Excellent piece. Your observations from Moscow cut through the Western caricature and recall deeper rhythms in Russian history. The pattern you describe, of a nation calm under external pressure and turning adversity into renewal, has parallels in earlier eras. After the Napoleonic invasion in 1812, Russia rebuilt stronger and more self-aware. After the turmoil of the 1990s, it likewise re-emerged with a clearer sense of purpose. In each case, outside attempts to isolate or “reform” Russia only reinforced its internal cohesion and civilizational identity. What the West misreads as passivity is in fact a patient, almost geological form of resilience, one that sees history as cyclical, not terminal. Your essay captures that parallel world vividly.
Too bad a good mind is infected with some poison that let's him make sweeping geneneraizations like "Black people" as it that meant something more than simple skin colour. Surely you can find a more nuanced explanation for the trouble you see in the world.
Excellent piece. Your observations from Moscow cut through the Western caricature and recall deeper rhythms in Russian history. The pattern you describe, of a nation calm under external pressure and turning adversity into renewal, has parallels in earlier eras. After the Napoleonic invasion in 1812, Russia rebuilt stronger and more self-aware. After the turmoil of the 1990s, it likewise re-emerged with a clearer sense of purpose. In each case, outside attempts to isolate or “reform” Russia only reinforced its internal cohesion and civilizational identity. What the West misreads as passivity is in fact a patient, almost geological form of resilience, one that sees history as cyclical, not terminal. Your essay captures that parallel world vividly.
Thanks for your great work!
We've shared this link on 'The Stacks'
https://askeptic.substack.com/p/the-stacks
Too bad a good mind is infected with some poison that let's him make sweeping geneneraizations like "Black people" as it that meant something more than simple skin colour. Surely you can find a more nuanced explanation for the trouble you see in the world.