Polemika z rosyjskim polonofobem

po wywiadzie z Witalijem Tretiakowem

na łamach Rzeczpospolitej.

15 września 2009 roku pani Justyna Prus z Rzeczpospolitej przeprowadziła wywiad z Witalijem Tretiakowem, wpływowym i znanym rosyjskim politologiem, członkiem kolegium pozarządowej organizacji Rady ds. Polityki Zagranicznej i Obronnej Rosji i redaktorem naczelnym pisma „Politiczeskkij kłass”. Dawno już Rosjanie nie przemawiali do Polaków takim językiem i z taką butą. Kto z Państwa nie przeczytał tego tekstu, może jeszcze znaleźć go na witrynie: http://blog.rp.pl/blog/2009/09/15/witalij-tretiakow-nieszczesna-odwieczna-rusofobia-polakow/

 

Z okazji tego wywiadu redakcja Rzeczpospolitej otwarła forum do komentarzy czytelników. Wśród czytelnikow zawrzało. Jak zwykle posypały się mądre i niezbyt mądre opinie, bo niektorzy z dyskutantow nie mogli opanować zdenerwowania.

Od dawna zabieram głos w dyskusjach na blogach tego pisma jako AMC, ale na ogół ograniczam do krótkiej wypowiedzi i rzadko kiedy daję sie wciągnąć w szerszą dyskuję. Tym razem zacząłem jak zwykle krótkim komentarzem i miałem nadzieję, że na tym zakończę. Tymczasem odezwał się rezydent KGB w Polsce i najpierw po polsku, a potem po angielsku zaczął ubliżać Polakom. Żałuję, że dałem się wciągnąć w polemikę z osobnikiem, który wcale nie zamierzał z nikim dyskutować. Dla niego było to forum do wyrażenia swej pogardy i wyższości wobec Polaków.

15 września 2009 o 22:12

AMC:

W 1973 roku byłem z moim wujem na mszy w rosyjskiej cerkwi w Paryżu (na rue Daru) za duszę Jurija Gałanskowa, zamęczonego w łagrach. Po mszy wujek, rodem z Humania, zaczął rozmawiać z jednym z “biełogwardiejców” i ten pod koniec zapytał:
A wy izkuda?
Z Polszi - odpowiedział wujek
Polsza? Polsza? A szto eto Polsza?
Po chwili jednak rozjaśniło mu się w głowie i z triumfem mówi:
A, znaczyt sia Priwislanskaja Gubernia!
Był to być może dziadek pana Tretiakowa.
Wniosek jest taki: Rosja jest Rosją, niezależnie od tego czy carska, stalinowska, czy putinowska. My dla nich jesteśmy i będziemy zawsze Priwislanska gubernią. Ale pamiętają, że dwukrotnie sprawiliśmy im lanie.
Panu Tretiakowi chciałbym powiedzieć: “Skończcie z marzeniami. Nie jesteście już i nigdy już nie będziecie mocarstwem, a Polska nie zginęła, póki my żyjemy”.

AMC  do polonofoba o pseudonimie akkakebnekaise
17 września 2009 o 10:02

Let me tell you about Russia, as I am the one who lived under your regime, being condemned for destruction or russification at least, but luckily was able to escape.
Russia is no longer a world power and will never be one again. She will share the fate of the aggressive powers similar to her, such as Sparta and Assyria. She will leave in her downfall nothing but fear, ruin and monstrous buildings, which will collapse in time. Even her contribution to literature, music and ballet will fade away because for lack of sustenance from future generations.
Future great Russian poets and writers will write in English or German; future dancers will perform for La Scala, Opera de Paris, or the Metropolitan Opera in New York; future great musicians will enrich symphonies in Israel, etc., etc., as it is now in minor scale.
The Russians never in their history tolerated free speech; neither have they felt the necessity for debates nor the clash of opinions. Instead, they tolerated lawlessness, corruption and bureaucracy. In this way, they degraded themselves among civilized nations. In my opinion, they will always remain the sick men of the world, and never join the collective of free countries. In the shadow of their gloomy pride as the former gendarme and executioner of other nations, they would rather bite than accept a helping hand from the West. Their leaders will steal billions of dollars given by the West to the Russian people and put them in Swiss bank accounts. This money will not serve nor enrich Russia.
In our wandering on the inhumane land, we sometimes encounter good deeds from individual Russians. I feel a profound gratitude and deep sympathy for them. Nevertheless, I cannot say that I feel the same way for the Russian people. They cannot defend themselves by assuming that this terrible system was imposed over them against their will. It was their own conception and not of outside forces. Even today, many Russians believe that Stalin’s times were the best and proudest moments in their history.

