Guardian on Putin's speech

Fri Mar 2 23:15:42 UTC 2007

Sorry! Have to violate the rules... But we can treat it not like a political debate to which I don't qualify at all, but just as an insight into the stubborn Slavic character...
Dear Philippe, you see and judge everything from your own perspective, but not from the  perspective of Russians.  
First, democracy or not democracy, it is their own business to like or not to like Putin, and they won't care about the rest of the world, exactly like any other nation wouldn't care. 
Second, I can find many counterarguments to any accusation against Putin just quoting the Western press. The counterarguments will be kind of "Na sebia by luchshe posmotreli..." (which means: "You'd better look at yourself..." I mean Western democracies.) But you have your own examples...
Third, no one says that what Putin created is perfect, but everybody knows the truth: whatever Putin or whoever creates in Russia, even if it is some super-democracy, won't be good enough for those thriving to achieve some global paradise of all embracing love until it is exactly that what they want to have on that territory and just for themselves and not for Russians. But what if those crazy Russians don't want to be the part of that new Orwellian paradise?.. 
In that part of the world no one is actually enthusiastic about "ispravitel'no-prinuditel'naja" democracy which is to be imposed here and there, with all those "democratic" nonsenses the most remarkable of which is political correctness. The very moment you stop singing along with the chorus of those pulling the strings from behind the scenes you are immediately accused of anti-this and anti-that, of some phobia or paranoia... It seems that promoters of all embracing love exclude themselves from the rules they demand others follow...
Fifth, whatever _not_ pro-western government Russia gets, it will never try to destroy the core of the Slavic culture because they _don't_ need it. To my mind it is simply impossible... Even those whose job has been to hate Russia accept that Christian beliefs and values are pretty well preserved in Russian souls no matter that they don't show it and just keep that deep for themselves. Besides, Russians are smart enough to learn from the mistakes of others...
And that what Putin's government has done so far  makes me actually very optimistic. He said, we have to save that what was really good in our country  -  our educational system. To a big disappointment of the Ford Foundation and their allies, I suppose... So I hope, children will continue learning factual knowledge, and not the right attitudes. And they will learn the basics like we did it and not like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr1qee-bTZI (Great clip...)
I haven't heard anything about early sex-education in our schools so far. No NAMBLA or the like in the country. No government-initiated campaign aimed at rejection of old social and moral beliefs and embracing a new morality the West has gone through. No book-banning, as far as I know. Three or four days ago I heard on Ekho that Luzhkov planns to liquidate most of game houses (zaly igrovykh avtomatov) and replace them with libraries. Excellent idea. Why promote ignorance?
So what's up? Life goes on. It goes on even in Ukraine although it's no fun to have a president whose only concern is paying back to the NWO strategists.
It belongs to the Slavic character to constantly complain, but all look great, and I always feel much more positive energy around me in Ukraine than in sleepy Germany.
The country doesn't consist of only those fighting for power, of oligarchs or FSB. There are also those who teach, treat, write, clean streets, paint, etc. They have families, they have children they have to raise, feed and educate. They want security. Who has the right to blame them for that?
Best regards,
Maryna Vinarska

FRISON Philippe <Philippe.FRISON at COE.INT> wrote: Dear Maryna and list members,

I do not know which "big brother" is supposed to "eradicate everything that constitutes the very core of the Slavic culture".

As a French man, with a soon to depart President, who used his functions to avoid being prosecuted for corruption, I would not pretend that France is an ideal democracy.

I do not know anyway what would be an ideal democracy...

Ancient Greece had among others slaves, ostracism and permanent intercity wars.

But the system Putin contributed to set up has not much in common with democracy, or even "managed democracy". It is an oligarchic system, with fabricated elections and processes, and general prosecutors who are legally assumed to be the best protected in the world, but who can be fired like Ustinov in a couple of days by his President master giving a frown.

The few in power are no longer members of one political party (although "Yedinaya Russia" tends to restore this model), but of a nomenklatura including KGB officials on the political side, and of some wealthy millionnaires on the economical one. Are they really the ones who can promote "everything that constitutes the very core of the Slavic culture" ?

Putin used even Beslan to reinforce FSB powers, and not those of the militia and judges. 

What Russia has never been able to set up in its long history is the delicate system of checks and balances which prevents other countries to drift to far away towards the permanent politicians' temptation of power abuse.

The only historical period I know in this direction in Russia is the short-lived Menchevik Revolution, which unfortunately proved ineffective.

Philippe

-----Original Message-----
From: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list [mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU] On Behalf Of Maryna Vinarska
Sent: lundi 26 février 2007 20:41
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Guardian on Putin's speech

I only want to add that Ukrainians seem to envy Russians now and dream about getting their own Putin. In 1991 I could not imagine myself that I would come to the conclusion that it is much better to have a big brother named Russia than suddenly to get one who's trying to eradicate everything that constitutes the very core of the Slavic culture. Thanks for your comment. You put everything quite right. Regards, Maryna Vinarska

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