The author of a paragraph that captures Russian identity is actually a Ukrainian Cossack. WATCH NEXT: The REAL reason Putin might start a nuclear war kzread.info/dash/bejne/fK2iy5OPibfFmKw.html How to STOP a nuclear war with Putin kzread.info/dash/bejne/nohruZZ-gpqxdtI.html Powerful Tactics Putin's Propaganda Uses To Hook You kzread.info/dash/bejne/kZ5quMlwqa_eZZc.html Putin has gone Fascist kzread.info/dash/bejne/h3uXtsmnfZuskdY.html How a Kremlin coup could topple Putin kzread.info/dash/bejne/pXiMl8-uaJTOepM.html The TERRIFYING TRUTH behind Putin's Ukraine invasion kzread.info/dash/bejne/pK6ew4-Ff9S7lJs.html

@oisnowy5368

2 жыл бұрын

Chances are your dad understood the situation, but just by pointing interesting stuff out he could keep other people's attention away and preventing them from panicking. I only reasoned that because I assume you got your good brain cells from somewhere.

@nochepatada

2 жыл бұрын

It's funny how the USA is the only country to use nukes and they killed over 1/4 million people, yet the talk is how Russia is going to use nukes 😂

@shinymike4301

2 жыл бұрын

"What good is the world for us, if it is a world without Russia?", says the guy with Satan II missiles, each loaded with 10 warheads of X kilotons/megatons. This can't be good for anyone.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

@@oisnowy5368 hee hee

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

@@shinymike4301 yeap

Hi Brazilian here. For us Latin Americans, Eastern Europe and Asia tends to be little explained in schools. I've been following the Russian invasion of Ukraine since February, but it's only in the last few weeks that I've started to dig deeper into the relations between the two countries. Your videos are helping me A LOT to understand in depth what drives Russia so much to not allow Ukraine to become closer to western. Most Western newspapers do not go beyond simplistic explanations. Your work is great.

@dubbz4667

Жыл бұрын

Hi Lucas. I want you to know that even though I are All the way in south America. The fact that you are sane enough to see the evil in what putler is doing. This is more support than you know and I want you to know that it's appreciated. I appreciate vlads channel because it tells you the God honest truth about diplomatic relations and all the very real stuff that comes with war, diplomacy,chaos and terror.. the truth is that the factual information that is against the Kremlins interests and if that particular truth requires just that we pay attention to what's going in Ukraine. Keep supporting bcuz of they don't like it

@greatsarmatae

Жыл бұрын

Respect man

@fgadenz

Жыл бұрын

Same here, from 🇧🇷 too and Vlads content has been essential for me understand the complexities that lead to this insane invasion.

@wladjarosz345

Жыл бұрын

I hope in Brazil nobody thinks that he in Portugal lives...

@_Shtosh_

Жыл бұрын

He just "helped" you to fill your brain with his shit. Congrats. To have full picture of a situation, a wise man should take many different sources. Listen to the arguments of both sides, finally.

Gogol's passage in "Dead Souls" which says, "Rus, where are you hurtling?" reminded me of Jack Kerouac's passage in his "On the Road" where he says, "Whither goest thou, America, in thy shiny car in the night?"

@kkpenney444

2 жыл бұрын

Nice catch.

@vickisnemeth7474

2 жыл бұрын

Neato, maybe he was making the reference.

@GuinessOriginal

2 жыл бұрын

@@vickisnemeth7474 definitely

@bikerbardofohio5076

2 жыл бұрын

I’ve heard Keroauc was inspired by Dostoevsky and other Russian writers.

@diane9247

2 жыл бұрын

@@bikerbardofohio5076 What decent writer isn't? 😉 (I'm sort of kidding and sort of not.)

Russia: stop imposing yourself on us, Westerners, we have our own identity Also Russia: *imposes self on Ukraine*

@SmirkyWaters

Жыл бұрын

And not just Ukraine but all the countries around them, and then all the countries around those, and so on

@tranvinhnhat1289

Жыл бұрын

@@SmirkyWaters oh fuck !

@Taladar2003

Жыл бұрын

In many ways Russian views here mirror the UK Brexiter ones. People who have not grasped yet that the age of empires by force has passed and that nobody will give you any respect for trying to bring it back.

@maitreyabadra2267

Жыл бұрын

Another words!... This is one huge f... mess! Either because of Russist russia... or because of 'satanic' West! ...Welcome to Hell, then! ☠️🔥🇷🇺🕳️❗

@wladjarosz345

Жыл бұрын

no terrorussia - no problems for neighbors and the whole world!

It should be pointed out that Fukuyama has since agreed that yes, he was wrong. He was pretty nuanced about the whole thing. In his book on the thesis of the End of History, the entire last chapter was basically him saying that "Yes, History can start up again and it probably will"

@j.d.snyder4466

Жыл бұрын

But history never stopped. His thesis was beyond absurd.

@eca3101

8 ай бұрын

“The end of history” was not literally his thesis, it was a title for a book. And a very good one considering how referenced it is

@MrKlipstar

8 ай бұрын

End of History and the last Man by Francis Fukuyama. Good book,like the Oil's End,by Kunzler,very good too Stategy and Logístics.Xau❤🇵🇹

@arimoff

8 ай бұрын

Fukuyama is an intellectual degenerate like most Leftist professors who live in a fantasy world detached from reality. They may be smart in their field of expertise but they have zero wisdom

@williampounds5191

8 ай бұрын

@@eca3101 A good read doesn't preclude the assertions it makes from being absurd.

