wherever they are.” reffering to a report produced by the Russian International affairs council .
He goes on to outline the concept of divided people:
“The divided people and the protecting of compatriots aboard then raises the question of the Russian world. The notion here is of organic, integral unity between all Russians irrespective of their territorial location. And the territorial location can be altered favourably in reuniting the Russian people.”
The bit that provoked a strong reaction (in me) was this:
“The notion that the great Russian civilisation stands for certain basic values, not on a religious, but in terms of interpersonal relationships, to some extent. For example condemning some of the changes in the relationship between the sexes, and within the sexes that are now taking place in the world.”
“In effect, Russia protects the integrity of certain basic beliefs that have characterised Christianity, but in the Russian view, Christianity is now betraying or permitting to slip away.”
He then talked about ways of helping Ukraine, including military options. One of which raised an eyebrow, because this is precisely what Stelkov is doing (in my humble opinion), not the Kiev Junta. Read it for yourself:
“And in my view, these should be weapons designed particularly to permit the Ukrainians to engage in effective urban warfare, in resistance. There is no point in trying to arm the Ukrainians to take on the Russian army in the open field. Thousands of tanks, a modern army for some purposes, overwhelming forces. But there is a history to be learnt from urban resistance in WW II & more recently in Grozny, Chechenia, which resisted for 3 months in house to house fighting. There are some moving examples from WWII which I do not need to reiterate.”
Yours aye
Le Dahu
Dear Saker,
Seems to me like in this global world it has been reduced to only power capable of oposing The Empire nowadays: it is Russia.
Therefore all efforts are made to crush Russia in all aspects: economic, politic isolation, escalating the “bad guy” image which could possibly lead to military effort to “prevail” once and for all.
I live in Slovakia which is the exact example how they (usaians) do it: firs you have to be poor and deprived.. first they fool you and lie to you, then they establish those lies as official propaganda, putting all those with opposite view aside.
Majority of Slovaks never wished to be apart of NATO, but they lied and lied, promised and promised, issued massive campaigns, at the end: we are part of it. Now we have to increase military budget and arm again, although money is much more urgent in education, healthcare, infrastructure. Nobody cares – there was a call “lets arm” so we have to do it.
Result is: people are generaly disgusted and no longer believe in politics, domestic and international as well. In the latest EU elections in Slovakia, there was only 13% attendance of electorate: a total disaster. But our politicians doesnt seem to care, they continue as if nothing happened. They are manipulating public opinion and all the major media are streaming the same western propaganda as can be seen on BBC, etc.. I could go on and on, but there is other thing i would like to tell:
It seems like our society is sleeping and waiting.. Recognizing we are too small to make change by our own and being a nation that prefers to survive by hiding, not by active defending (as Serbs) we are waiting what will the future bring, and I am strongly convinced that the future will be decided by todays actions in Novorossiya.
Keep up the good work and keep us informed. More and more people demand the truth and not the mcdonald junkfood of western media propaganda.
I agree that Russia (maybe with China) is maybe the last real (especially military) power and obstacle before as it’s call it here “AngloZionist” Empire become the Master of whole World. But when I read this words about spiritual and exception purpose of Russia I ask if Russia and Russians ever analysed fact of reserve or even hostile opinions of neighbouring nations and especially relative slavic nations. I consider myself be Moravian and I’m from Czech Republic and I see that many slavic nations don’t like Russians and are afraid of them. Poles, Czechs, now we see significant parts of ukraine society. Even practically every neighbourind nations in west border of Russia is afraid of Russia. Is it accident? I think this fact should Russia lead to selfreflection especially of history. I think that Russia today stands alone. Russia don’t have real friends. There is no real significant ally (if you don’t count ridiculous long-term dictator Lukashenko in Belarussia and even Belarussia – is REAL friend?). And it’s question too how many nations even inside Russia really like Russians and Russia as state. So I think this maybe should be the topic for thinking for Russians and Saker.
@ Grieved 05:50
Yes, the commitment by Russia to seriously help and nurture the rebellion of eastern Ukraine as far west as poeple are willing to take it is absolutely essential. The support needs to be firm and does not need to be too subtle.
This is a battleground that Russia absolutely must refuse to relinquish. And it is a battle that Russia should be able to eventually win without the need for overt intervention. Let’s see how committed the EU is to keep indefinitely supporting a ruined country in a genocidal war against its citizens. Let’s see how long the psychopaths in power can take the growing disgust in public opinion in Europe.
What links the EU to Ukraine is only the greed of the EU masters for Ukraine’s resources. People in the EU don’t feel any special blood ties with western Ukrainians, and it will be a miracle of propaganda to get them to support a protracted ethnic cleansing war. And the population of western Ukraine will not maintain indefinite support for sending their sons to die either. And they are not going to like the economic conditions that are coming.
