27 Comments

If Putin could make them introduce those special reserved lanes everywhere and make them "for Westerners and other important people only", then maybe giving him all the Slavic countries is a good idea? They are not part of civilized Europe, and they only cause problems anyway, especially after foolishly letting some of them join EU... The faster we drop this baggage, the better!

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"Just like the Dandelion’s ballads - truth doesn’t matter! What matters is that every child in Poland knows the legend." My favourite line. It also explains Zelensky's behaviour. I appreciate this lesson in Slavic history and relate to the sentiment. People speak of Africa and the Caribbean as if they're monolithic as well.

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Feb 2, 2023Liked by Eastsplaining

I have read this one with pleasure. Interesting with a witty style of anecdotic explanation which works great on my imagination. Will be waiting for more. Thank you.

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I don't need to imagine, it's easy to find pictures of Putin eating with common soldiers: https://cdnstatic.rg.ru/uploads/attachments/article/58/48/61/05.jpg

The description at https://rg.ru/2012/02/20/putin-armiya.html says: "When visiting military units, Vladimir Putin always tries to find out firsthand how soldiers and officers live."

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As an anticlerical leftist I always felt somewhat uncomfortable and out of place in Poland. I got the feeling that, with all the anti-USSR feelings (which I share!) plus the specific traits of Polish culture, there simply was no room for leftism there.

This post reinforces that feeling. But I have to make an effort to understand the historical differences between Spain and Poland, and to imagine a leftism which is comfortable with shamelessly glorifying militar heroes of good old times. The 1st part, I can manage, but the 2nd... boy, that is hard!

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I'm American, and this is the first time I've seen the story of Joe Biden and the pizza, but that is exactly the sort of thing American politicians do at home. You're not allowed to be President unless you've been photographed eating a corndog at a state fair.

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Now I understand what "pakhan" ("papa khan") means.

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