February 22, 2024

Two Years


Two Years

Vladimir Putin wanted a subservient Ukraine. He created an enemy for life.

He wanted a fractious, weakened NATO. He caused it to increase in size, unity, and military spending.

He wanted NATO to be pushed back from Russian borders. NATO now has 830 miles more border with Russia.

He wanted to be seen on a par with Catherine the Great, an empire builder and great diplomat. He will go down in history as a paranoid, despotic aggressor who made Russia first-hated among nations.

After two years, Russia is no closer to “winning” its War on Ukraine than it was on day one, when its loss began: a loss of status, economic power, influence, and, most importantly, the catastrophic losses in human life.

Meanwhile, Ukraine, which Putin feels does not deserve to be a country (yet is the largest in Europe) has grown immensely in stature – the brave and guardians at the Eastern Gates of Western Democracy whose standing army is now the largest in Europe.

We might try to take comfort from the fact that even 71-year-old Vladimir Putin is mortal. That even if elected president for life, he will one day – as do we all – pass from this world. But even that will not change things. Not quickly.

Consider all the judges, police officers, bureaucrats, diplomats, businesspeople, and average citizens, who – be it because of fear or self-aggrandizement – have quickly and easily fallen into step with the oppressive dictates of the Kremlin and its minions.

One person does not run a country. It takes tens of thousands of willing accomplices to create a dictatorship.

A darkness has risen over Russian souls such that even if today Russia retreated to within its historical carapace and gave up on this folly, it would take many years, decades perhaps, for Russia to regain any measure of respect and influence.

There is nothing to celebrate on this, the second anniversary of Russia igniting the most horrific land war in Europe since World War II. Except perhaps the dogged persistence of the Ukrainian people, their resolve to remain independent, to join and be an integral part of Europe, to finally and forever live their lives free of Russian domination.

It is very hard to be a Russophile given all that has been done in Russia’s name over the past decade. But perhaps we can embrace Ukrainophilia and hope that, after this darkness ends (and winter always ends), these people who live on the land where Ancient Rus got its start will get the freedom, community, and peace that they deserve.

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

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.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
The Samovar Murders

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.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955