UK person here. I was 15 years old when the Berlin wall came down in 1989 and 17 when the USSR and Eastern Europe totally changed in 1991. As a young woman, I remember feeling as if Europe was just opening up with great promise just as my own adult life was beginning. It was an inspirational time and a great feeling. I started my first year of university in 1992, when the European Union became completely open to free movement. Then, I remember at university in 1994/5 being part of a student group raising funds to send trucks of help to the students at Tuzla University in Bosnia during the horrible war at that time. Things seemed to be getting a bit darker. A few years passed. In the late 90s, the thinking that you mentioned epitomised by Fukuyama's book prevailed, and it was connected with the zeitgeist in terms of the birth of the world wide web and its spread. I had studied Chinese Studies at university, and in the late 90s I remember a tech geek friend of mine chatting to me at a party explaining with evangelical zeal that the web/internet would make everyone across the planet free forever in the future, because no longer could authoritarian governments hide the truth from their people. That really was the prevailing thinking at the time in those circles. I told him point blank that I was quite sure the Chinese government would be able to find a way to stop Chinese people from accessing the full truth, regardless of the details of how modern tech was implemented. He looked at me with a certain soft pity in his eyes and tried to be as gentle as possible in his rejection of my evidently ignorant belief. Today, he's a very successful and wealthy thought leader in the IT industry. 😅 Anyway, now I'm 48 and it does feel to me as if there's a danger the world could close down again, with autocracy getting the edge over democracy. Which is making me feel even worse about heading into old age than I otherwise might. On the other hand, this could be simply the start of a new, more hopeful age, depending on how things work out. That's why this situation is so desperately important. Thank you so much for all you do to educate us.

@garygraham8373

2 жыл бұрын

one insecure beady-eyed little man in the kremlin and the whole world suffers

@danielgomessilva8966

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your thoughts

@supereliptic

2 жыл бұрын

Hey, you weren’t wrong back then in college. I was a teenager at the time you mentioned in the late 90’s and was just like your friend. I’m sure we both thought we were smart but we were just regurgitating the same talking points from Silicon Valley tech leaders at the time. It certainly did feel like it was a path to complete freedom in a sense though because putting a document on the web meant that it was available to everyone. It was the invention of social media and the accidental creation of the worlds greatest distribution network of dark propaganda that really screwed up the utopian dreams of those involved in the early years of the internet however. Our hearts were in the right place, albeit naively.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

Anne, I read you slowly. Thank you so much for sharing this.

@GuinessOriginal

2 жыл бұрын

He’s probably one of the companies helping China and Russia censor the internet, not to mention KZread Google and Facebook etc. The idea that we’re getting the full truth in this war is laughable, it is quite frightening how many people are willingly lapping up the propaganda that is cementing the one sided narrative we are being sold

Not mentioned is the that Gogol was Ukrainian, a descendant of Cossak nobility. His books are a reflection of Harold Innis's concept that ideas always come from the periphery of empire, not the centre. Only through being both a part of, and at the same time looking from the edge or outside can a deeper understnding be generated.

@veronchan2003

Жыл бұрын

Gogol himself said that he considers himself both Ukrainian and Russian. That is, he has the right to be considered a Russian writer, especially if he wrote in Russian. It's funny, by the way, because he was banned in Ukraine)

@JohnnyDonnyDon

Жыл бұрын

@@veronchan2003 well, he never said that he was a ukrainian. It's bullshit. But he said that he was half-russian and half-maloross. To know it you have to know the russian to read his words. Before 1917 there were no ukrainians but malorossy. They - ukrainians - were only in west part of modern Ukraine that was the part of Poland those days.

@veronchan2003

Жыл бұрын

@@JohnnyDonnyDon I agree that this is an exaggeration, but not a mistake. Territory, language, culture are all the same, the name is just different. Gogol used the word "Khokhlyatskaya", which modern Russians associate specifically with Ukrainians (now, however, this is a cruder concept). He was born on the territory of modern Ukraine, used many Ukrainian dialects, and also described the activities of the Cossacks (who, by the way, the Ukrainians appropriated). I am not a historian, but a literary critic, the historical context is not important to me, but only the worldview of the authors themselves. In Russia, he is considered a Russian writer with Ukrainian and Polish blood (usually they say this at school, which is no less correct right now).

@JohnnyDonnyDon

Жыл бұрын

@UCfTWiF2wd-MEJpL5l2IpQcw gee, stop thinking up what wasn't. it doesn't prove anything. As I said before then it wasn't Ukraine and there wasn't such a thing as "ukrainian". It's a new self-name or nation, it doesn't matter. Anyway, he saw himself as russian and part of Russia's culture and did a lot to enlarge it. And his words in 1844 says more who he was and what he thought about his identity - russian-maloross- (stressed for you): "На это вам скажу, что сам не знаю, какая у меня душа, хохлацкая или русская. Знаю только то, что никак бы не дал преимущества ни МАЛОРОССИЯНИНУ перед русским, ни русскому пред МАЛОРОССИЯНИНОМ. Обе природы слишком щедро одарены Богом, и как нарочно каждая из них порознь заключает в себе то, чего нет в другой, - явный знак, что они должны пополнить одна другую. "