·  akkakebnekaise Pisze:
18 września 2009 o 0:18

@AMC

I honestly think I should be thankful for your short answers to my message here and do it with especial pleasure after my previous messages were deleted by the editor - the brilliant demonstration of freedom of speech on Rzeczpospolita!

I would like to attract your attention to the following moments of your answers:

Russia is here. You can like or dislike it according to your personal taste. It is the biggest poly-ethnic country on the Globe and Russia will be such for a long time. I can understand your painful memories concerning the Soviet era, but I can not accept it. Russia is not so bad as it is famed by everyone in Poland. The Soviet Union collapse has inoculated the people against any kind of destroying. That’s why nobody wants to destroy the country and our society is united in this matter at least. Thus, your writing is fruit of your personal imagination.

– You probably will be surprised, but I should remember to you that Poland was a part of Russian Empire, but not vice versa. I should clear your historical memory and say that Empire/Soviet Union/Russia is of independence for more than 600 years, but not Poland state - at past, at present and maybe (why not?) in future. I would like to ask for you what the freedom of speech you are speaking about is. Does the Polish nation should speak like the American one? Yes? Sure? I must remember to you about the Novgorod popular assembly (wiece), about the Russian Dumas, about Zemstvos (elective district councils in pre-revolutionary Russia), and I even do not speak about the ancient Slav period in which the electiveness was the norm of behavior.

But the only thing I would be agreed with you was your words that Russians would never be among the so-called civilized nations which bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which built the gas chambers for killing the prisoners during the World War II, which practiced the kidnapping and retrieval of the human organs for sale (as the leaders of the newly European state of Kosovo), which legalized the drag, which brought the death to people in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan … - the list can be continued - on the wings of bomb democracy …

And of course, I ought to mention that Poland itself uses “the freedom to shit without grave consequences” instead of “the real freedom of speech”.

I know the European guys are in Afghanistan. It’s too distant! According to the agreement, NATO uses the Russian territory for delivery of army goods to Afghanistan. They hate Taliban. I wonder, should we have the similar agreement with Taliban in order to move the afghan guys closer to the Polish border?

·  AMC Pisze:
18 września 2009 o 11:47

@ akkakebnekaise

Let me first answer your questions and comment your statements:
1. Poland was indeed part of Russian empire, but we never accepted it and we bitterly fought you twice in failed insurrections, and finally the third time, in 1920, we beat you and regained our sovereignty. Remember also that from 1610 to 1634 the heir of the Polish throne was elected by Russian boyars to be Russian Tsar, and Polish army occupied the Kremlin. This was the only time in your history when Russia was part of a world where law was meant to be law.
2. Nizhny Novgorod during his great days was an independent city-republic. It was totally destroyed by your outrageous tsar Ivan the Terrible. He invaded this defenseless city in 1570 and massacred almost 60 thousand inhabitants. Since this infamous event Novgorod was never again what it used to be for many centuries.
Russia has no rights to claim Novgorod as her founding heritage.
3. I agree that Duma and Zemstvo was a Russian noble-minded endeavor to become a democratic state. After Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin was assassinated you lost your chance. Otherwise, if his reforms have been implemented, today Russia would have been one of the greatest economic powers in the world. Instead, she is a pauper with enormous natural resources, which - by the way - do not belong to her. Sooner or later the real owners will claim them with help of China, your greatest enemy.
4. Look what happened after Nagasaki ? Japan is now one of the most democratic and prosperous nations. And compare what happened to Poland and other countries “liberated” by the Red Army. It will take generations to rebuild our prosperity and national character.

