Vladimir Putin broke my heart. I used to support him. Then he invaded Ukraine and destroyed everything that he had worked for.
I have put in vast effort into translating Russian poetry into English. Russians have never been good at politics, but they have been good at literature, and making available for English-speaking audiences the work of Russian literary masters is a valid endeavor. But when Russian leadership acts in hideous ways, that discredits everyone and everything Russian. And it also endangers Russian people living elsewhere.
I have been deeply involved in American and Australian social issues. I worked for a long time on an American non-partisan political information site, and I’ve had involvements in a fight against domestic violence in Australia. I am now addressing my attention to issues of Russia.
The worst problem with Russia is what is known as the dedovschina. It is brutal military hazing that costs countless lives. It also costs Russia because families move abroad to avoid for their children the deadly conditions of Russian military. Since dedovschina is worst on the intellectual (as opposed to the brutal) type, the result is vast brain drain – both through killing in it and through emigration. The people who die from it and the people who move abroad are Russia’s best minds. And Russia loses vastly from it. Some people think that it makes people stronger. No, it makes Russia weak.
Another is domestic violence. 14,000 Russian women a year die from it. Russian women are smart, strong, beautiful and family-oriented; but their men treat them like dirt. These men are a bunch of brats. They haven’t had to deal with women who are actually bad, as they claim women to be. Instead they have at their disposal some of the best women in the world, and all they can think to do is use them as punching bags.
Another is racism. Russia has half of Europe’s skinheads. There are not many people there from Africa; but there are a lot of people from Caucasus, and these get attacked a lot. Jews get attacked too. Someone once graffitied on the house I used to live in, “Shambat is a dirty stinking kike.” Many Russian people are openly racist, and the conditions there are much worse than they are in America.
These are the main problems with Russia. Having paid a lot of attention to social issues in America and Australia, I would consider it hypocritical for me not to pay attention to issues in Russia. Dedovschina must be abolished, and strong effort needs to be made to fight domestic violence and racism. I don’t think that domestic violence and racism will ever be completely defeated. But we must do what we can to confront such things.