One of the very first things I learned in my Soviet History class in college twenty-two years ago is the fact that Russia is Neither East nor West.
Let me repeat that: Russia is Neither East nor West.
The Western World has mistakenly believed since 1991 that it was possible for Russia and most of the ex-Soviet Republics to join our side. Russia’s actions in Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine clearly prove that is not the case.
In fact, Russia, through Владимир Владимирович, is asserting that little above-mentioned fact, through a proposed document called the “Foundations of the State Cultural Policy”, and it is guaranteed to throw liberals and many extremist groups (we all know who they are) into a great gnashing of teeth:
“Russia must be viewed as a unique and original civilization that cannot be reduced to ‘East’ or ‘West,'” reads the document, signed by Deputy Culture Minister Vladimir Aristarkhov. “A concise way of formulating this stand would be, ‘Russia is not Europe,’ and that is confirmed by the entire history of the country and the people.”
Russia’s non-European path should be marked by “the rejection of such principles as multiculturalism and tolerance,” according to the draft. “No references to ‘creative freedom’ and ‘national originality’ can justify behavior considered unacceptable from the point of view of Russia’s traditional value system.” That, the document stresses, is not an infringement on basic freedoms but merely the withdrawal of government support from “projects imposing alien values on society.”
And of course, we all know just which alien values they’re talking about.
From the Varangians of the west…to the Golden Horde from the East and South, Russia has been shaped from both. That is why they have struggled to maintain their own identity for its entire history. We must acknowledge that the tolerance we tolerate in our society simply won’t work over there.
Tags: Vladimir Putin
