The disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was not “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe” and the enforcement of the verdict of history. And soft and gentle. Pieces rained not on someone’s malicious will and not the result of a sudden shock — what does the concept “disaster” — but because this particular state has gradually and finally became unsustainable: economically, politically, ideologically, management.
A real disaster, today, that phantom pain from the break-up soured Empire, entrenched in a distorted consciousness of one is quite random, but used over-the-top power — man was projected on the whole country. And as the different pieces of the former USSR further depart from the Soviet past — who in a democratic Europe, one in authoritarian Asia, who in a chaotic Nepoymi-That the Russian Federation actively nagrywanie misses the Soviet Union.
Examples of a million — as imposed from the top, and creeping downstairs. Here is the most recent, from the number of funny: in the Moscow Children’s World saw a new Board game for the whole family”; it is called in balowski “Back in the USSR” and is to take turns to guess — how much cost of various goods and services in the period of “developed socialism.” By the way, as you can guess, cost… Range, however, was small.
Why nostalgia for the “scoop” reigns, and confident and everywhere? Some of the motifs are banal, lie on the surface and, moreover, carefully cultivated by authorities. Yes, the USSR was a great power in the “bipolar world”; we all feared (and therefore respected) — and it was awesome! About the “respect” I have doubt (in General, saying stupid), but the fact that the Soviet Union was great and powerful, and had a bunch of satellites, and could butt heads with America and NATO on almost equal terms — no doubt! And of course, I understand that most (which personally I don’t really belong to our people is much more honorable to feel like citizens of threatening “superpower” than the peaceful inhabitants of some member of the country.
Where does this megalomania is taken — the question is probably difficult, but the symptoms are obvious: “Imperial complex”, a syndrome of “people-God-bearer”, the pride of the extra chromosome, and the like pleasant mental disorder. Nothing particularly unique in this: other peoples (Germans, in particular; some of the Americans) also periodically suffered.
The second basic reason — a short and selective memory involved, besides, the courage of youth, when the sea was knee-deep, and the joints did not creak, and the tail upright.
Recently my wife got into a fight with some chick is a lot older than her, and! — which in all seriousness, and with a characteristic for this type is the cheek argued that the Soviet Union is no deficit did not exist and all items can be easily bought in stores. I remember the pearls of folk humor on the subject, say: “the Soviet national sport — “rolled the ball”; or the perfect description of a network of fish shops “Ocean”, “Two sardines in tomato sauce, three women in a Bathrobe, surrounded by scales — and there is nothing!” Although, actually, it was possible to live: Yes, the empty shelves and hours waiting, but to hunger and Golesti — at least in the post-Stalin era — they did not. Blat, the black market, “under the counter” — it was even fun and exciting. But to idealize is not worth it.
Finally, the third reason burning sentimentality in hindsight — especially after a look around… She is deep, obscure and it is unlikely many give themselves in it the report. The fact that the Soviet system — with all its economic absurdity and ideological inferiority! — was quite logical and its well-built. There was ideology — crudely doctored the priests, but has quite respectable (and still) a socialist Marxist basis. On her principles of economy (in General, a failure); social policy (in General, very effective); international relations (at least, not without forethought) and a certain strategy of motion with the Terminus “Communism” or, at least, just a “Bright Future”.
The Soviet Union was an Empire of illusions, but he had a sense of dynamics tselepolaganija development and, therefore, predictable. It is easy to see that none of this in today’s Russia there. Putin’s Russia is an ugly mutant, moved by a momentary whim. Greedy, cunning, very dangerous (especially for its own citizens and closest neighbors), but the caller does not so much fear (especially respect), but disgust. In cartoons like to portray such unappetizing monster losers…
For the last time in Western academic studies of the Putin regime was addicted to characterize as “postmodern”. This is partly true, but too flattering: Yes, post-modernism in art assumes a mixture of styles, eras and contexts, but use it as reconciled artistic technique that generates a certain statement. As for the post-modern “a La Putin”, it is rather vague,..UBL full-time (sorry, otherwise you will not tell) a heap of kleptocracy and democracy, communism and liberalism, clericalised and criminality designed to solve one tactical problem: the hold mode from the power feeder at any price. The Russian people, in the face of even the most naive of their representatives, not versed in any “isms” that intuitively feels all this mutotu, deceit and vacillation and, even if an inveterate dislike to the “commies”, drifting in the direction of clarity, harmony and a kind of (I stress kind of) “fairness” of the Soviet paradigm.