On the other hand, what ties Russia and the Russian public to the Donbass are real blood and cultural links. The Russian government will have no trouble keeping its people behind the effort to support Novorussia. And of course the Novorussians are fighting literally for their lives and their country.
Again, Russia cannot under any circumstances abandon the battleground in Novorussia. It would be a horrible mistake.
juliana,
I hear you. But there are many Russians who are right now giving help to those in need. And Saker is among them: I don’t know what else he’s doing but look how he fills our thirst here on this blog. Plus, even Jesus got mad at the moneylenders…
Traveler,
That information on Crimea is FASCINATING, and I never knew a bit of it. Thank you, it will come in very handy!
karlof1, and Grieved,
Yes to both of you. Yes!
Anonymous 07:30,
Hmmm. So potentially triggering WWI on its one hundredth anniversay isn’t enough? After re-playing Great Britain’s Afghanistan and Iraq fiascos to equal success, we’re now planning Crimean War v.2.0? The Empire did win that one but at what cost? We’ve certainly got many folks already playing the roles of milords Raglan and Cardigan…
Hey, aren’t we supposed to learn from history?
You are being harsh towards places like Kharkov. There are no organizations supporting those who protest, and their odds of ending up in a prison or just vanishing are high. And Mother Russia doesn’t want them. Russia wants a Ukraine that is a bridge between Europe and Russia with no NATO.
Saker,
“-what in the world are the Ukie generals thinking?!)”
http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=186627
What are we up to now? A huge unexplained tidal wave hit Odessa Friday.
“Measuring equipment didn’t register any tremors of the crust or any other geophysical events that might have triggered a tsunami of this kind,” Dr. Konstantin Yegupov, the chief of a seismic survey station at the Odessa State Academy of Construction told reporters.
He said the researchers had not confirmed the versions of either an underwater blast or the so-called rump wave.”
It could of course just be an anomaly — or not. I sure wouldn’t put it past us to further terrify the residents of that once-proud, magnificent city.
Nora
Forgot the URL for that Odessa tidal wave:
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/738145
Too much emotional blanking which can be dangerous and at best not helpful at all.
I do not see why you are attacking the “Ukies” for not fighting the government when one can also claim that only a small insignificant amount is currently fighting for their freedom from the Russian Ukrainians. They both expect Russia to do the work for them. Which isn’t going to happen. Russia is caught between a rock and a hard place. Unless it wants a full scale war, it’s playing it rather intelligently.
Russia, sitting it out is the best thing. As hardship and austerity begin to kick in, revolt is usually around the corner. People can turn a blind eye to others suffering but it is a whole different matter when they can’t keep warm and feed themselves.
“The Pope’s Crusaders came from the West … Then the Nazis came from the West. Now the AngloZionists are coming from the West. “
You forgot the Judeo-Bolshevik movement came from the West also. And by far the worst thing that ever happened to Russia was this disgusting vile movement. It destroyed the morals and back-bone of Russia. Tens of millions of Christians and millions of Muslims died at the hands of Jewish elites. Politically incorrect but never the less true.
While Judeo-Christian Zionists are in charge expect thing to get worse.
Saker has written a moving, heartfelt cri du coeur essay, but perhaps the profound tragedy of Russia at this moment, is much more painful and grim than suggested, because –
(1) Russian ‘feeling’ for Europe is tied to its Enlightenment culture (still showing despite Nato-US ties of corrupted EU leaders), and the fact that on the ground, north-Western Europe is still the overall nicest place to live in the world, essentially zero poverty in numerous countries for legal residents, yet minimal police state, low crime, very pleasant.
(2) Due to above, Russian oligarchs love to live and play in Europe, they are holding Putin hostage to not cutting the EU ties. West has caculated this in Ukraine strategy. Saker has jumped through hoops to invent / ascribe grand good strategy to Putin, but this is not holding up. In fact Russia is morally dying by its failure to intervene in Ukraine like in Georgia, but Putin would be sacked by his oligarchs if he did the right, brave thing (which would risk Putin’s life). Putin is in thrall now to his billionaires (like his more servile and evil counterpart Obama, by his US billionaire bosses). If Putin were as brave as the Russians in Ukraine being shot to death, he would roll the dice NOW and move the army in, EU and Russian oligarchs be damned.
(3) US-Nato is cleverly making Ukraine into another Afghanistan for Russia, tying her up, wearing her down. Yes, as well there is a slowly collapsing petro-dollar US empire, but they will do their worst before they expire. Just as in EU slave-state Greece, they will pump in just enough funds to keep the wretched farce afloat. EU even openly said Greece was the Ukraine ‘model’. US-Nato is now even angling to re-assault Syria via use of their Daash (ISIS-ISIL) bogeyman, with Putin bogged down in Ukraine, as Indian diplomat M K Bhadrakumar has noted.