@JohnnyDonnyDon

Жыл бұрын

@@veronchan2003 as a russian I say to you that in school he is considered as russian. Nothing about ukrainian. But it's true that he wrote about whereabouts of the people who lived there. Anyway he considered himself russian but don't forgot where he was born - Malorossy (or Littlerussia). It was always his dilemma. From modern perspective it's difficult to understand but before communists there weren't such a thing as "nationality" in Russia and the russian language. And everyone in Russian Empire was considered as russian if he spoke it and served the king. :)

Nikolai Gogol was born in 1809 in Sorochyntsi, in the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire, which is present-day Ukraine. Although Gogol wrote in Russian and is considered one of the giants of Russian literature, he was deeply influenced by Ukrainian folklore, culture, and history.

@WangAiHua

7 ай бұрын

He was Ukrainian and also wrote in Ukrainian--He preferred it to RuZZian, but the money was in Moscow!

12:30 some context: Ukraine had decommunization campaign going, meaning removing soviet era monuments, renaming the streets and cities named after communist leaders etc. which generally were associated also with Russia So when Putin said ‘REAL decommunization’ he actually meant: ‘You will lose not only the monuments, but EVERYTHING that was built during the soviet era’

@anderskorsback4104

7 ай бұрын

I thought Putin was rather referring to the whole notion of Ukraine being separate from Russia, which it formally wasn't in Imperial Russia but became when the Soviet government created the Ukrainian SSR.

@claudior5545

7 ай бұрын

Yes, I also believe the video’s author got that one backwards. It veas sarcasm by Khuilo, similar to Ukraine mocking the invaders excuse for this war of aggression and reverse calling it by saying that destroying the invaders is the real denazification of Ukraine.

@user-ju7cf9iu8z

7 ай бұрын

Большая часть территории Украины была добавлена ей как раз коммунистами и большевиками: Харьков, Луганск, Донецк, Николаев, Одесса, Львов, Ужгород, Буковина, Бессарабия и много чего ещё. Исторические земли Украины это Киев, Черкассы и Кировоград.

@tarasbaturenko5216

7 ай бұрын

@@user-ju7cf9iu8z о, а я смотрю, вы эксперт в исторической геополитике? Можете описать границы УНР, воссоединенной с ЗУНР?

@rustr01

7 ай бұрын

​@@tarasbaturenko5216 Нравится это украинцам или нет, но их государственность появилась после 1917 года. А в пучине хаоса гражданской войны в России конечно можно на мгновение «отщипнуть» территорий и потом сказать «это моё» ;)

I went to school in Kyiv in 90s (Ukrainian language as primary) and Gogol was read in the original in my school and he was presented as a Ukrainian writer that like many artists trying to make it big went to the capital of the empire and started speaking/wring in Russian. He was also presented as a Bridge writer. Someone that tried to create a bridge between Russians and Ukrainians culturally. I think he was also trying to make sense of Russian culture for himself.

@Sonchikas1

Жыл бұрын

And now he's considered a part of Russian opression, his monuments are being deconstructed all over Ukraine. It's curious.

@elizabethkorobko1199

Жыл бұрын

@@Sonchikas1 it is not true. and he is still in school program

@healthytrout

Жыл бұрын

Gogol is ukrainian, yes. you description about bridge making is on point

@mickelodiansurname9578

Жыл бұрын

well Nikolai Gogol was in fact Ukrainian, he also suffered in later life with mental health issues. I'm not sure why he is considered to be Russian since this would be like saying Oscar Wilde was English. However we are forgetting here that most Russians don't know he was Ukrainian. Nor do most Brits know that Oscar Wilde was Irish.

@mickelodiansurname9578

Жыл бұрын

@@elizabethkorobko1199 I'm fairly sure Sorochyntsi, the birthplace of Nikolai Gogol is in Ukraine. Gogol's native language was Ukrainian, which was spoken in his family and his hometown of Sorochyntsi. However, he also learned Russian and wrote in both languages. Now, speaking Russian does not make you Russian any more than Speaking English makes you British! There are lots of people in Khabarovsk that speak Chinese you know...

I’m a westernized immigrant born in Ukraine, and I’m so happy I found your channel! Brilliant view on everything happening with explanations that go so deep into history and russian self understanding/russian identity. A great way of explaining the situation to foreigners! BRAVO!

@frostflower5555

Жыл бұрын

Hypocrisy.

@VladVexler

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

@gvozdennikolic5694

Жыл бұрын

If you can not see that Vlad is mentally ill, you have to visit psychiatrist, maybe you need hospitalisation, and maybe it is not late.

@CorePathway

Жыл бұрын

As an American who served in West Germany during the cold war, Russia was our enemy. But I know precious little of Russia. Given the harshness of their totalitarian regimes, from the Czars to Stalin to Putin, I feel for the Russian people. But I totally don’t understand why they think themselves to be great. How can a country or society think themselves great when they rule by oppression? And always have? . “Great” is meaningless without a baseline to compare against. Who is the baseline for Russia then? China? Russia does not win there. Europe? I don’t see it. The US? Please. Turkey? Stop embarrassing yourselves. . I totally get Russia’s identity crisis. The largest nation on earth, many scientific and cultural achievements. All only possible because of brutal repression. I just don’t get it.

