In an interview posted yesterday by The Duran, former British diplomat and MI6 official, Alastair Crooke, mentions April as being one of the key months up ahead:
The other thing that is quite striking is that Russia is moving on from its European period, and there is some tension from those in St Petersburg and Moscow who lean towards European culture, who feel their landmarks are receding, and they're concerned about the future.
Let me insert my 2 cents, because... I live near St. Petersburg and visit there from time to time.
It's not even close to the truth of what he's saying. Russia was and is a European country (the largest in both population and territory), here no one prohibits Western culture and art (literature, architecture, monuments, etc.), Western brands are easily sold in stores, there is no hatred for ORDINARY people living in Western Europe. Russia is not going to fence itself off from Western Europe with an iron fence. Russia is not leaving Europe anywhere. You cannot leave Europe if you occupy 70% of its territory.
And this is a strong contrast with Western Europe, which is trying to ban everything Russian, closes borders from Russians, confiscates Russian real estate and cars, demolishes Russian monuments, and puts people in prison for Russian flags.
But i think the rise of the Orthodox church has been important in giving them a sense of grounding and belonging and a sense of direction for the future. And that is affecting Ukraine, which i think is a point that people don't pick up so readily. There is an aspect of Ukraine that is sort of eschatological to 'Ruski-mir'; they're finding their new self, their new identity; and part of that is that absolute victory in Ukraine. The three peoples coming together in this fashion. It's very clear that it's no just instrumental politics or talk, Ukraine has been part of them coming into their own.
Many (even residents of Russia) confuse the state structure called the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and Orthodoxy (as a faith, the faith of their ancestors). The Russian Orthodox Church is in many ways a project of the Romanov dynasty - it is a religious Western Greek construct brought into Russia during the Time of Troubles (after the death of Tsar Ivan 4) from the territory of modern Poland and Ukraine and caused a serious split in society. Those who did not agree with this “new Greek” Romanov church were persecuted, they left and resettled in the Urals and Siberia (Old Believers) and beyond. The descendants of these people are still alive.
Some modern Russian historians have seriously studied this topic (Orthodoxy and schism), for example, Professor A.V. Pyzhikov (there are many of his books, a YouTube channel)
After the fall of the Romanovs, the Russian Orthodox Church was effectively banned by the Soviet authorities, although no one banned the faith itself or the icons. More precisely, there was a short period of persecution of people, but by the beginning of the Second World War it ended. Icons (a woman holding a child in her arms, as a rule) were passed down from generation to generation, from older family members to younger ones. It seems to me that this “old faith” is close to what is called paleo-Christianity on this forum.
Why am I writing all this? So that you understand the difference. For example, I do not see a “revival” of the official Greek religion under the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church inside Russia. Rather, I would say, it is in deep decline, it is mired in making money and is completely divorced from the real situation in the country, from helping people in need.
But at the same time, I definitely see in many ordinary people the desire to help their neighbor without asking for anything in return. Of course, not all people are so kind. But a number of cases have recently happened to me when strangers help simply out of the kindness of their hearts and refuse money. Perhaps this is the emergence of a new type of society in Russia, based on compassion, mercy and kindness?
<-- Barry Gibb smile