(4) The temporarily growing spirituality of Russia, is tied to its ongoing status as a menaced, threatened people. Note, e.g., how the ‘deep religious feeling’ of Polish people, quite evaporated after 1991. Russia will stay menaced, so Orthodox mystic Christianity will be well-fuelled for a time, but ultimately …
The Saker is clearly somebody who wears his heart on his sleeve and that’s to be admired, as it certainly adds dimensions to his analyses absent from the more detached and dispassionate commentaries and blogs, without diminishing the veracity of his reports and analyses.
Knowing a number of people living across the entire territory of Ukraine, as it was, something that has been troubling me from the outset is that the distribution of of what could be called affinities (Russians-in-Ukraine, Russia-leaning “Ukrainians”, “hybrids”, russophonic Ukrainians, ukrainophonic Russians, etc. etc.) is very much more complex and intermingled than the trite analyses in the western media put about, tending as they do to oversimplify in their geographic and historic depictions of discrete east-west / urban-rural / russophone-ukrainophone boundaries.
I know many in the western oblasts and towns and cities like Chernovitz, Uzhgorod, even Lvov!, whose affinities lie with more strongly with Russia than the “Ukies”, still less the EU, and far less the USA, who can see very clearly through the murk, and are simply keeping their heads down and lying very low for now, understandably.
At its worst, it may be that the only resolution lies in physical displacements throughout Ukraine (and beyond) eastward and westward, in a wave of Yugoslavia-style ethnic cleansing. But it’s possible and to be hoped thst less drastic resolutions can prevail. In our reportage and counter-propaganda, we should not lose sight of this complexity and of the fact there are allies (and obligations) in Kiev, Zhytomir, Rivne, etc., even in the most galicianised / banderised parts.
Saker speaks of the ‘desert’ affecting Russia … but one such ‘desert’ is the sincere but troubled ‘desert religion’ of Russians … when what Putin could quite use now, is the wisdom of the warriors of the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita.
Christianity in general does not strongly sustain in the modern world outside of poverty, alienation, feeling menaced etc. Ditto Islam and Judaism. These 3 Abrahamic ‘desert bloc’ religions, all founded near each other by extremist, aggressive, lower-culture desert tribals, these religions all grew by conquest, and – what Jews / Christians / Muslims have great difficulty facing – their religious texts involve bodily mutilation, God-ordered genocides, war, slavery etc. Horrid stuff, Bible worse than Qur’an (see Gary Devaney ‘God Murders’ site).
Europe de-Christianised ultimately because it emotionally understood the Bible stories and heritage were themselves a source of violence. You honour images of the tortured bloody man on the cross? Then ‘You are what you behold’, you inhabit a torture-world. – And overall there is that ‘One Way Only!’ oppression in Judaism-Christianity-Islam. Among a peaceful, educated, prosperous non-alienated people, those 3 religions fade. Islam was quite fading until Western oppression and scheming incited its fundamentalist revival (the British even purposefully installed the extremist Wahhabi Saudis in power, who in turn fund extremist religious schools around the world).
Yes Jesus said many nice things – long ago proven to repeat Buddhist sayings, Jesus probably studied in India or with Indian gurus – but Jesus did not fully escape his violent, domineering, and parochial religious heritage. Jesus had some bad days, talking approvingly of a king killing those who do not follow him (Gospel of Luke). And Jesus, Paul and early Christians approvingly imported all the Hebraic blood-texts and ideology. Even ‘eternal hell’ when you think about it, is a savagely brutal terrorising idea … part of the ‘desert bloc’ religious ideology.
By contrast the much more tolerant Asian religions, Hinduism-Buddhism-Daoism, which admit multiple spiritual pathways, spread overall by being attractive and appealing, not by conquest and extortion. If you read the Bhagavad-Gita or the Dao-De-Jing, you find they are truly spiritual, little to disturb or unsettle, unlike opening the Bible and reading claims how God ‘ordered’ massacre of all women children and animals in places, ugh.
For a great introduction to Asian spirituality, there was a fine film version by Peter Brooks of the Mahabharata / Bhagavad-Gita. Here is the opening of the Bhagavad-Gita, 10 minutes … the chariot-driver of great warrior Arjuna turns out to be God himself in the form of Krishna, and God stops time itself, to explain to the warrior what life is all about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ205esn7qE
If Putin took to heart the message of the Bhagavad-Gita, he would know what to do … Risk all, and fight the unavoidable war in a just cause. Because God is with you, and you need have no fear when this is just one life among many.
Jesus needed not studying with some “Indian gurus”.
In his days the Silk Road’s western end was in Alexandria.
Many Ionian Greeks (called Yavanas in Sanskrit) were Buddhists and lived through the whole of the Middle East and Central Asia, they also lived in Alexandria, nearly half of the population of which was also hellenized Jews.
According to Celsus, who investigated the life of Jesus in order to refute Christianity, Jesus spent many years in some spiritual group/sect in the vicinity of Alexandria.
The world of clasical Antiquity was already globalized to some extent and produced some remarkable spiritual hybrids.