@frostflower5555

Жыл бұрын

@@CorePathway What don't you get? The brutal repression of Donbass residents? The persecution of Russians on their ancestral lands?

Hi Vlad, This was the video that introduced me to your work and I want to thank you so much for your translation and presentation of this passage from Dead Souls. It continues to have an extremely emotional effect on me- especially so after meditating on Basilashvili’s comment on the underlying pain within the piece. God bless the poets of this world.

I love the thread you pull through your videos. Honestly might be the best I’ve ever seen, well done!

Very interesting thought provoking video. Thank you. I want to mention that Gogol was Ukrainian, born in Poltava , Ukraine. In the early 19th century the publication of Ukrainian books was forbidden by the czar. Exceptions were made for comedic writing, or fol;klore literature where two Ukrainian peasants argued over a cow. Gogol's father wrote such comedic plays in Ukrainian for the local theater group. But in 1863 and 1876 Russia passed laws that forbade any book in Ukrainian. Gogol is credited with starting the debate over the "russian Soul" and "Russian World" much debated by Russian intellectuals in the 19th century. They prophesized Russia would become the "Third Rome" and save decadent Europe from itslf. But I cannot imagine anything more decadent and murderous than today's Russia.

@Slothface

Жыл бұрын

how about todays germany?

@patricepicaud5490

Жыл бұрын

Plus meurtrier et décadent, vous avez l'occident, tout simplement, il suffit pour cela d'une petite introspection.

@vladimirthegreen6097

Жыл бұрын

All modern West is the same bs, lol

@oldreprobate2748

Жыл бұрын

​@@Slothface how about all of the worldwide oligarchies?

@petefrys545

Жыл бұрын

I agree a very interesting video and very thought provoking.

As a child in WWII Britain and now 87 I dare not mention to anyone the danger I think we are in. In Britain we are following childish political antics every day. It is not realised that it could all go, literally, in a flash never to return. I can only hope I will be gone before that flash arrives. Meanwhile like you Vlad, I study history to try to understand. Yes, I did a course on atomic civil defence many years ago in the forces.

@morebirdsandroses

2 ай бұрын

Feeling the same in the US, a year ago and now too.

I really appreciate all of your excellent work, thank you Vlad!

Tack! Thanks Vlad for your work. It is so much of a general education and it should be obligatory for all.

I'm Russian and I love Dead Soul book, which I read in Russian language at the age of 11 or 12. Remember that the book was written at the time of absolute power of the tsars and zero free speech. As the Russians had no freedom of speech, they could never openly describe their situation, and hence, they used literature as a form of art, to metaphorically represent truth. Similarly, American slaves used art to represent their truth, but they used music instead of literature. Dead Soul refers to our Russian slaves(the unfree people) - the serfs that had to toil on land. It's a true masterpiece of literature. And for those who might not know, Gogol was Ukranian! Or maybe he was both: Russian-Ukranian. But I think he was really Ukranian from Ukraine. Anyway, Russian identity is VERY different. Living in the USA, I can never admit that I am a white person, which many Americans claim to be my "real" identity. "White person" identity is an anglo/Western invention or concept, which has no way anything close to representing a Russian person. Russians are located in Europe, and so, they are European, right? Geographically - yes, but politically/culturally/historically it is not so. I am a person of white skin, NOT white identity. My identity is Russian. And I don't consider myself European! Neither I consider myself Asian, although geographically I am Eurasian, and even genetically Eurasian as well (I have a small part Asian genetics), which is common among Russians to the East of Volga river all the way to Siberia, and I am from that part of the world far away from Moscow. Having both Asian and Eastern European genes, I am never European nor Asian in any way. I am just Russian. When I saw a picture of three horses in the black background, I felt like home and nostalgic. An American would see there just three horses. But I saw my home and more - I FELT home at the sight of those three horses. Today I choose not to visit my homeland due to the present conflict. I am sad and actually I am in grieve over the Ukranian and Russian people today.

@kennethrohen5963

Жыл бұрын

Russia under Putin doesn't have free speech that won't result in those who tell the truth about the Ukraine invasion "disappearing" to never be seen or heard from, again? And why do the majority of Russians love and support Putin and the illegal invasion of a peaceful, sovereign nation? No other country, except maybe China and their madman Xi Jinping would ever even think of invading a country with so many nuclear weapons as Russia! Putin is severely mentally and physically diseased, and he would commit suicide through a nuclear holocaust that would destroy all life on earth forever, leaving this planet a barren ice ball.

@henkholdingastate

Жыл бұрын

The Russian identity crisis has no solution because it is too large a country with too much variation in local identities.

@checktheplaylist101

Жыл бұрын

‘Putin’s brain’ Aleksandr Dugin calls for the end to white civilisation. And there is this too: Russian intelligence service goals: • inciting ⚫️ separatism to impair the territorial integrity of the United States, • supporting nationalist movements to degrade the international situation and fostering a revolutionary mood by undermining social order, also through the reinforced Marxist ideology, • using racism to generate tensions in U.S. society before affecting the country’s domestic and foreign policy. In A.Dugin’s(Putin’s🧠) book “Foundations of Geopolitics,” a maniacal screed advocating Russian world domination, the occultist openly calls for unleashing ⚫️ racists against ⚪️ America as a subversion strategy: “Russia should use its special services within the borders of the United States to fuel instability and separatism,” wrote Dugin. Provoking “Afro-American racists” was key to the strategy, as that would serve to “introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity.” He further encouraged “all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements - extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics.”

