December 31, 2023

Good v. Evil


Good v. Evil
Rural scene. Kusmina Svetlana

We came across this quote in the New York Times' article on Best Sentences of the Year:

“What Putin is doing in Ukraine is not just reckless, not just a war of choice, not just an invasion in a class of its own for overreach, mendacity, immorality and incompetence, all wrapped in a farrago of lies. What he is doing is evil.”

It is by the journalist Thomas Friedman, and it was in this article on his trip to Ukraine.

There have been few such succinct and true summaries of Russia's War on Ukraine, which has upended, or perhaps stripped naked would be a better way to put it, what all Russophiles previously thought and loved about Russia.

Later in his article, Friedman does a good job of explaining what Russia's War is really about (for Putin):

"[Putin's] war, in my view, has never been primarily about countering NATO expansion. It has always been much more about stopping a Slavic Ukraine from joining the European Union and becoming a successful counter-example to Putin’s Slavic thieving autocracy. NATO expansion is Putin’s friend — it allows him to justify militarizing Russian society and to present himself as the indispensable guardian of Russia’s strength. E.U. expansion to Ukraine is a mortal threat — it exposes Putinism as the source of Russia’s weakness." (emphasis added)

As Russophiles, we must constantly puzzle how it is that this nation (Russia) has had such huge achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, sport, yet has done such a poor job improving its self-government and the thing about putting an end to its imperialistic impulses...

But then again, Russia is hardly alone. Humankind struggles with a similar dichotomy.

On the one hand, we look around us and see amazing advancements in science and technology, in health, energy, travel, etc. It gives hope that humankind can make a real dent in things like poverty and climate change and epidemics – i.e. suffering. But then there is Ukraine and Gaza and Yemen and Ethiopia and, and... and we realize that, despite these advancements, we continue to do a poor job extracting that thing about having a killing and dominating instinct in our simian souls.

We have come so far. Yet, also, we have not.

So where do we point our compass? How do we find hope and promise for the coming year?

Perhaps it is in the courage and plain speaking of those who are on the front lines of the battle against evil. Like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom Friedman quotes in the article above, from a speech he gave in Kiev:

“Human morality must win this war. Everyone in the world who values freedom, who values human life, who believes that people must win. And our success, the specific success of Ukraine, depends not only on us, on Ukrainians, but also on the extent to which the entire vast moral space of the world wants to preserve itself.”

And so, perhaps our best message for 2024 is this: We must keep fighting for and arguing for and writing about what is right. Good can and will defeat evil. Maybe not entirely. But step by step, inch by inch, day by day, with small, meaningful victories here and there. As long as we stay in the fight and support others who do as well.

Happy New Year?

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Some of our Books

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
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Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

The Samovar Murders
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The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Faith & Humor
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Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

Little Golden Calf
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Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

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