Total victory for the West(except for Crimea for the moment)I’m afraid.Putin is just finaly a puppet of the Russian Oligarchs.I watched a video about the NWO just a few months before the Ukraine crisis started,the historian was saying that in fact Russia is just another section of the NWO.Even the Central bank of russia is linked to the BIS in Basel.I did not want to believe it.I was a supporter of Putin,thinking he was our last chance to escape the NWO(as I don’t trust the Chinese at all).No way,it is the same old song:capitulation,total surrender.
And wen I read this article this morning from A Oulioukaev
link in french)
http://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/europe/manifestations-en-ukraine/ukraine-le-ministre-russe-de-l-economie-redoute-des-consequences-graves-en-cas-de-nouvelles-sanctions_634401.html
This is almost a state dept statement…
Putin is guilty of letting the people of NR/DPR dying without doing anything.
Very sad…GAZPROM is much more important it seems.
It is like a betrayal or even worse.
Excellent article, Saker. Well done.
Nice to see that the Brits and Russian people have never been at war.
On 28 June, 2014 08:06 anonymous wrote:
oops, the link to “NATO will attack Russia in 2 years to fight for Crimea” here:
http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/26-06-2014/127902-nato_russia_crimea-0/
It sometimes helps to first figure out who is saying what in which context:
Vice Rector of the Russian Economic University named after Plekhanov, member of the Public Chamber, Director of the Institute of Political Studies, political scientist Sergei Markov said in an interview with Pravda.Ru that Washington may decide to impose the third package of sanctions against Russia
Sergey Markov is voicing his opinion as an expert on the topic (he is director of the institute of Political Studies), but that does not mean he has access to confidential information. When he states that Nato “will attack Russia in 2 years”, then it is not based on concrete evidence, like leaks or intelligence, but an unfortunate way of expressiong his opinion as a matter of fact. That is not to say that what he thinks is worthless (he is talking about his field of expertise), but he can’t possibly know about NATO’s actions in the future until they become publicly known.
B.
3000 years ago the Chinese built a wall.
Now we’re building railways, and almost all of them lead to mother Russia.
Looking forward to sharing some drinks with my comrades up north :)
– Chinese person
Saker said :
” From the birth of Russia at the baptism of Saint Vladimir, “
WRONG !!! Russia existed before baptism of prince Vladimir.
Actually, I believe that the most important and strongest Russian leader EVER was duke Sviatoslav Igorevich, who was father of prince Vladimir. Sviatoslav made Russia a big state, not Vladimir. Sviatoslav destroyed Khazar Jewish empire in 965., and by doing that he removed the biggest archenemy of eastern Slavic people. He also conquered the Balkans, and almost Byzantium.
The most important thing is – the prince of Kievan Rus Sviatoslav Igorevich the Conqueror NEVER accepted any form of Christianity, although his own mother was an Orthodox Christian. Sviatoslav, the greatest Russian leader of all times, remained Slavic pagan all of his life, loyal to the Slavic god Perun.
Russia should definitely put much more emphasis on Sviatoslav then on his traitor son Vladimir who accepted a religion from an enemy empire Byzantium. It would have brought better results in Ukraine also, I believe.
Greetings from Serbia.
The Wend.
You are right, the ancestors of Slavs/Wends were already civilized thousands of years before the Christianity developped from a hellenized neoplatonic form of Judaism.
Saying that Russia begun with Vladimir’s baptism of the Kievan Rus is negating thousands of years of history stretching all the way back to Arkaim.
However, Orthodox Christians care not about what happened before Christ.
In this they are very similar to Muslims, who call the thousands years before Mohammad’s mission “the age of ignorance”.
Abrahamic exceptionalism of sorts…
I agree with you Nora on your first points very much, as I also agree with Grieved. Look again into my post where I compare Saker to John the Theologian – that’s pretty high praise, don’t you think?
Maybe I can make my point in addressing the comment about Tolstoi and Dostoievski at 9:36 by Peter Vote. With respect, the two great authors were contemporaneous though they never met, and each admired the other’s writing, though they wrote very differently about the Russia both loved.
Dostoievski really grapples with western influences in his last novel “The Brothers Karamazov.” In that novel his hero Alyosha, named for Dostoievski’s own little son who had died of epilepsy inherited from Dostoievski himself (imagine how the father felt at this) – that hero is admonished by his elder, Father Zosima to love both his brothers, who in different ways have western attributes.
Today I read that Lavrov has said if it were only Russia and Europe that were addressing this crisis, it would have been more easily solved. I agree with that.
I have always thought that Putin represented not only Russian heritage, but his understanding of the best accomplishments that western democracy represented in the hearts of its citizens. That is what he expressed in his editorial in the New York Times, going back to the founding principles of the United States. He shames this country by representing its core values as well as those of Russia, and that is why the world loves him.
I reiterate that China is now seriously investigating American NGO’s.