@Azazello321

Жыл бұрын

So did Gogol write Dead Souls to champion the rights of those serfs toiling the land, albeit in a ‘metaphorical’ way? Was Gogol a champion for free speech and the abolition of serfdom?

@ArtU4All

Жыл бұрын

You said it so well. Specifically about the “white” in the US while being of the Russian culture. I resented the “white” box in all matters official in the US, and always marked “other” or “decline to state”. But for my generation who grew up in the USSR (it’s various republics), there must be some all-Union brotherhood sentiment also lingering in us due to propaganda and the actual requirement of learning the national language in school starting in 2nd grade (Uzbek for me). And then I started learning Ukrainian in 5th grade when my family moved to Ukraine. This last detail changed the course of my life. Thank you for your comment 🙏🌿💙💛

Thank you Vlad. Your video essays about Russia are invaluable for allowing we outsiders to at least begin to understand the psyche of Putin, the Russian state, and the Russian peoples. None do it so eloquently, or with such perceptive clarity.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

That's so kind thank you so much!

@hathawayrose2183

Жыл бұрын

@@letsgetthissorted go and watch The New Atlas, The Duran or The Greyzone if you want to know what the west is doing.

@letsgetthissorted

Жыл бұрын

@@hathawayrose2183 I googled the first two and can tell by content it'll be near bullshit filled with assumptions, propaganda and nonsense.

@letsgetthissorted

Жыл бұрын

@@hathawayrose2183 Then there's the "Grey zone" media showing extreme media bias. Hard pass Ms. Rose. You may be into extremism but I prefer democracy.

@hathawayrose2183

Жыл бұрын

@@letsgetthissorted then stay happy in your ignorance Sergeant Rock, you're clearly no help to Mrs Rock, or anyone else.

Rewatched this just now. Quality from the top shelf. Respect.

Thanks for all the videos!

Thank you. In college, I had a roomate (who'd spent several years in Siberia) try to explain Dead Souls and The Idiot to me. I'd recently returned from France (which had a very different form of metaphysical nihilism), and I know that he must have seen my eyes glazing over. He was very patient. I now wish I'd paid closer attention.

@user-jp1yg5if7f

7 ай бұрын

You got the novel completely wrong. Christian prose cannot be nihilistic. Especially when the main character is a holy man.The same thing with the author of the channel. He only imitates the fact that he understands Russian culture and civilization. In fact, what he says is a figment of his imagination and individual perception, for the most part

Yet another fascinating video essay, thank you. P.S. The passage from Gogol’s book was incredibly powerful and vivid, I am adding that to me ever growing reading list.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!!

@juliereminiec4937

2 жыл бұрын

Same here

Outstanding, fascinating stuff. The ones further up the "watch this next" chain are making more sense to me now!

This is by far the most enlightening thing I have ever seen on Russia. You are obviously very educated and an excellent communicator.

@headoverheels88

Ай бұрын

He's an Oxford educated Ph.D on the subject, which is why I always leave his videos feeling like I've had access to one of the world's best lecturers on the subject.

That passage in Dead Souls might as well have been a retelling of the Germanic mythology of The Wild Hunt, especially how connected the Rus are to the vikings.

I was mesmerized by the "Rus! Rus!" passage when I first read it so long ago. It was exhilarating and also very lonely, as I was a young man in the US, where Gogol is too arcane even for intellectuals. Finally, one day, at a dinner party at a big fancy house in the Maryland countryside, I met an elderly Russian lady who understood my exhilaration. Tears came to our eyes as we noted how the big, kitschy country house was like Manilov's mansion, or how the boisterous host was like Sobakevich, etc. We promised to stay in touch, and I wrote her some months later, but she never responded. She had mentioned that her son worked in the FSB, so probably for the better.

@groovie444

Жыл бұрын

you can't work at fsb and have any relatives abroad.

@bens4446

Жыл бұрын

@@groovie444 I'm not sure it was FSB. She said her son was a policeman of some sort in the agency that used to be, or have something to do with, the KGB. This was in the late 90s.

@cmemo6159

Жыл бұрын

@@groovie444 YOU CAN

Just found you, and I'm enjoying the uploads. Very informative and I appreciate your opinions... subscribed

Although I have little background knowledge of this subject matter, I found your analysis and delivery to be very interesting and insightful. Also, if you ever run out of things to talk about, I think you should record some audio books as I find your voice and cadence somewhat calming and helpful at relieving stress.

Dead Souls is actually one of my favourite books. It's fascinating to watch how someone seen as an outlier and a bit of madman during his life has been so absorbed into the Russian national psyche after his death.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! I think in the West Gogol is far behind Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky in readership, but in Russia it’s closer.

@Lulusnotreadyforthis

2 жыл бұрын

@@VladVexler would you ever consider an analysis of my all time favourite, The Master And Margarita please?

@elfrad1714

2 жыл бұрын

I believe Nietzsche did the same for the Germans.

Жыл бұрын

@@VladVexler Studied his short stories in Russian language class in high school, in France. Had Russian as a second foreign language, German as 1st foreign language, Spanish as 3rd, Italian as 4th.

