The Russian state keeps its citizens uneducated and ready to resort to irrational esotericism whenever it comes to political and moral responsibility.
Ukrainian blogger Volodymyr Zolkin published the hashtag #ищисвоих a large number of videos in which he asks captured Russian soldiers about their mission and ideas about the war. The Ukrainian has been shooting such videos regularly since mid-March. For this he was repeatedly criticized and accused of violating the Geneva Convention. Zolkin himself denied all these allegations.
However, his videos are still interesting, – writes Juno Vai on the pages of Der Spiegel. The author recalls watching a video of Russian prisoners for hours, hoping that it would help them understand who they were, where they came from and what compelled them to commit war crimes. Usually in the frame sat pale men from distant corners of the Russian Federation. Officers, privates or even deserters answer questions or try to remain silent. The most common tactic for the latter was to repeat the mantra: “We did not know we were going to Ukraine, we thought it was a military exercise.”
Poor and poorly trained
According to them, Russian prisoners mostly come from distant provinces, derelict villages without paved roads or water mains, and with a high unemployment rate. For them, the army is the last chance to break out of poverty. The prisoners, after all, say what the Ukrainians who interrogate them want to hear. What they now understand is that Russian soldiers attack, burn, rape women and kill children in a peaceful sovereign country. And that the war must end. The men in the video seem scared. They are afraid to say something wrong to Ukrainians or that they will be punished for their answers when they return home. But from time to time there are rare moments of sincerity. For example, a 23-year-old officer asked why Ukraine wanted to unite with Europe at all. He didn't understand it at all.
When a mother believes in propaganda more than a son
The situation becomes even more disgusting when prisoners call relatives in front of the camera. On the other hand, there is no sign of relief from the finally heard voice of a missing son, husband or brother. Instead, there is a depressing silence. The tone of the conversation is usually harsh and mixed with distrust. One Russian woman does not want to talk to her husband at all, because the conversation is being recorded. Another has a new lover. Another guy calls his grandmother, who complains to him about how much she suffers from the whole situation, forgetting to even ask how her captive grandson feels. Otherwise, the mother trusts her own son less than Russia's state propaganda.
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Zolkin has made significant efforts to dispel Vladimir Putin's lies. He often has to explain to Russian families that the personal experience of soldiers and their own direct contact with the war is more credible than the crazy claims of Russian television. He has to contrast reality and the picture on TV. The German columnist notes that respondents often seem ill-educated and repeat almost literally the lies they consume at home. This ignorance is shocking because it is complemented by an absolute reluctance to get rid of it. Because of inertia or fear, who knows.
“These interviews can tell a lot about how the dictatorship works. If someone wants to manipulate and rule without hindrance, he needs to keep the population ignorant. When no one teaches critical thinking, no one questions the unpleasant consequences. We Germans are well aware of this from our own experience, “the German columnist wrote.
Russia has always kept a large part of its intelligentsia under pressure, which is now emigrating en masse from the country. But can the ignorance and corruption of Russia's education system and the recruitment of poor people for war really explain the atrocities in Bucha or Irpen?
“Of course not! War is an emergency, a struggle for physical survival. We are fooling ourselves if we believe that any party, even a good party, can wage a “legitimate” war in full compliance with the Geneva Convention, refraining from excessive cruelty. Every war gives freedom to the beast that lives in us. It can drive an obedient and well-groomed dog crazy. Or he could open the door to an aviary with a Russian shepherd who had been beaten all his life, ”the article reads.
State-Supported Violence
It is difficult to assess how cruel the population is in a country. But it is safe to say that in Russia the government supports and promotes violence. Abuse of violence in the family, in law enforcement, in the military, or by homophobic gangs rarely ends in punishment. This is often not even reported. Russia has already failed to consider more than 40 bills that provide for punishment for domestic violence. The political will to fight such crimes is zero. “Beating means loving,” is a common excuse for partner abuse. State approval makes it possible to torture in prisons, as well as brutal abuse of new recruits in the army.
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the impression that Russians are well acquainted with daily violence. People, especially soldiers in barracks, are already used to it.
“I lived in Russia and saw a lot of fights. It was often alcohol-related, but sometimes it was a pure show of strength. The fact that the police beat the detainees during interrogations was a well-known secret. When a friend of mine was serving in the military, a senior officer hit him with the pistol grip for secretly carrying a bottle of vodka. Another acquaintance was forcibly sent to a psychiatric hospital and tortured for refusing military service. I was punched in the face by a stranger in the middle of the street, “the author admits.
Irrationality and esotericism
“Russians have a strong connection to violence and death,” said security expert Florence Gobb, who has been criticized and accused of racism for believing that Russians do not belong in Europe. However, she is absolutely right about Russia's approaches to violence. Gob points to the lack of condemnation of the crimes of dictator Joseph Stalin, the terror he organized, the Gulag, the Holodomor in Ukraine and the shameful behavior of the Soviet secret services.
“Russia will not understand Russia with its mind,” said the poet and Russian diplomat Fyodor Tyutchev in 1866, justifying all those who fled to the realm of irrationality as soon as morality and political responsibility were discussed. Like, you do not need to make changes in what can not be understood. Everyone who has lived in Russia for a long time knows what happens when a dispute arises and the unpleasant truth is about to come out. Any debate slips into mysticism and mystery, and they try to stifle every dispute in its infancy.
Because of this, the October coup was a blurred space experiment, Kyiv was the “mother of Russian cities”, and the president of Ukraine was of Jewish descent. – “Nazi” . Conspiracy theories thrive in a country that enjoys post-Soviet religiosity but at the same time supports traditional prejudices and is not against esoterics. Where the irrational prevails, people like to be ruled by a sinister force that thinks and rules everything. People lose all responsibility by indulging in pleasant inertia, becoming an object that moves in mass, becoming cannon fodder.
Patriotism and fear
Many Russians love their country in a very strange way and almost always on the basis of hostility to the West or the East.
“Our patriotism is usually imposed, behind it is fear and uncertainty. Many young people really believe that they are saving Russia. Knighthood also strengthens Russia's trust, obedience, and openness to influence, “said Russian philosopher Alexander Tsipko.
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But what exactly is the Russianness of such terms as “trust”, “obedience” and “openness to influence”? It doesn't really help to understand whether Russian soldiers are worse people than people in other countries, or whether they may have fallen victim to the circumstances.
“If, in the face of war against Ukraine, we are gripped by despair and silence, then we must remember the words of historian Timothy Snyder that our democracy must be defended every day. If we love her, we must become one with her, develop her institutions, interact and work with her. So that it is not torn apart by dogs, “the article reads.
See the special topic: Ukraine will present to citizens a document with clear actions to be taken by the state on the way to the EU – Zelensky According to the President, now the main task of Ukraine is not to lose a single week in relations with the European Union. Kyiv and Madrid have become twin cities – Klitschko The mayors of the Ukrainian and Spanish capitals have signed a memorandum. Ukraine received $ 1.3 billion in grant aid from the United States The grant was provided as part of a $ 40 billion global aid package. Putin still wants to seize most of Ukraine – US intelligence The situation is rather bleak. Switzerland has imposed additional sanctions against Russia The country has supported the latest package of restrictions adopted by the European Union.
