{"id":171693,"date":"2022-03-25T15:01:05","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T13:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/rosiyany-vijny-hochut"},"modified":"2022-03-25T15:07:08","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T13:07:08","slug":"rosiyany-vijny-hochut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/rosiyany-vijny-hochut","title":{"rendered":"Do russians want war? They do!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A full out war is unfolding in Ukraine for over 20 days now. A war which russia initiated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a fact that the war had started 8 years ago when Crimea was occupied and annexed. But on February 24, 2022 putin had completely gone \u201coff the rails\u201d and decided that he could: occupy our country in just two days, change the government in power and even issued special medals for his army (\u201cFor liberation of Kyiv, Lviv and Odessa\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today russian army is all over the border regions of Ukriane in the form of scrap metal sand human fertilizer. The world had put in place unprecedented sanctions against Russia. Russians are fighting each other for sugar and Ikea chairs, russian bloggers are crying because they no longer have access to their Instagram-chik accounts and monetizing tools on Youtube. Meanwhile russian state authorities are swiftly \u201ctightening the screws\u201d on their own people and their dream of Soviet Union is no longer a dream but a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most agile of russian soldiers voluntarily surrender, when the most agile of civilians attempt to quickly flee the country pretending to be the victims of a totalitarian regime. While the idea of surrendering is not the most creative one, it has common sense and characterizes a russian occupant as a thinking creature. Whereas the idea of a \u201cgood russian\u201d to portray themselves as a victim of war and moving to Western Europe is quite a cynical one (to say the least). It is, therefore, interesting to analyze and discuss this behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Culture as propaganda<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Russian propaganda which was for decades sponsored and disseminated everywhere in the world was based on an illusive foundation of so called \u201ccultural diplomacy\u201d. Russia had used its culture as a leverage tool in Western Europe. Through their curators, art collectives and \u201cindependent\u201d institutions russians had been lobbying their political interest in the West. They turned numerous scientists, art historians, museums, opera and theatre directors into advocates for russian political control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these cultural initiatives were sponsored by Russian money which after 2014 were already toxic (for example Gazprom\u2019s funds), but, unfortunately, very few members of cultural establishment questioned the source of these funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These connections were especially effective in France, Austria and Germany. 2017 exhibitions dedicated to \u201c100 years of October revolution\u201d had impressed viewers with their scale and their artists, whom russia decided to appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember one such art show in Paris where a French curator had no issue with the lack of information about tyranny, Holodomor, repressions of soviet union of that period in russian history. He saw nothing wrong with displaying the portraits of tyrants of russia despite their notoriety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
\u0412\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0430\u0432\u043a\u0430 \u00ab\u0427\u0435\u0440\u0432\u043e\u043d\u0438\u0439\u00bb \u0443 \u041f\u0430\u0440\u0438\u0436\u0456. 2017 \u0440\u0456\u043a.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\u0412\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0430\u0432\u043a\u0430 \u00ab\u0420\u043e\u0441\u0456\u0439\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u0430\u0432\u0430\u043d\u0433\u0430\u0440\u0434 \u0432\u0456\u0434 \u041c\u0430\u043b\u0435\u0432\u0438\u0447\u0430 \u0434\u043e \u0428\u0430\u0433\u0430\u043b\u0430\u00bb \u0432 Albertina. \u0412\u0456\u0434\u0435\u043d\u044c, 2016 \u0440\u0456\u043a.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Playing the victim<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Luckily today the situation had changed and a lot of countries and art platforms refused to exhibit russian culture and cooperate with russian art figures. It is a very wise decision which we should not underestimate! BUT russians will not rest until they can have a piece of European grants and funding as a victim of war, whatever it may take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bad news is there are still compassionate Europeans who believe in russian rouble and give them the opportunity to received this support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the German chancellor supported the narrative that only putin is to blame for this war which led to new grants for \u201cindependent russian journalists\u201dand \u201cartists in exile\u201d, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us not forget that all these independent artists have comfortably lived and worked in russia keeping their silence. And when they did go out to protest, it was not to protest wars in Ukraine, Georgia, Syria or the uprising Belarus (suppressed by Russia) but against their own corruption or for opposition which thinks that \u201cCrimea isn\u2019t a sandwich\u201d to be shared or \u201cit\u2019s not that clear-cut\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, I am not against any motive for protests, it\u2019s internal business of russians. I just want to point out that in 8 years russians have not succeeded in gathering a more or less massive anti war protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance Mariupol, which is currently being annihilated by Russian forces, was under fire back in 2015. I therefore recommend not giving in to the pressure and of \u201cgood russians\u201d who started wining only after they had no more comfortable life with trips to beautiful festivals with champagne and oysters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have great news for those, who feel that the world has a lot to loose without russian culture. If you dig deeper into it, you will find that it consists of Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians, Jews, Polish, Kazakh, Germans and hundreds of thousands of talented people of the world, annexed by the russian empire and soviets.So our world can continue to enjoy the masterpieces of artists and composers but without them being claimed by imperial russia..<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n