Although you try to patronize me, I have no objections to discuss further our points of view, so distant and different, but we might not have chances to do it on this forum. So please let me finish with telling you what happened to me in 1997.
During my son PhD dissertation at Boston University (USA), a young man approached me and in presence of other students said loudly and seriously:
- I know from your son, how much your family and your people suffered in Russia. As a Russian I want to express my sorrow and ask for your forgiveness.
I couldn?t believe what I heard.
- Are you a Russian, or may be you are an Ukrainian, or a Jew ? I asked.
- No ? he answered ? I am a Great Russian.
Then, we had a long and friendly discussion, which I summarized in following statement:
- The return to good-neighboring relations between our nations can become reality, when the Russian people would understand the weight of their crimes committed against their neighbors and their own people.
He agreed, and also agreed that this will not happen soon

Today, it is my sorrowful feeling, that we are farther away of better relationship, than we were in 1997. We agree only that we differ. Russia is back on her track to be an empire, and this will result on her final self-destruction.

·  Lestek Pisze:
20 września 2009 o 4:22

@Akkabebnekaise &
AMC

The depth of emotions emanating from your both of you indicates that it is a disagreement between members of an interelated, extended family, where unfullfilled expectations (on both sides) result in bitterness and disappointment. There, certainly, has been no logical sequential discussion, but a selective use o unrelated events from the past (of both nations) to get temporary advantage. In all, it is to proof, that either side thinks that it is beyond any reproach (which, in real life seldom, if ever, is); the Russian idiom: “my bielyje i puszistyje” ans the Polish “jestermy bez skazy” are very much applicable here. Not this way “gospoda/panowie”. If there is a will for reconciliation, both sides will have to try harder; the very few pronauncements of polititians or pundits/”akademiks” will, just, not suffice.

Russia is too weak and depleted for its previous imperial format (to which she has got used to) and Poland has wasted too much time (during the last 20 years) going in too many directions and not focusing on the real issues. A real and practical cooperation may be actually beneficial for both Poland and Russia, but both sides have to shed vestiges of the past misunderstandings, admit mistakes on wide social scale/in forums and cease playing traditional roles, a process ongoing since XVII century. It is, perhaps, time to do away with all these nonsense.

Alternatively, the matters should be given time to cool off, to be picked up a generation from now. Given the present international configuartion of vectors and political and economic pressures, I believe, that time pressure will work more to a disadvantage of Russia than Poland this time.

The undersigned has attempted to be even handed and has not ill will towards either the Poles or the Russian. He is reasonably versant in history of both nations and “ou courrant” in the present political/economic issues. He speaks and writes (and reads) in these two languages, so please, no pulling wool over my eyes. We all may try to fool someone else, we must not fool ourselves!

Lestek

·  akkakebnekaise Pisze:
20 września 2009 o 12:48

@Lestek

No doubt that you know about Russians a little bit more than many polish-speaking writers here in this blog. So, to briefly demonstrate my message I would address you to the well-known fable - The Elephant and The Mos’ka.

I am not sure Russia needs the friendship of Poland any more. The only words I would say for Poland - go away!

The only economic basis is a trade in the roubles. Poland must not think Russia needs the vegetables, potatoes, cheeses and other agricultural foods produced in Poland. There are many other sources on the free market.

There exists a generation in Poland which poisoned by Russophobe, on the contrary, there no Poland in Russia. I am not sure the Russian teenagers know the word “Poland”. There is no such country, just some misunderstanding somewhat western the Byelorussian border. Yes, Poland is the misunderstanding in our mind.

