One of the most striking things about the reign of Peter the Great is how much he was able to get away with as a ruler. I mean not in terms of his personal life, but in terms of his demands on the people as ruler of the State. Over the course of his reign,Continue reading “Why do we obey? Thoughts on Peter the Great.”
Category Archives: russia
Peter the Great and “Westernization”
Everyone knows that Peter the Great “westernized” Russia. But what does that mean? And how true is it? In a very literal sense Peter the Great did westernize Russia, that is by persuading a large number of Western experts to immigrate and take up prominent posts in the Russian government. Peter “imported” shipwrights, mathematicians, generals,Continue reading “Peter the Great and “Westernization””
Beanpole: 8/10
Beanpole is a strong film. The most obvious thing that makes it stick out is the choice to focus on the moment after the war. Like The Odyssey which portrays a survivor’s attempt to return to normalcy after the disruption of the Trojan War, so Kantemir Balagov chooses to set his story after the “end.”Continue reading “Beanpole: 8/10”
A First Glance at: “First Person” Putin’s Self-Portrait
So far (I’m about half-way in) “Volodya” as he is mostly called, seems to be a fairly typical product of his environment. As he himself says, “I was a pure and utterly successful product of Soviet patriotic education,” an interesting remark because it implies that he at least partially sees through that patriotic brainwashing, andContinue reading “A First Glance at: “First Person” Putin’s Self-Portrait”
recycled paper clips 