In each of the compartments of the life of the current Russian nostalgia for the Soviet Union is manifested in different ways. Simpler and clearer things in the field of culture: there is an increased demand meets a generous offer. Soviet literature and art, Soviet cinema, Soviet pop music — both in original vintage and retro styling — anywhere and everywhere! Young people are slightly less sensitive, but is also fun. Here, besides the usual nostalgic motives, there is another: when all the atrocities of totalitarianism and malignancy of censorship, the quality of culture in the “scoop” was significantly higher than in the “new Russia”.
Let alone the classics (Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Eisenstein, Platonov, Bulgakov…), you can call our (my something for sure; I personally knew) contemporaries Tarkovsky, Vysotsky, Lyubimov, Schnittke, contemporary arts society, to ascertain: the current favorites can’t compete with that. This applies not only to intellectual “high art”, but entertainment and “mass culture”, degraded from the comedies of Gaidai’s and Riazanov, songs Ostrovsky and Pakhmutova, satire (!) Raikin to series of burning pop and some “gum” actual spill. Komsomol zombie Kobzon and Leshchenko, for all their eerie tenure, too, are now perceived in kind — as an echo of the heroic era, when there was no cunning producers, and artists sang with their voices.
If cultural retro is provided without interruption and to everyone’s delight, in the social sphere, the nostalgia is hopeless and tragic. The Soviet Union was a welfare state; Putin of the Russian Federation — the state pronounced anti-social.
One can argue about the quality of Soviet education, healthcare, social security — there are arguments on both sides — but in today’s Russia is undeniable, the devastation, and it’s not even masked. Concern for the citizens, albeit modestly, but universal and free, has been one of the pillars of the state ideology in the USSR. The current government citizens — with the exception of the Chaldeans staff kachalschikov of oil, gas and security guards-security officers — do not need, because they are nothing but trouble. Especially from educated, healthy and active.
A little unpopular statistics.
The number of clinics in the Russian Federation:
1990 — 21500; 2000 — 21300; 2013 — 16500.
The number of hospitals in the Russian Federation:
1990 — 12800; 2000 — 10700; 2013 — 5900.
The number of schools in the Russian Federation:
1990 — 69700; 2000 — 68100; 2013 44100.
(I think the 2016 data will be quite lethal).
Notice, by the way: in the Yeltsin years of rampant liberalism and “wild capitalism” of the Soviet infrastructure, education and health were still in place, and went Hawking in the period of “getting up off its knees”… It is not just an occasion for nostalgia — it is genocide.
The crime (and how else to qualify?!) in social and economic spheres, Putin and company with great cynicism and more than compensate (they think so, and yet not without reason) at the expense of demagogy and propaganda. Once again resuscitated the old English formula of patriotism as the last refuge of scoundrels — and on an unprecedented scale and unprecedented formats. Is this just another case of “Soviet nostalgia”? Yes and no. So it turns out that I have repeatedly in my youth branded “anti-Soviet”, this article occasionally act as the advocate of the Soviet regime — well, the truth is more expensive, but is known it is known, in comparison.
