Staunton, February 5 – Even though
the Russian Constitution prohibits a state ideology, Vladimir Putin has made
the promotion of patriotism as he understands it essentially that. But despite his much-ballyhooed efforts,
there is a wide divergence of views on whether Putin’s patriotism is a good or
bad thing.
In the current issue of “Maxim,”
Tata Oleynik observes that “a good man should be a patriot but not every
patriot is a good man for loving the Motherland is more complicated than loving
a woman although somehow everyone considers himself a specialist in both the
one and the other (maximonline.ru/longreads/get-smart/_article/patriots/).
He suggests that “it is difficult to
analyse the state of mind of today’s patriots because there is a big problem as
far as terminology goes.” Most patriots don’t think that other patriots in fact
are – and given the diversity of their views, one can understand why.
“The real Russian patriot now can
sincerely dream of getting rid of half of his fellow citizens, driving the rest
into prison, unleashing a nuclear war, blowing up all existsing cities, killing
dogs, shooting birds, and publishing a decree to beat women and children on the
streets … In a word, the extent of their fantasies can be unlimited.”
And that drives one back to the following
conclusion, Oleynik says. “’A patriot’
at the present moment is no more and no less than someone who demonstrated
unqualified loyalty to the current powers that be.” That of course means that what he supports
today, he may have to deny tomorrow unlike more serious patriots of a century
ago.
But if one examines the most typical
kinds of today’s “’patriots,’” the writer continues, one becomes convinced that
despite all the diversity in their views, they have something in common: “the
overwhelming majority of them like money, peace and the guarantee of personal
security” and don’t like having to sacrifice those for anything, although there
are exceptions.
The “Maxim” writer then offers a
typology of the 16 most common forms of “patriot” in Russia today:
1.
The Statesman. In times like
these, Oleynik says, only patriots can be in government: Otherwise, the throne
would be nervous and have to send them to Zimbabwe as ambassador. Their faces
are typically lined as a result of “the struggle of intellect and circumstances”
and they are “forced to lie often.” The smarter
they are, the harder this is. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov typifies this
category.
2.
The Orthodox
Patriot.
Such people are confident they know “what God wants” and they are ready and
eager to share that with others. Their
task, as they see it, is to “transform our holy Motherland into a
mental-spiritual bastion” in order to protect “the truly Russian soul. Usually
they are bearded or, if female, wear modest clothing. They love to be photographed in church. They seldom know much about the Bible or
theology and thus are no match for “educated atheists.” Among their number are
Vitaly Milonov, Elena Mizulina and Vsevolod Chaplin.
3.
The Patriot Deputy. Such patriots
are less connected to reality than more senior officials and see their task as
attracting attention by making outlandish proposals and statements. They wear expensive clothes of subdued color
and always have a picture of Putin in their offices. Among this category are
Maksim Shingarkin and Aleksey Didenko.
4.
The Patriot on TV. The televion patriot, the “main fighter” for
the spread of patriotism, is “by definition lacking in any convictions except
one: do what you are told today. What you were told yesterday or what you will
be told tomorrow does not have the slightest importance.” Ten percent of the population avoids them by
not turning on their sets; the other 90 percent is either unprincipled or
stupid. “The dream of the leaders is to create an ideal hybrid of the two,” but
so far, that has not been achieved. Such patriots have only three intonations:
angry, optimistic and sarcastic, “and they can change them several times in the
course of a single sentence. They often
get drunk after work and apologise to their former colleagues. The archetype of this kind of patriot,
Oleynik says, is Dmitry Kisilyev.
5.
Patriot Ex Officio. Many of these
people have their own opinions, but they value their jobs and their incomes
more having mortgages to pay and children to take caere of. They prefer not to
talk with anyone about their convictions lest they get in trouble. And when
they do talk, their “favorite phrase is “’Well, you of course understand…’”
They know that if things change, they had best not be on record as having been
too close to the ancien regime. Among
their number are Aleksandr Bisersov and Aleksandr Bezborodov.
6.