Victoria Nuland’s “cri du coeur” that the US had invested $5 billion in overthrowing the Ukrainian government has not gone unheeded, and the resultant horror on the one hand and peaceful annexation of Crimea (“annexation”) have not gone unnoticed.
What, to me, is absolutely fascinating is the complete blackout in the Western MSM. I am stunned. Truly stunned.
An example. Reuters published an interview with an Eastern Ukrainian refugee from the fighting who said that when armed men showed up he fled.
What the article fails to mention is that the vast, vast percentage of the refugees have fled to Russia and have been driven there by Kiev shelling.
Unless, of course, I am mistaken…
Am I?
I agree with you Nora on your first points very much, as I also agree with Grieved. Look again into my post where I compare Saker to John the Theologian – that’s pretty high praise, don’t you think?
Maybe I can make my point in addressing the comment about Tolstoi and Dostoievski at 9:36 by Peter Vote. With respect, the two great authors were contemporaneous though they never met, and each admired the other’s writing, though they wrote very differently about the Russia both loved.
Dostoievski really grapples with western influences in his last novel “The Brothers Karamazov.” In that novel his hero Alyosha, named for Dostoievski’s own little son who had died of epilepsy inherited from Dostoievski himself (imagine how the father felt at this) – that hero is admonished by his elder, Father Zosima to love both his brothers, who in different ways have western attributes.
Today I read that Lavrov has said if it were only Russia and Europe that were addressing this crisis, it would have been more easily solved. I agree with that.
I have always thought that Putin represented not only Russian heritage, but his understanding of the best accomplishments that western democracy represented in the hearts of its citizens. That is what he expressed in his editorial in the New York Times, going back to the founding principles of the United States. He shames this country by representing its core values as well as those of Russia, and that is why the world loves him.
[Apologies if this is a repeat – captcha seems to want me to try again]
To -VN
Even I noticed that whenever there was a conflict between US client Pakistan and Russian client India, India always won, won definitely.
Does that resonate today?
“…the much more tolerant Asian religions, Hinduism-Buddhism-Daoism…”
Anyone attuned to recent history and current events in… say, Burma, where the devoutly Buddhist majority has been viciously oppressing the Muslim Rohingyas for the past 60 years, most recently a series of attacks and killings this year;
…or in Sri Lanka, where the Buddhist sinhalese have engaged in the vilest imaginable campaign of genocide against the Tamils (present in Sri lanka for 600 years) (the West looked on, to see what lessons they could learn);
…understands well the folly of this meme (“eastern deistic or mystic religions superior to abrahamic theistic ones”) popular among (say) the modern, busy, liberal, urban American power-yoga set.
It’s a matter of interest to note how, in the development of Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas about passive resistance, civil disobedience, non-co-operation, non-violence and Satyagraha (following a path of truth), the significance of islamo-christian thinking and the works of Tolstoy and of diverse 19th-century anarchists tends to be downplayed, and that of the buddhist and jain thinking exaggerated.
Well, the mistreatment inflicted upon the Rohingyas by the Burmese bhikkus, and that inflicted by their Singhalese colleagues upon the Hinduist Tamil and the Ceylonese Muslims is an exception to the overall pacifistic outlook of the Buddhadharma.
Another such destructive exception was Japanese militaristic Buddhism of the first half of the twentieth century.
On the other hand, the Abrahamic religions openly call for the violent subjugation of the those who do not share their beliefs.
A famous Orthodox Christian hymn proclaim: “Submit yourself idolaters, because God is with us”.
One does find the same (although exacerbated) spiritual violence in Catholic inquisition persecution of heretics or the wars between Catholics and Protestants.
And one needs only to mentionion the many hundreds writings directed by the Jewish and Islamic scholars against each other and their Christian counterparts and of course the ” evil pagans” to fully measure the potential of spiritual violence inherent in Abrahamic religions.
Thanks to The Wend for mentioning the earlier pagan god Perun. There is much to describe him at wikipedia, and this I found most interesting:
“With the arrival of Christianity, various churches had a difficult time trying to overcome the worship of the old supreme deities of the Slavs. In the East, the Eastern Orthodox Church gradually managed to pass much of Perun’s characteristics on to a new Christian saint, Elijah the Thunderer, based upon the Old Testament prophet Elijah, who was separated from his servant by a fiery chariot from the heavens and then swept up by a whirlwind; this seemed a good enough approximation of the old thunder god with his fiery bolts…”
I had always wondered at the emphasis on Elijah and the beautiful icon of his ascent into heaven.
But are you really saying, The Wend, that the world would have been better off had the Rus continued worshipping a god of war than a god of peace? If so, I disagree.
Hello Saker,
you said there is an ongoing war between civilizations.
I strongly disagree, in fact there is a war between a re-borning civilization (that is recouping his roots) and a non civilization (that have denied his roots and marches rapidly to hi putrid inferno).