@jdrancho1864

Жыл бұрын

@@Lulusnotreadyforthis There are about three filmed adaptations, two of them might be found on utube. I watched them a couple of times over, can't make heads or tails out of them.

What an education paying attention to your videos brings. Time well spent. Thank you.

Thank you Vlad for being in this space! You are helping me to heal. Similarly to you I moved from Russia long time ago, but back in 1994… and I never looked back, but I feel the weight of my ancestral curse more then ever since the war in Ukraine and trying to understand it all, you are helping me to sort it all.

Thank you for an eye-opening perspective. Great work.

Vlad, what a lovely translation. It gives rise to the idea that Russia is a mystery even to itself. LIke Francis Fukuyama, I am a third-generation Japanese-American (in other words, our grandparents emigrated from Japan to the U.S. I was born and raised in Los Angeles.). He's some years older than me, but I was an adult when his "End of History" book came out, and I recall that he was subjected to much criticism for suggesting that liberal democracy would simply spread throughout the world and that we wouldn't need to deal with scary nations like Russia that had nukes because - of course - they would choose to become like us! To Fukuyama's credit, he's been making the rounds of the news programs these days and discussing the end of history concept again, which, as you noted, he got all wrong (he more or less acknowledges this now). This war in Ukraine feels not only like a clash of cultures, but a clash of centuries. We're in the 21st century, but Putin is coming from the early 20th or even 19th century. A lot of what is happening in Ukraine is terrifying me, but none more than the fact that Russian soldiers are literally kidnapping Ukrainian civilians and busing them to Russia... for what?? Who even does things like this? Putin's war with all of its strategic mistakes is leaving Russia without even a sense of dignity as a nation in the world's eyes. This is painful to me simply as an observer, it must be exponentially more so for Russians now living in the west.

@talideon

2 жыл бұрын

Russia has a long history of seizing people from one part of their "domain" and scattering them elsewhere as a way to fracture communities and to prevent nationalism amongst its minorities.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

I’m afraid the future is with Putin’s politics. To think he’s from the past is another Fukuyamian fairytale, and why folks in the West struggle to grasp him. Lethal struggle over territory motivated by mystical visions is normal. It has always happened. And will always happen. To Fukuyama’a credit, his book captured the self picture of the age. His concessions have been fascinating. He’s walked back the 1989/1992 contribution incrementally, over three decades. I like him. Thank you so much for sharing a little of your background.

@faithlesshound5621

2 жыл бұрын

Fukuyama expressed in ponderous American what "1066 and All That" had expressed 60 years earlier: "America is now Top Nation and History has come to an End." You can't get more teleological than that!

@gibbogle9486

2 жыл бұрын

When Fukuyama's book came out I decided he was an idiot. Everything that has happened in the world since then proves, unfortunately, that I was right.

@gibbogle9486

2 жыл бұрын

@@VladVexler The persistence of religious beliefs of all flavours, in a time when we know so much, is another example of the motivation of "mystical visions".

These videos keep getting better. Great work, Vlad! Really appreciate your analysis.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much!

Drastically improve my vocabulary with your videos. Great overview also

Another great book from the same period (my favourite book, and one of Tolstoy's favourites) : Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov. Russia between Asia and Europe, between progress and stagnation all portrayed by a guy who struggles to get up in the morning. A great story.

@KasumiRINA

7 ай бұрын

It's kinda racist for russians to always stereotype Asia like that especially when it was far ahead of russia in... almost everything, throughout most of history.

@bakerzermatt

7 ай бұрын

@@KasumiRINA I guess it made sense at the time the book was written (mid 19th century). At the time, Europe was getting miles ahead of the rest of the world with an explosion in technology and industry, whereas China had just been defeated twice by the British, and Japan was still a medieval backwater that had just made contact with the US.

@18_rabbit

5 ай бұрын

europe proper was, but not so much Ru. , re getting ahead of ROW@@bakerzermatt

Smart exposure. I like how you've brilliantly articulated your demonstration around "Dead Souls" of Gogol, making it the starting point of your questioning and coming back at it toward the end to show how one could easily with time twists the inner meaning.

Well, I’ve watched a lot of your videos this afternoon and found them utterly fascinating and they really helped me connect the dots on a couple of things. Thank you.

For me this is so informative! thank you alot!

Thank you for this brilliant (and frightening) analysis! ( By the way, the Dead Souls has been my Bibel during the last half century, I have read it like hundred times...)

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

Incredible!

I never heard of Nikolai Gogol and Dead Souls. But a friend made me read Dostoyevski after college, an amazing thinker, shows a personal understanding of inner suffering.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

Wonderful you read Dostoyevsky.

@KristinaTurnerAquarius

2 жыл бұрын

Ironically Golgotha is Hebrew for the Skull where they crucified Jesus in Jerusalem Israel.

@YuliyaHorobets

2 жыл бұрын

Gogol is a Ukrainian author Russians keep for themselves because they never rejected their imperialistic tendencies. He wrote as much Ukrainian centric pieces as imperial centric and yet i haven't heard one word that Gogol is a Ukrainian in this video analyzing Russian tendencies of inslaving nations and assimilating cultures. Kind of ironic. Full circle.

What a beautiful passage. I'll have to look for a translation of Dead Souls to read.