The Nashi Youth. There have been so many youth organizations
put together by the powers that be that it is best simply to lump them together
as “the Nashi youth.” “There is no stupidity
to which the participants of this movement will not agree for a modest reward
or even for the spectre of such a reward in the future.” Most of these people are from the provinces
and are on the make. They are often disillusioned when it turns out there is no
money or job for them. Among them are
Sveta Kuritsyna and Maksim Pyatnitsky.
7.
The Tra-La-La
Patriot.
These are the artists who know that their careers depend on saying the right
things and they do. The problem is that some
of the best aren’t willing to do so, and so some of the worst take the cake. Among
them are Elena Vayenga, Oleg Gazmanov, and Vika Tsyganova.
8.
The Culture
Patriot.
Consisting of writers, actors, and artists, this group “risks more than the
others” because its members have to “think consistently” – and that can get in
the way of following the shifting line of what is patriotic and what isn’t. In general, Oleynik says, the less talented
people in this category do better than the more talented. Among this group are
Zakhar Prilepin, Mikhail Zadornov, and Sergey Lukyanenko.
9.
The Anti-Maidan
Fighter.
Often mounted on a motorcycle, these people are really prepared “personally and
with their own hands to beat the cursed liberals so that things won’t be in Russia
like they are in Ukraine.” Some of them actually do that, but many of them
simply act the part, often coming off as buffoons. Oleynik includes in this camp Valentina
Matvienko, Aleksandr Zaldostanov (‘the Surgeon’) and Nikolay Starikov.
10.
The Eurasian. Typically older
with a philosophical or historical education, given to Slavophilism and
reflecting an earlier time as Marxist-Leninists, such people are “imperialists,
often anti-Semites, racists, sometimes religious, sometimes communities, and
usually having a weak knowledge of foreign languages but considering themselves
to be serious scholars.” Such people “love to think in paradoxes and willingly
use syllogisms and other demagogic weapons in their arsenal.” Their big problem
is that “there are no two Eurasians who have really similar views.” That
condemns most of them to “spiritual” loneliness. Aleksandr Dugin is typical.
11.
The Orthodox Red
Guard. Such people are ready to fight: “Save Holy
Rus! Beat the ki…” at least when they are finally asked to. But they want to
beat someone. Often these people were Buddhists, radical Islamists or “patients
of psychiatric clinics, but then the Lord called them to him. That’s when they
read the Bible.” They don’t want to
discuss anything; they want to impose their views by force. Among such patriots are Dmitry Enteo and
Kirill Frolov.
12. Patriot 88. These people are Russia’s Nazis. They are
obsessed with “’purity of blood,’” and they take pride in killing those who
have impure blood. They often have swastika tattoos, and they really regret
that the powers that be have not come out to back them in all of what they want
to do. They have been the most pleased with the Kremlin’s Novorossiya campaign.
13.
The Back to the
Land Patriot.
United by anything from paganism to opposition to genetically modified foods,
they are the least willing to fight the enemies of the fatherland because as
they see it, the enemies are all around them. They want to live in rural
simplicity but they aren’t quite willing to give up their relatives’ city
apartments.
14.
A Patriot Like Any
Other.
The most common kind: they are patriots because that is the going thing, and
they will evolve as the line evolves. But that doesn’t mean they are always
happy. They want Putin to save them from their problems.
15.
The Mentally
Unbalanced Patriot.
These people are simply people who have lost any sense of balance. They will
say and quite possibly do anything. The problem is that they may say and do
things those trying to exploit them may not like just as often as they do those
which the authorities approve of.
16.
The Red-Brown
Patriot.
A convinced communist of one kind or another, such a patriot believes that “communism
is the unique invention of a Russian and the only path which a Russian ought to
follow.” Such people “are close to the Eurasians but typically more radical
than the majority of them.” According to
Oleynik, “the majority of national-bolshevik or Christian-communist doctrines
call for the destruction of the incorrect population by the millions if not the
billions” because that is both natural and required. Among these patriots are
Aleksandr Prokhanov and Eduard Limonov.
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