The method chosen to appoint the ne ambassadors by President Obama, tels more than any word about the grade of corruption of western civilization.
Rather than:”And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matt. 5:29), insofar as the Ukraine is the inheritor “state” of the created in 1922 Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, the words that the fictional character Taras Bulba said to his son are more pertinent as regards the relationship of inheritor state of the USSR, Russia, towards the Ukraine: Я тебя породил, я тебя и убью! – I fathered you and I will kill you!
Grieved:
Yes, you have the Ukraine and Near Abroad program needed by Russia exactly right. Support and push Novorossiya west, but do not under any circumstances respond to any Ukrainian provokations by force short of an outright Ukrainian Nazi tank/infantry invasion of Rostov, Belgograd, and Kursk.
Anon 10:55:
You note discontent in Slovakia. Such discontent is also present in Austria, Czech Republic, and Hungary. Russia needs to promote in the near abroad a program to splinter Europe, EU, and NATO. This will be based on recognizing the different blocks in Europe already existing and promoting the fracture of EU and NATO into them.
1) North Sea block – UK, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland. These are the most loyal US/NATO allies and form the league of piracy in the world trade empire. They must be recognized as inherently hostile to the geopolitical position of Russia. This block is Eurosceptic as witnessed by non participation of UK, Denmark and Sweden in the Euro, and the non-membership in the EU of Norway and Iceland. Poland and Lithuania view themselves as rightful parts of this bloc and strive towards acceptance in it.
2) Francia Block – this is the core EU – Germany, France, Belgium, Northern Italy. It is peripheral and untrusted territory by the North Sea Block regarding NATO/Atlanticism despite the headquarters of NATO being in Brussels. The area has natural economic affinity for Russia. Estonia, Lativa, and Finland are joined to this block by natural relations with both Russia and Germany.
3) Central Europe/Hapsburg Block – this area is in essence a colonial project of the Francia Block in cooperation with the core NATO/North Sea Block – Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Romania. Economically it is aligned to Francia and Russia, but militarily and with great scepticism by many people is involved in NATO. Western Ukraine, despite historic associations of Poland and Lithuania, is naturally a part of this faction aspirationally and by public opinion. The reason for NATO/North Sea involvement in this area is simple – to deny influence in the area to Russia, not because of any actual interests in the people and land.
A way forward for Russia in Europe and Ukraine is to force tensions between the North Sea Block and Francia and Central Europe. Continuing promotion of the South Stream Project is obviously of prime importance to the Central European area. Western Ukraine should be pushed into this block and away from the clutches of Poland-Lithuania. Securing of trade ties between Francia and Russia and encouraging Francia in Central Europe while promoting tensions between the North Sea Block and Francia and Central Europe is also helpful, as is gradual pressure on Poland and Lithuania to realize their affinity with Central Europe vs. the North Sea.
@Anonymous 14:30 US supporting Pakistan, Russia supporting India:
While I do not follow Indian politics closely, I can make a couple of statements:
(i) Russia’s support to India in times of troubles is still well appreciated. Indian newspapers regularly carry prominent articles about the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. Similarly, I read in Indian newspapers that India came out against sanctions against Russia in the current Ukrainian affairs because Russia supported India after Indian nuclear tests. (When the US imposed sanctions on India.)
(ii) Pakistan is no more considered a threat by India. It can (and does) “seriously annoy” India, but it poses no significant danger. (except perhaps via nuclear weapons, but the situation in the subcontinent is not that tense!)
(iii) I am almost sure that Indians never considered themselves to be “clients” of USSR/Russia. India has no aspiration to “become powerful” or play a major role in the world affairs: it just wants to be left alone. As such, even though the masses (and perhaps the elite too) dislike the imperialistic West, they manage to get along quite well with the West. Even those who talk about creating a strong India (politically) only talk about it in the context of being strong enough to defend themselves from outside interference.
(iv) And in general, to summarize, Indians are completely preoccupied with their internal affairs. Hindi newspapers do not even carry international news in detail. Urdu newspapers carry only international news relating to the Muslim world. Most English newspapers (except The Hindu) just reprint the news reports from Western press and agencies. (But I think it is generally understood that these reports are to been taken critically, specially because when newspapers publish the reports of their own journalists about international affairs, these differ *widely* from what the Western press says.)
(v) No idea about Indian TV. I do not watch it.
I continue to be surprised that in these discussions about the relationship between Ukraine and Russia no one has mentioned Ukraine’s role in the backstabbing of Gorbachev in 1991. Without L. Kravchuk’s cooperation and complicity, Yeltsin, a CIA operative if ever there was one, could not have gone it alone. (Byelorussia also helped out). It was these three that up and declared independence from the USSR. There is a record of George H.W. Bush calling Kravchuk the morning after to congratulate him.
(Note: Saker, in an earlier email I suggested that some of the acronyms be explained, particularly for those who are new to this site, For instance, I do not know what OSCE stands for. Many thanks to you , nevertleless.)
