Posted on 12/28/2016 10:46:05 AM PST by GoldenState_Rose
As someone who has lived and continues to spend time in Russia; as a Catholic lover of all things good, beautiful, and true, including that which is present in the ancient spiritual treasures of Eastern Orthodoxy. As one who acknowledges the debt we Americans owe to the Protestant ethic and worldview, I also believe, just as Ben Franklin concluded toward the end of his life: "That God governs in the affairs of men."
In that vein, perhaps GOD has given Vladimir Putin and Russia a significant yet complex role to play on the world stage. Our efforts to put Putin either in a "good guy" "bad guy" camp will prove futile.
Russia has long had a history of cherishing the very best and very worst of Western culture and thought: and running with it to its maximal point.
Where they went right: Artistically and culturally.
To this day, The Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg remains the gatekeeper to some of the greatest treasures of Western art. The centerpiece of the museum is arguably Rembrandt van Rijn's "Prodigal Son" - a monumental testament to God's patient, redemptive love to a soul gone astray. (How fitting, the painting be of an elderly Father waiting to embrace his rebellious son in his arms again -- an analogy which can apply to nations as well.)
In walking through the museum, one is enters into the heart and soul of our civilization, while uncovering the layers and layers of beauty and faith that much of the modern world has kept hid. It is quite the experience. Of course there are museums and such sites all over Europe, but in Russia, a historically much poorer, wartorn, and often isolated country, these treasures are guarded and valued with extra care. The appreciation for that which is timeless and transcendent is palpable. It's a feeling, which in our American society, often gets drowned out by consumerism and materialism.
Taking from Western ideals and values, and then putting their own spin on it, the great masters of Russian literature, ballet, theater, film, and classical music continue to stir the souls of many throughout the world...sensitizing us to the beauty, but also the pain and mystery of existence. Unfortunately, this melding of the best of Western values with an "Eastern" spin has not played out in Russia's political history, rather, it was the worst of Western values that found their realization in Russia.
The Russian Empire took its neighboring European models of social aristocracy to extremes and the Soviet Union took the worst of Darwin, Engels, and Marx (all Westerners mind you!) and sought to literally reprogram civilization without its divine Creator.
And when the Soviet Union fell, Russia was trapped by its legacy of inorganic social development. What I mean by inorganic: historically, Russia's allegiance to Eastern Orthodoxy meant it was not a Western, full-fledged Catholic country loyal to Rome. Thus, it skipped over the natural flow and progression of movements such as the Renaissance, and the Protestant Reformation. Then, at certain points after the fact, Russia would come face to face with their Western neighbors and become aware of their "backwardness" and proceed to embark upon a rush to catch up. The Russian Empire captured the tail end of the secular Enlightenment, while the Soviet Union rushed to implement the fruit of the Industrial and Scientific revolutions.
Fast forward to the 1990s: Russia began to adopt all the *external* trappings of consumer-capitalism, without forging the moral and spiritual foundations necessary for political and social freedom. Our American founders understood freedom cannot exist without the rule of law. Adam Smith himself understood that capitalism without virtue was doomed. (See: his "Theory on Moral Sentiments") - and this is just as true for us as it is for any country.
Therefore, the fall of the Soviet Union left a vacuum that affected every area of society: Socially, the country experienced freedom without law. Economically, the decentralization of the economy led to a scramble and plundering of Russia's resources -- the spoils of which were split between a handful of robber baron oligarchs. Geographically, pre-Soviet borders and ethno-religious lines had to be redrawn, which meant a revival of tribal conflict.
Spiritually, the whole of the religious spectrum descended upon the country from Evangelical missionaries to Scientologists, which brought much confusion from the outside. From the inside, Russia continues to contend with their Orthodoxy, their Soviet atheism, an add to that their pre-Christian Slavic paganism. (Today, practicing witch doctors outnumber medical ones.)
Morally, a previously sheltered public was suddenly exposed to all the social mores of the outside world without a compass or standard to measure their value. And finally, there was the burden of shame: their defeat in the Cold War and the shattering of a national narrative predicated upon their victory in World War II and their perceived technological, military superiority over the West.
Putin came to power just as the country was hungering for some semblance of order and unity, and he succeeded, at least in the superficial sense. For a time. Unfortunately, his economic rules of engagement involved fattening the pockets of oligarchs who agreed to play by his rules. He allowed just enough of Russia's oil wealth to seep into the general population, which saw their standards of living rise dramatically. But all the while he runs a government based on KGB ethics, suppressing dissent and freedom of speech, and putting media outlets under state control. The economy is largely re-centralized and wholly dependent on the price of oil.
Indeed at first glance, he seems to tout Russia's supposed lessons pulled from the ash heap of the militant, atheist experiment that was the USSR. Yet he is also largely responsible for the revival of Soviet nostalgia among the populace -- as a tool for social cohesion. Today, Josef Stalin is viewed by many people --young and old alike, as a necessary and successful, albeit imperfect leader. The Orthodox Church has seen genuine revival, but it is again falling into the same trap of political and economic alliances that brought about much of the anti-church sentiments that even preceded the 1917 Revolution.
There is a genuine conundrum felt among the faithful, between their faith and their patriotism. (Patriotism and nationalism go hand in hand with respect for the Soviet legacy--the very legacy which outlawed their faith!)
Therefore, on one hand: Putin's Russia has much to offer in the way of helping the West recover what we have lost. On the other hand, let's not forget the very ideals that are currently destroying and even created the European Union echo the very Soviet Union which Putin and his Russia still hope to celebrate as oppose to repent of: socialism, secularism, and the bureaucratization of the human spirit.
Russia has not properly grieved nor repented of their Soviet past, this holds them back. On the other hand, their refusal to tow the Western line of political correctness is their strength.
Most Russians innately understand why the Soviet Union was doomed, and they continue to marvel and even envy America for its innovation, freedom, and way of life. But they are more committed than ever to forging their own unique ethnic and cultural identity, distinct and separate from the West. The search for who they are continues...
Perhaps what we need on the part of the US is a sympathetic regard for the Russian people, with a clear eyed view of the Putin regime as mostly adversarial for reasons that cannot be ameliorated by the US. In sum, we should see Putin's regime as an adversary but we should not have a sense of animosity toward the Russian people.
Agreed. Well stated Rockingham.
As I’ve said in an earlier post elsewhere:
The election of Trump may have initially been celebrated by Russian citizens as the ascendance of a perceived Putin-ally, but it was also a reminder of the freedom and excitement of the democratic process they so lack.
The elite understand this well too, which is why Trump may both delight and unnerve them. Oh Russia, always stuck in a seemingly endless series of conundrums.
America leads best when it leads by example. I don’t think any foreign policy outline is without flaws, but I am optimistic about the range of backgrounds and views held by the senior members of Trump’s incoming administration.
America.
First.
You are very analytical.
Yet why does Russia need to be remade in our image?
That is the challenge, adopt universally sound principles while still being true to one’s unique identity and culture.
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