Thank you for making videos on KZread 🤝🤝

Nice of you to paint a picture of modern Russia with broad historical brush strokes. But I found the most telling anecdote in one of Putin's biographies that came out soon after Yeltsin picked him from obscurity. It was how Putin felt, soon after his deployment to East Berlin, the deep resentment at the higher standard of living among the common East Germans than his own family's upper middle class shared apartment block in St. Petersburg. So I wondered what specificly bothered Putin. It was kitchen appliances. He was mad that the Germans had better cookware, utensils, gadgets, stoves, and, yes, washing machines. Russian soldiers looting washing machines in Ukraine has finally clicked in my mind. Another Russian soldier's phone call to his mother from the battle front in Ukraine was intercepted to reveal this deep sense of injustice. Son: on the way out, I turned the tank and shot up all the empty houses on the street. Mother: but why? Son: because they have better roads even though their village is smaller than ours. Mother: yes, they don't deserve it. Russians are indeed hurtling down on a trioka, but for all the wrong reasons. That has always been the problem throughout Russian history. Putin is just the latest who happens to be fixated on a spinning metal drum used for cleaning clothes. Conquering Ukraine ain't curing that pain.

@peterclarke7240

Жыл бұрын

I think we all know what the ill-composed joke is around here 😂

@mickeysimon3789

Жыл бұрын

@@user-zx6fg9lv4d but it’s a fact. That looted washing machines, you can go to Ukraine and ask people who lived in occupied cities. Russia has mor resources then Ukraine, but those resources are in hands of Putin and his friends. In median, Russians are more poor then Ukrainians.

@thejinn99

Жыл бұрын

@@user-zx6fg9lv4d It depends on how poor those soldiers are, right? From my limited understanding, most wealth is in the hands of a few oligarchs/companies, and there is a lot of wealth disparity.

@Find-Your-Bliss-

Жыл бұрын

Damn insightful. Bravo!

@johngage9791

Жыл бұрын

@@user-zx6fg9lv4d You may very well be right. Ukraine may be poorer as far as its economy goes. It's the distribution of wealth that is the problem. It seems that Russia has put all that money into super-yachts.

So now you have added to my already challenging future reading list. Once again, you have broken down a pretty complex subject into its constituent parts that even the layperson can understand. Thanks for the Gogol passages. Speaking of that wonderful writer, I wonder how much of the world has been exposed to his writings. To say Putin has no mind for history is an understatement. I wonder if he realizes that the people he is screwing over in Eastern Ukraine are descendants of the Zaporozhian Cossacks? He needs only to have someone read "Taras Bulba" to him to get a greater insight into the bravery and tenacity of those people. Thanks again, Vlad.

@Beelzerat

2 жыл бұрын

@Buddy Rojek How can others compare themselves to people with this kind of bravery. I don't know if I could.

@Beelzerat

2 жыл бұрын

@Buddy Rojek The whole premise for the invasion is a myth. That is what's so sad about the whole thing: tiny little despots upsetting the balance once again. This only proves the lack of understanding of their own past and blindness toward the will, not only of the Ukrainians but his own people. My tight circle of friends includes other Russians, Ukrainians, and Poles. We have gotten along for years in America and this invasion only brought us closer together. There is absolutely no animosity between any of us, but there Is a sadness that we tty to work through, but also hope that Ukraine wins and can start re-building. Many of us are no strangers to the horse and saber from childhood and never really forget the feelings those early days inspired.

I got the book after I saw this video. I’m a Gogol fan but had not read this. There’s a surreal timelessness to the characters. Thank you for explaining this I’ve been watching you since the invasion of Ukraine. 😭

@WangAiHua

7 ай бұрын

BTW: Hohol was Ukrainian!

I like your content more and more. Its not something i can put on in the background and still get the point, when i watch you, i have to stop, digest rewind, watch a clip again, its what i like, you go deep, not for the timid or feeble minded...thankyou.

Absolutely loving these analytical videos! Really contextually emphasising and explanatory, so much so in fact that I really think you should become some sort of academic speaker! Love it, keep it up Vlad.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, I am an academic off youtube. I am a political philosopher.

@thedgdaniel

2 жыл бұрын

@@VladVexler ahhh I see, had a feeling you were as you explain things so effectively. Anyways, love your videos and will definitely be spreading the word about you.

Thank you for posting this video. Your use of the metaphor in Gogol's Dead Souls describing Russia's rush to destiny with no clear direction is an interesting way to analyze the "special operation" and Putin's desire to restore the Russian empire. This is a brilliant and intellectually perceptive way to present this topic. What a coincidence that I had just started Reading Dead Souls after completing a re-read of Dostoevsky's The Idiot when I discovered this video. I look forward to more of your presentations.

I was a Russian Studies major at university in the 1980s. This analysis is brilliant. I don't think I could have grasped the accuracy of its analysis back then due to Reagan era US deterministic optimism. Continuing to follow Russia and world events for the past 40 years, it now resonates. I am still an ardent believer in Jefferson's vision that all men are created equal with inalienable rights. The creation of a world where governments agree on such foundational ideas and work together in harmony, however, will take much more patience and much less preaching than I believed in my youth.

This is easily one of the smartest, most informative yet also most beautiful and inspiring videos I have ever seen. What a masterpiece. Thank you Mr. Vexler!

@florete2310

9 ай бұрын

Definitely. I wish our state leaders here in Europe would listen to Vlad, because I think, the final point he's making in this video - the sad truth to which he's culminating to - is an unpleasant and terrifying truth nobody wants to hear here in Europe. They are all like🙉: "🎶La-la-la-la... I don't hear a thing!"