Cri de Coeur…This is what makes this blog so unique besides the raw information not easily available elsewhere–that here is heart as well as head. Yes, the cultural genetics are different between much of the East and West of the Ukraine and then we have the Pepsi generation which is about to be disabused soon.
Parasha-enko was elected by about 1/4 of the electorate ( half didn’t show and the rest were under siege). Mainly, most the people have no trust in leaders of any ilk and so, hope and against hope, are waiting this out. Leadership is important always–quality counts.
Two things to note:
1. Bulgarian bank crisis
2. keep an eye on what happens in Odessa.
The proper translation of Chinese expression is: “Give some one one cup of rice, you are a savior. Give some one one buck of rice, then you end up with a enemy.
juliana,
I’m in total agreement with everything you said — after all, loving the unloveable is (supposed to be) the core of Western Christianity also. I think I might have been reacting most strongly to the tone *I perceived* in your first comment; it felt kind of chiding and, well, ok, I guess my real point is sometimes we *don’t* love the unloveable and the very best we can do, as Christians, is *treat* them lovingly anyhow. To me, that’s the real challenge and worth of the faith, to do that, to not return hate with the hate that you feel, but summon up enough to treat the person decently despite the fact that you find them, well, whatever. However, sometimes it’s GOOD for a person who has transgressed to be on the receiving end of some righteous indignation, to get some pushback so that hopefully next time they’ll understand and respect reasonable limits and expectations. That also can be a part of treating someone lovingly — parents do it all the time. Am I making any sense?
I agree with what Larchmonter445 said 04:05…
Russia has to get PRO ACTIVE! It has to get ahead of the game and stop the bullies once and for all. The bullies will never ever stop by themselves. NEVER!
So far, the Russian leaders have managed to outmaneuver the Anglo-Zionist hyenas with Crimea but Ukraine is at the 4th stage of cancer and it is very dangerous for the rest of Russia.
Ukraine has to be purged but in a way that won’t allow the west to use it as a military launching pad against Russia and the Eurasian project .
The Russian culture is still seduced by the fancy wrapping of Hollywood movie industry and glossy PR propaganda that hooks right into the most powerful, reptilian part of the human consciousness. Russians need to be trained in how to identify the Anglo-Zionists deceptions and build the kind of holistic defense system that includes the totality of Russian culture and spirit.
There’re over 6000 specialists in evolutionary psychology and anthropology that are working for the CIA, NSA, FBI and the military in the US. All of them searching for the new ways to deceive and subjugate the rest of us. This has to be counteracted . Only Russia can do it!
@Andrew
Interesting theory you have on the possible fissure in the EU/ NATO organizations. I’m not so sure the conflicting interests go any deeper than just a superficial show for outsiders though, sort of a good cop bad cop routine to put it bluntly. For example, the Francia bloc members, especially Germany and France, are as much pirates as the North Sea bloc- they just focus their piracy in different sectors of the mafia empire and so look less criminally invested when one looks only at the European theater of this project. Germany has the most to gain economically and politically from the NATO/American dominance of Europe since the get the lions share of the captive markets for German exports once NATO and EU has subjugated and smashed all their would be competition. France on the other hand only survives as an economic power from the subjugation of vast swathes of formally francophone Africa’s economies to French predatory mercantile dominance. This is not possible without American permission and facilitation- look at Mali and Côte d’Ivoire. Regardless of their overt pretensions, the Francia bloc, just like their North Sea brethren, depend on this American imperial dominance for survival, and they will do nothing to jeopardize their favored status in the system as it’s currently constituted. Africa is currently being recolonized and resubjugated as we speak, and all the old colonial beneficiaries want their former glory returned- the price, is American hegemonic dominance, and it’s too agreeable a price to be contested. Everybody wins.
My two cents
Dear Saker and Friends,
The Western powers form a broad alliance far more complex than simply the USA. As “Croat and Russophile” posted above in a clear though simplified analysis: “EU and NATO are created by America to serve USA to create UNIPOLAR world. The goal is to isolate, to destabilize and break up Russia.”
Alas, I agree about the goal, and it is scary. But what is really meant by “USA”? Is it Congress, the President, the CIA, the corporate elite, certain secret societies, or all of the above? Congress is run by lobbyists, many of them pro-Israel; advisors control the President, whether he likes it or not (see Bill Clinton’s eloquent autobiography); the CIA is a fragmented bureaucracy often in conflict with itself; the big corporations are mostly multi-national; and certain secret societies have factions all over Europe. For a detailed account of who these Western powers are, see:
reality-bytes.hubpages.com/hub/What-is-the-Bilderberg-Group-And-What-Are-They-Doing
I don’t disagree that the US is arguably the major player. Its politicians, corporate elite,
intelligence officials and military brass no doubt dominate many aspects of the Western power alliance, which includes the Bilderberg Group, the Club of Rome, the Council on Foreign Relations, NATO, the UN, the EU, certain secret societies, as well as members of the European aristocracy.
