freedom of the press

[Max Pyziur]

Yoshimasa Tsuji wrote:
>
> If there is anything praiseworthy of Russia, it is undoubtedly
> the people who have achieved so many great things IN SPITE OF
> all the destructive policies of the government they have had
> so far.
>   Hitler imagined Stalin had no popular support and thus could
> easily defeat Russia, and he was mistaken. Russia won in spite of

Was it Russia that won or the Soviet Union?  And why do you continuously not
make the distinction?

Further, the Soviet Union defeated Germany not through skill and training, but
because there was yet another soldier standing behind the one who had just
fallen, poorly equipped, oftentimes w/o even a helmit.

> Stalin's incompetence. I don't know if Putin is incompetent or

Putin is a moron.  He is a hack apparatchik who can't see past some romanticized
notion of the SU.  He pursued joining the KGB because he saw some spy movie in
the late 60s, later attending a mediocre "law" institute and then serving as a
two-bit operative in Dresden in the 80s.  Hardly exemplary things which indicate
that he has either the capacity to manage or lead.

> if Russian economy will collapse with the fall of the oil prices,
> but am very sure the life of the Russians depends only upon the
> Russians themselves, not on the external forces including the
> government.
>   We are witnessing a tremendous change in the Russian language
> and its culture since 1990 and many of us will find the contemporary
> culture worthy of studying. And it has little to do with what Putin
> is going to do.

And it has everthing to do with how Russian people organize or not organize
themselves as a society.

>   I don't disagree to a statement that Russia has paid unnecessarily
> high cost for its achievements. For example, the life expectancy in
> the villages in the last 100 years has improved by 10 to 15 years
> (60 years for men now). And it is indeed a great achievement if you
> think about what most of the 200 countries in the world achieved
> in the same time span. Russia paid a high cost, but there are
> nations that paid a lot but got nearly nothing.

Yes, but have you looked at the variance across that 100 years?  Hasn't the
longevity rate been falling in recent times?

>   Russia was lucky having Sozhenicyn and others who have created
> great works out of misery, but there are many nations in Asia
> and Africa who have suffered much more and have not attracted due
> attention due to the absence of world famous writers. It is not
> the misery nor the incompetent government officials that attract
> our attention to Russia, but those attractive talented people.
> Or have you ever thought of Russia as a business chance?

And it is important to remember the context in which those writers and artists
developed and continue to develop.  Were they nurtured by a state apparatus and
isolated from the rest of society (Soviet composers such as Shostakovitch and
Katchatourian come to mind) or was their art and craft born and/or tied to
particular communities?

> Cheers,
> Tsuji
>

--
Max Pyziur                                     BRAMA - Gateway Ukraine
pyz at brama.com                                  http://www.brama.com/

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