Russians With Attitude

2023-07-01 18:53:11 Open / Comment

2023-06-30 23:47:10 We hope that it was an interesting one

26 minutes of our latest pod on youtube:



RSS & Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/russians-with-attitudes/episodes/The-Romanov-Series-0-Ivan-IV-Grozny-e26d8ql Open / Comment

2023-06-30 20:18:16 There is nothing better to do on a Friday night than listening to the first entry in our new historical series telling the story of the rise & fall of the Romanov dynasty! We begin early, with an intro on Tsar Ivan IV...

In the inaugural episode of this ambitious project, we delve into the reign of Ivan IV, a ruler who left an indelible mark on history. Join us as we explore the tumultuous backdrop of 16th-century Russia, a time of political upheaval & shifting power dynamics. The rule of Ivan IV led into the Time of Troubles, which led into the rule of House Romanov. An intricate web of events & a vortex of geopolitical, historical & cultural forces led to the birth of the Russian Empire. Let's start at the beginning!

Now available for subscribers on Patreon and Gumroad. Open / Comment

2023-06-29 01:16:27 People are sharing the video of a Ukrainian song about Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera being sung at the "Pride" thing in Munich and remarking that it's somehow funny, schizophrenic or paradoxical. It is not. Being pro-Ukrainian is an expression of political loyalty toward the American empire, and so is supporting politically organized homosexuality (I don't want to get into discussions about identity vs behavior vs politics, etc, let's just keep it at that term). Politically organized homosexuals all over the world view the USA as a homeland they owe political loyalty to; the USA views them as their citizens or clients whom they have to protect to uphold their reputation as a world power, up to the point of intervening in the politics of sovereign countries, deploying sanctions, etc. In geopolitical terms there is no functional difference between the Ukraine, Taiwan, politically organized homosexuals, Kurds, feminist organizations, Uyghurs, etc. They all act as American client groups and publicly pledging allegiance to their causes is just another way of showing deference to the USA.

This is also why I found it very amusing when American conservatives were outraged at the LGBTQ+ whatever flag being flown at the White House and treated the same way as the American flag. For all intents and purposes, the rainbow trans rag is a ceremonial American flag - that's how everyone in the world outside of the American sphere of influence sees it. Combining Ukrainian Nazism and politically organized homosexuality, or Uyghur extremism and feminism, is not some sort of paradox or contradiction. They are all just different flavors of American Empire. Open / Comment

2023-06-29 01:11:22 Open / Comment

2023-06-28 18:35:03 It goes both ways. I would not allow my family to stay in the western parts of Belgorod region or Russian Donbass/Novorossiya either as long as the war is ongoing. It's simply irresponsible - especially if you have children. It's not a question of right and wrong but of sheer survival for non-combatants of both sides

Of course, It's an especially dire situation for the Ukrainian civilians because of the fact that their country is fully mobilized and overrun by all kinds of foreign mercs. Enjoying your meal in a company of camo-wearing south-african gents with guns is never a good idea. Leaving your frontline town is sad and all but it's the only thing you can actually do to protect yourself Open / Comment

2023-06-28 17:59:40 Open / Comment

2023-06-28 12:40:15 Alright, we're back on RSS and podcasting apps

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/russians-with-attitudes/episodes/Wagner-Mutiny-The-Aftermath-e269rh0 Open / Comment

2023-06-25 23:12:03 (4/4)

Part of this support can be seen in the post-modern book, The Hermit by Romanian born, French author, Eugine Ionesco. The novel follows a man who’s life resembles this End of History. A single man of no prestige or ambition, not particularly favored by any gods, receives an substantial inheritance that allows him to live out his days without having to work in a respectable hotel. His needs becomes that of the living consumer, only having to eat and stave of suicide. While he maintains an inconsequential existence, the town sees a bloody revolution he joins just to feel something. The streets are filled with bloodthirsty citizens who each feel that desire to experience some sense of change or consequence that is so bizarre in our own liberal democratic lives. There is no danger, so the citizens must create their own for a sense of accomplishment. This is the fault with The End of History, it is a hell for the majority of people. All of the anxieties and frustrations of daily life cannot be solved with consumerism and government programs. We are unfortunately unable to enjoy Utopia because we never really cared for it. Perhaps this is part of the curse of being cast out of the Garden of Eden, we are all Cain, never truly able to find peace. Fukuyama does try to reckon with the soul eroding nature of the End of History,

“The struggle for recognition, the willingness to risk one’s life for a purely abstract goal, the world wide ideological struggle that called for daring, courage, imagination and idealism, will be replaced by economic calculation, the endless solving of technical problems, environmental concerns, and the satisfaction of sophisticated consumer demands.”