So, the key word of the entire Soviet political rhetoric was the word “peace.” “Peace — peace!”, “The struggle for peace in the world”, “No war!” — the main Soviet slogans, along with “We will come to the victory of communism!” Of course, this was a huge amount of hypocrisy, but here are the facts: over the entire postwar period, 46 years old, the Soviet Union had two major occupation, counter-insurgency operations (in Hungary and Czechoslovakia) and one war — in Afghanistan. (By the way, less than the United States during the same time). For 16 years — three times less time! — stay in power Putin’s team, the Russian Federation spent three of the war (in Chechnya, Georgia and East of Ukraine) and two military operations (in the Crimea and Syria). Notice that none of these five military conflicts were not of a defensive nature, and four out of five (except Chechnya) unfolded on foreign soil. The “warlords”, the “revanchists”, “aggressors”, “warmongers” — all of these standard angry epithets, which in the USSR was awarded to the damn Yankee imperialists, can now be fully addressed to the Kremlin.
Neither propaganda war as the endpoint of self-affirmation of the Russian people, nor wildly inflating the cult of the great Victory in the Soviet Union did not exist. For reference: from 1948 to 1964 9 may was a working day; from 1965 to 1995, the parades were held only in jubilee years; military equipment and aircraft began to participate from 2008. That 9 may has become the day of memory and grief in the day of cheap bragging rights, discrediting the meaning of this date, much has been written correctly; to develop the theme won’t. I wonder what is the place of the discharge of military revenge pripadnosti (“Can you repeat that!” popular Patriotic sticker) in the context of longing for the Soviet Union? The picture here is complicated and works on the gap pattern in many areas. For example, how to deal with Soviet Ukrainians, Georgians, Balts and other “enemies” fought in the war?
Where did the adorable St. George (not to be confused with guards) ribbon and had the red army not the slightest relationship, but symbolizing in Soviet historiography Vlasov, the Cossacks of Shkuro and other minions of Hitler? And, very mildly, “controversial” role of comrade Stalin, the Central icon of the current Soviet style of the Renaissance, the whole setting and first period of the Second world war? And unimaginable sacrifices that are made sadistically proud of? It was all very contradictory and “postmodern” to disgust.
With all the cynical prochitannosti and momentary success, the speculation of the presidential administration on the feelings to the Soviet Union — the double-edged sword. On the one hand, moral Masturbation for the plot of “How we fucked Europe” and such great inspiration takes many Russians are keen delight. Moreover, what’s more to celebrate absolutely nothing — except that the “annexation” of Crimea… but this story is scandalous and certainly not nationwide. On the other hand, the promise of our cotton macho “can say” clearly not feasible. Guts, you guys are brutal and warlike, this guess — otherwise the shaking would be a UAZ “Patriot” and not on the gas on the Gelandewagen.
All people are more or less normal and to think, if they were even dressing today, inevitably will increase a sense of cognitive dissonance great show and a pathetic reality. To ulcerate this reality the next Crimea does not — trump aces in the sleeve in Sharpie anymore. That shines in a parody of misery “Potemkin USSR” with religion instead of science, with a pipe instead of industry, sobyaninskoy tiles instead of great buildings and the slogan “Forward to the victory of masochism!”, “World war!” “Steal, while give!” “Catch up and overtake Saudi Arabia!”, “And if you head!”, “The people and the mafia — one!”, “On every hole — spiritual scrapie!”, “Our goal is a sovereign feudalism!” and “We are Russians — what a delight!” The last slogan I borrowed from Catherine commander A. V. Suvorov; Russian XXI century reasons for enthusiasm makes absolutely.
Remains or to tighten the loop of the ribbons, or (to quote the poet A. Voznesensky) to feel, finally, nostalgia for the past, and the present — in all senses of the word. Question — not too late to think suddenly? Here I do not share, unfortunately, even cautious optimism. The collapse of the Russian Empire there was a maximum tragically, the collapse of the Soviet Union — the most farcical, with operetta putsch, the drunken Forest, almost without blood and tears. The third stage of Hegel’s formula is not open. I wonder what it will be.
