"("Hard to be a God") but my reading is that this is done in order to debunk it"
I read it in the late seventies, and my impression was that it was a justification for Soviet propaganda and interference in other countries, that were "stuck in capitalism". They believed that Soviet Russia had "superior technology and knowledge" to make things better, but "the wheels of history must do their job", and the wise Soviet agents could only save some outstanding personalities to make them believe in the communist revolution, that is inevitable.
But I can be wrong, I have to read it again now. I still have it on my bookshelf.
I cannot stop thinking about this Girkin's comment - his interpretation of the book must be similar to mine. He could believe that he is a "better Don Rumata", without all these "rules of contact" restrictions, bringing progress to the planet of Donbass.
I must confess to a sort of unhealthy – how shall I put it? – fascination(?) with Girkin. Judging from the comments of other viewers of the Andromeda channel on YouTube, where many of his videos and posts are translated into Polish, I'm not the only one.
One obvious reason is that he's always pessimistic about how the events will turn out for Russia, and much of what he says seems believable. This obviously cheers us up.
But there is something more. Let's put it this way: I can easily imagine an alternative reality in which Girkin is a good guy standing on the right side. On the other hand, I find it hard to imagine the likes of Soloviev, Putin or Prigozhin as good guys, even in very different circumstances.
What's more, much of what he says seems to be right on the money, and sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm listening to a ruthless war criminal.
Of course, every now and then he says something utterly ridiculous, which reminds me that his views are crazy after all. One of the most recent things that I remember was his belief that Poland would be ready to invade western Ukraine if given the chance. That's obviously nonsense on many levels.
But sometimes he says things that almost seem as if he actually prefers Western values to Russian values. For example, he often worries that a lot of things in Russia are not done according to the law. Like, come on, a Russian imperialist who wants his czar to be constrained by the law??? And in one of the latest videos he argues why Russian government officials should take public transport to work instead of riding in their luxury cars. And he concludes that unfortunately this won't happen, because Russia is not Sweden.
It's almost as if he's just one step away from discovering that instead of wasting everything on stupid territorial expansion, Russia could have adopted a political and economic system based on Western values, and lived in prosperity and peace. Of course, Girkin is wanted in The Hague, so there's no way he'll come to such a conclusion in this timeline. But, perhaps, as I said, in an alternate timeline...
Do you have similar impressions? Or have I been taken in by a fake persona that he's created?
"("Hard to be a God") but my reading is that this is done in order to debunk it"
I read it in the late seventies, and my impression was that it was a justification for Soviet propaganda and interference in other countries, that were "stuck in capitalism". They believed that Soviet Russia had "superior technology and knowledge" to make things better, but "the wheels of history must do their job", and the wise Soviet agents could only save some outstanding personalities to make them believe in the communist revolution, that is inevitable.
But I can be wrong, I have to read it again now. I still have it on my bookshelf.
I cannot stop thinking about this Girkin's comment - his interpretation of the book must be similar to mine. He could believe that he is a "better Don Rumata", without all these "rules of contact" restrictions, bringing progress to the planet of Donbass.
That would explain a lot.
I must confess to a sort of unhealthy – how shall I put it? – fascination(?) with Girkin. Judging from the comments of other viewers of the Andromeda channel on YouTube, where many of his videos and posts are translated into Polish, I'm not the only one.
One obvious reason is that he's always pessimistic about how the events will turn out for Russia, and much of what he says seems believable. This obviously cheers us up.
But there is something more. Let's put it this way: I can easily imagine an alternative reality in which Girkin is a good guy standing on the right side. On the other hand, I find it hard to imagine the likes of Soloviev, Putin or Prigozhin as good guys, even in very different circumstances.
What's more, much of what he says seems to be right on the money, and sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm listening to a ruthless war criminal.
Of course, every now and then he says something utterly ridiculous, which reminds me that his views are crazy after all. One of the most recent things that I remember was his belief that Poland would be ready to invade western Ukraine if given the chance. That's obviously nonsense on many levels.
But sometimes he says things that almost seem as if he actually prefers Western values to Russian values. For example, he often worries that a lot of things in Russia are not done according to the law. Like, come on, a Russian imperialist who wants his czar to be constrained by the law??? And in one of the latest videos he argues why Russian government officials should take public transport to work instead of riding in their luxury cars. And he concludes that unfortunately this won't happen, because Russia is not Sweden.
It's almost as if he's just one step away from discovering that instead of wasting everything on stupid territorial expansion, Russia could have adopted a political and economic system based on Western values, and lived in prosperity and peace. Of course, Girkin is wanted in The Hague, so there's no way he'll come to such a conclusion in this timeline. But, perhaps, as I said, in an alternate timeline...
Do you have similar impressions? Or have I been taken in by a fake persona that he's created?