·  AMC Pisze:
20 września 2009 o 12:52

@ Lestek

What exactly was inappropriate in my writing? Don’t try to be my good uncle and your advice address to someone who knows Russia from Pushkin and Tolstoy. I am a Siberian-child and my memories are still alive.
I challenged the official Russian view expressed by a well trained propaganda apparatchik, who has been trying to degrade us as a nation and me as an unintelligent, narrow-minded dummy. I think that I did answer gently to his remarks, but enough is enough. I replied twice to his last note, but I don’t have luck with Rzeczpospolita blog administrator ? a few of my notes have been scrapped without any particular reason, may be by a pure neglect or just randomly.

@ akkakebnekaise

I am trying for a third time to answer your last note as of September 20, 20:10.

The result of our exchange of opinions is: we agree to differ. I am sorry for you that you are as you are, and you are sorry for me as I am as I am. Frankly, I would rather be free than powerful.

·  Lestek Pisze:
20 września 2009 o 16:42

@AMC

I have answered Gospodin “Akkakebnekaise” separatly.

I do not patronise anybody, just express my view, which although differnt than yours is, perhaps, equally valid. I do not believe that having been lost in miniscule details serves the purpose of seeing a larger picture or finding a way or ways to resolve the undelying issue/issues or finding a way out the labiryth of the past hang-ups.

All the best.

Lestek

PS. I know Russia first hand having been over there several times in both business and a turist capacity. I sort of like their ordinary people and have developed a “gut feeling” for the reaction of their “wierchuszka”/admistrative class. I have read their literary classics and some of their conterporary stuff, given a limited amount of time I have. You perhaps see Russia as the latest incarnation of Bulgakov’s “Master and Margerita”, which is still to some extend true and/or Slzeninicyn’s “Gulag Arkhipelago” which is fading fast.

All the best,

Lestek

PS. I have left Poland over 40 years ago and lived most of my professional/personal life in the English speaking countries. As the matter of fact, I am also reasonably familiar with German speaking Europe and the Far East, just to provide you with a reference.

·  AMC Pisze:
20 września 2009 o 18:56

@ Lestek

Dziękuję, że włączył się Pan elegancko w moją wymianę opinii z tym Wielkorusem. Niestety, wadą mojego charakteru jest, że reaguję emocjonalnie, w czym zresztą nie widzę nic złego. Zdarza mi się nawet, chociaż bardzo rzadko, że płaczę i wcale to nie ubliża mojej męskości. Wydaje mi się, że na te bezczelne dywagacje Wielkorusa, odpowiedziałem w miarę spokojnie. Ale nie dało to żadnego wyniku. Dyskusja z takimi ludźmi to rozmowa ze ścianą. Nie słuchają, wygłaszają za to z wyższością oracje pełne upomnień, nauczek i pogróżek. Współczuję tym biednym ludziom, których los pokarał urodzić się na nieludzkiej ziemi. To oni głównie są ofiarami takich jak mój Rozmówca, bo dla rosyjskiej wierchuszki normalni Rosjanie to bydło, takie samo bydło jak Polacy. To przecież u nich mówi się “U nas ludiej mnogo”. Niech Pan przeczyta mój pierwszy wpis o tym, co o Polsce myślą rosyjskie ofiary bolszewizmu.
Pozdrawiam i życzę sukcesów, co w dalszej perspektywie przełoży się na lepszy obraz Polski w świecie.

·  akkakebnekaise Pisze:
20 września 2009 o 19:33

@AMC
If you are from Siberia you could express your senses freely in Russian. And local panowe and panocki somehow would suffer… I do not think that all of them have forgotten the language of the Warsaw bloc at once and that all of them know the language of its new transatlantic owner which so inopportunely has festively thrown them with a radar and the rockets, once again having shown to these people their real place in civilized democracy and freedom of the nuclear bombings of H