Saker himself calls it “the Anglo-Zionist Empire”. This term allows sufficient latitude to encompass the various factions.
Thank you, Saker, for your inspiring article.
A brief aside: Occasionally commenters mention China as a possible economic supporter of Novorossiya. I would caution that being under China’s thumb would be far worse than being under the Kiev Nazi dictatorship. China murdered some one million Tibetans when it invaded that country, in scenarios more horrific than what we’ve seen in Donbass.
I don’t know if anyone’s still reading this thread but I wanted to add two comments.
First, Andrew @ 28 JUNE, 2014 16:00 in his breakdown of the European blocs said of western Ukraine: “The reason for NATO/North Sea involvement in this area is simple – to deny influence in the area to Russia, not because of any actual interests in the people and land.”
This is a point I often forget – the scorched-earth policy of the US. Because we in our individual lives try to find sensible reasons to do valuable things, we tend not to understand that sheer destruction actually serves a productive purpose in the US strategy. Thanks for the reminder.
And second, of all the beautiful things said in this thread – and they are very many – I personally found this statement by Juliania @ 28 JUNE, 2014 14:28 to be the loveliest, and true:
“I have always thought that Putin represented not only Russian heritage, but his understanding of the best accomplishments that western democracy represented in the hearts of its citizens. That is what he expressed in his editorial in the New York Times, going back to the founding principles of the United States. He shames this country by representing its core values as well as those of Russia, and that is why the world loves him.”
Anonymous said…28 June, 2014 20:28
“A brief aside: Occasionally commenters mention China as a possible economic supporter of Novorossiya. I would caution that being under China’s thumb would be far worse than being under the Kiev Nazi dictatorship. China murdered some one million Tibetans when it invaded that country, in scenarios more horrific than what we’ve seen in Donbass.”
Yes, justthetalk.com zio-queen, the Chinese have massed troops on the Novorussian border and are waiting for the signal from Beijing to begin the invasion. No million Tibetans were killed by the Chinese, that’s zionazi propaganda.
Dear Saker,
Thanks for your cri du couer. Its entirely understandable considering the recent events which are causing desperation even in people like me who are quite unconnected to the region itself.
I have following observations to make:
The Context:
The mess in Ukraine wasn’t created overnight. It’s a logical and planned conclusion of the Empire who had been trying to integrate( read dominate) Russia for the last 20 years as stated by John Kerry in the Atlantic Council gathering as noted on the Landdestroyer blog;
” Our European Allies have spent more than 20 years with us working to integrate Russia into the Euro-Atlantic community.”
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.co.uk
The Process:
The main instrument which in my opinion brought the war to Russia’s border is the Dollar. As Vcitoria Nuland was known to confirm that the Empire had pumped in 5 billion dollars for the regime change. I am unsure if that figure includes the money spent on running the organisations like National Democratic Institute and other such NGOs which had been working for the great objective since the Yeltsin years.
The Outcome:
Most of us know the declared goals of the Empire. Russia was acceptable and a partner as long as it was ready to get integrated into the US-NATO Geopolitical and Socioeconomic order. All the economic ties with the Western Europe were encouraged during those 20 years and they are now acting as shackles for the Russian bear.
The Anglo-zionist empire will never accept Russia as a partner especially with its insistence of following its own cultural, economic and religious values. This has been emphatically proven by the continued escalation of adversity, inclusion in EU-NATIO of former Soviet states and the persistence with plans to encircle Russia with the Missile shield.
The Future:
Here’s the news from Ria Novosti:
http://en.ria.ru/world/20140627/190735548/EU-Gives-Russia-Three-Days-to-De-Escalate-Ukraine-Crisis.html
Your previous piece in which you outlined some of the reasoning behind the repeal of the authorisation to use military power was excellent and I agree that it was a smart move from Putin but my understanding is that the Anglo-zionist advance would be relentless and Russia will have to respond at some stage and its only delaying the inevitable.
You mentioned Ukraine as a desert. I think it’s far from it. Russia can’t afford to let Ukraine go. Its a matter of survival of Russian civilazation and not just about Ukie’s rotting in economic hell.
Turning its back on Ukraine will be a grave error.
The US can keep the conflict going by continuing to printDollars as long as the rest of the World including the ”evil Russia” and the ”untrustworthy Chinese” continue to pile it. The Moneychangers would obviously be happy to fund the war.
I think, Putin has to detach himself from too many what ifs and then whats.
Russia is at war and too much thinking would seriously affect his ability to act at the right time.
It comes down to spirituality really and as we are aware spiritual decisions can sometimes look irrational.
Kind regards,
Amr.
P.S: An insightful comment by Andrew on the EU but I believe that EU as a whole is acting as an arm of the US Empire and although these blocks mentioned have slight differences , they are unable to refuse the Transatlantic orders.