Personally, whether out of my own desperation or optimism, I cannot see how the wheels can keep turning. The emptiness of the Wagner threat was a victory for the cult of Nothing we’re beginning to see arise. The idea that nothing will happen, nothing will change, nothing will matter. This is the synthesis of End of History thinking with contemporary cynicism. It’s certainly possible that Russia is a global aberration that does not reflect Western instability, or maybe Houellebecq is right and the big crash is coming. When I was young I've read a Tom Robbins book that argued the fascination we have with explosions or burning buildings comes from a deep seated yearning to see permanent power structures challenged and a brief glimpse of chaos. Whether we will see History return with a vengeance, it’s undeniable that many wish to see some action.

Russia embodied this rejection by it’s denial of NATO encroachment and eventual subsumation by western powers and became a rallying call to every dissident that would like to see their own country reject this supposed inevitability. Should Russia be victorious, this blow to The End of History will sound like a bell to the global populace that perhaps the current regime is not as grounded as it may seem. Most everyone reading this will have their own personal reasons for supporting Russia, but they cannot deny that this war had reinvigorated our sense of history and place in time. Though it might be a blow to the Ukraine and an unfortunate loss of life for innocent men, it is an appetizer for our desire for more war and destruction. The End of History promised a sort of prosperity and peace that many after the World Wars and subsequent Cold War thought they craved. Instead a generation fraught with anxiety and boredom dreams of greater, more heroic conflicts that promise its own horror and devastation. Surrogate tasks and consumption will not be enough. We reject The End of History because we are not gods, we can not handle permanence. Open / Comment

2023-06-25 23:12:03 (3/4)

However, when the Russian Federation, after substantial antagonization, finally invaded the Ukraine, many of these theories became useless. The clever idea that two nations with similar fast food joints would never go to war was burned to the ground. It made fools of very obnoxious people. I can only sympathize with the torrential flood of emails sent to Fukuyama mocking his idea. This must be vexing to Fukuyama, as he clearly writes out a potential future where the Russian Federation simply declines to join the ranks of Western cultures and forges their own future. Russia is, as Fukuyama writes, “stuck in history.” However, if you look at his theory as I do, as an incremental strategy of the West, you can still say he’s wrong. To justify my argument against the famed political thinker, I rely on the French writer Eugine Ionesco and the current, self proclaimed, Dissident Right.

My personal obsession with Russia came honestly to me from literature. I understood this culture from Dostoevsky, Gogol and Bulgakov, among many others. When I encountered the Dissident Right on social medias, I expected them to be more aligned with NATO sensibilities or apathetic to Russia at best. If they cared at all about Russia at all it would be because of Pyotr Wrangel enthusiasts or Dostoevsky’s work “Demons” mocking socialists or “The Idiot” extolling Christian values. Instead I saw immediate support for Russia against Ukraine and international opinion. I doubt whether these people would have felt the same way towards Iraq after 9/11, but perhaps a contrarian streak runs through the movement. Ukraine support became the cause celebre for all of the most reviled enemies of this blooming movement and it stands to reason some might support Russia out of a natural inclination to be against what is popular. Still, NAFO was immediately denounced as pathetic rather than adversarial. American volunteers were mocked rather than hated in a way that at least implies a sort of a respect. Gradually I began to realize that the support for Russia was not out of a support for Putin’s economic theory or the national disdain of LGBT; though I’m sure this was used as justification. Rather, that fascination bordering on obsession that I felt towards a country that seemed as real to me as Natasya from Maugham’s Christmas Holiday, was reverberated by this community. My theory some would come to embrace the Ukraine because the famed Azov battalion was dashed. It was a mystery to me.

Sure some could deduce that the fact the patron saint of the Dissident Right, champion of champions, BAP was Russian could contribute to this support. RWA was, for the most part, a beautiful flower about to bloom with the sudden attention, but importantly to my point, not the cause of it. The zeal for the Russian cause, composed of an amalgamation of anti-nato communists, western nationalists and the occasional bibliophile, had very little to do with established voices, and rather gave credence to many people. It’s possible that Russia unintentionally became the representative of the movement against the End of History. It’s war against that Western hegemony was a siren’s call to many who would also like to see it’s power splintered. Critically, people were unable to stomach the liberal manifest destiny that laid claim to every fiber of civilization and flocked to support whatever resistance sought to overcome it. Open / Comment