@ennediend2865

8 ай бұрын

Fully agreed👍

@Piersmoron

7 ай бұрын

Wow your feckin kidding aren’t you

@zorglub667

7 ай бұрын

@@Piersmoron oh look it's the guy from kindergarden who spells all the dirty words wrong.

@Piersmoron

7 ай бұрын

@@zorglub667 oh look it’s the little infant who can’t even work out that if you use incorrect spelling you can get point across without getting flagged 🫵🏻🖕😆💪🇷🇺🤓you clearly are a feckin moron are you vlads brother 👦 ya feckin moron 😂

Believe me, people in Poland, Moldova etc and especially the Baltics are keenly aware we ourselves are in danger which is one of the reasons we're so eager to help. So I think what you said at the end mostly to Western Europe like France Germany Italy

@Rocky-yd3fk

Жыл бұрын

🇵🇱🇺🇦

@alexandraturnwald2286

Жыл бұрын

The reaction of Poland's People to the invasion has made me sooo happy and proud of the polish family I have. Nevertheless the last years have shown that it is very important to support those in Poland who defend democracy. This concerns many, many western countries. The autocrats have found ways to undermine the principles of democracy which are not obvious to the lesser critic minds. They always attach their propaganda to some very important and undisputable values. It is like agreeing to some of the mottoes of the Nazi Regime which - if taken literally - sounded so right. I am Austrian and all branches of my family had to leave their homes in many former austrian territories because of Russian Revolution, WWI or WWII (Poland, Ukraine, Czechia, Roumania). I can well remember the impact of Soviet Union on those who have stayed and on the West also. Today the family consists of protesters and of supporters of law and order. In some way therefore I can relate to mixed ukrainian-russian families

@rinaldoman3331

Жыл бұрын

Actually half of Moldova and Transnistria with Gagauzia are supporting Russia or neutral to them. So Moldova is not unite with Poland and Baltics.

I think the struggle Gogol had with writing, rewriting, embracing and rejecting the 'dead souls' over and over again across the period of years is deeply intertwined with the book and ingrained in its reception.

@robomaster5274

2 жыл бұрын

There are also rumors that he wrote a continuation for it, but burned the manuscript for some reason.

@grafplaten

Жыл бұрын

@@robomaster5274 That's not a rumour. He burnt much of the second part, and starved himself to death shortly afterwards. The book was intended to be in three parts, but we have only the first part, fragments of the second and the third was never written.

What an excellent commentary and analysis. Great work. Thanks for that.

You are a very bright and outstanding Thinker Glad to have found You

wow this channel is a true gem, thanks for sharing this, Vlad.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

Utter pleasure!

Wasn't Gogol born in the Ukraine? I seem to remember that one of his first works was based on Ukrainian folk tales? In any case, 'Dead Souls' is a fabulous read.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, Ukrainian

@eljanrimsa5843

2 жыл бұрын

"Taras Bulba" is a great novel that paints a vivid picture of the free-spirited warrior culture in the steppe.

@Blackgriffonphoenixg

2 жыл бұрын

@@ahmedabdullahi8180 at the time it was part of the Russian empire, and linguistically in that era, if you spoke and wrote in Russian, you counted as Russian first and foremost.

@sergpodolnii3962

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, this book is called "Вечера на хуторе близь Диканьки". Once I visited his village in Poltava region, a place called Velyki Sorochyntsi with a designated museum during his life there, before he moved to St.Peterburg.

@KJJackson71

2 жыл бұрын

@@sergpodolnii3962 Thanks for that.

I'm hooked.

Thank for the very thought provoking video.

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God...... Its finalllllly herrrrreeee!!!!! Love your videos!! Soothing to my soul.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

Sorry for the delay. I look a bit crap but I am back in action!!! I do hope you enjoy.

@gabriellamclellan1102

2 жыл бұрын

Totally agree..!

This is fascinating, wow. Thank you for this carefully crafted explanation. Such a struggle for Russia, forging its own identity. Sort of like it's an adopted elder child in the EU, trying to find itself both in its "family" unit and independent of that family. Integrating the familial values that little Russia was initially raised with, with the EU family's thoroughly different (and very Western) values, then trying to mix all of that with its own idea of what they should be. Going with the analogy, Lenin was a biological predecessor despised by this adopted child version of Russia - whose legacy left the Russia we know now with trauma stemming from being born into a failed, dysfunctional, deeply sick family. That kind of upbringing feeds a visceral all-or-nothing sense of vitriolic bitterness. "I'm not making your mistakes, you fucked us all up and now I'm left to fix the mess you made of me." But that trauma begets more trauma. Often identical to their own, sometimes more brutal than what they experienced, sometimes less, but always painful in its own way. Where can healing be allowed to occur when all you know is wounding and hiding (and hiding from) your centuries-old necrotic wounds? Of course, this goes back much, much further than Lenin's regime. Generational trauma dies hard. I hope Russia can find the stubborn determination to heal in spite of its former (and current) selves. Debridement and amputation aren't pleasant procedures to undergo by any means, but to spare what viable flesh is left is worthwhile. There's hope in the aftermath of this madness.

@ceceliablair9177

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, I also think historical trauma has a great deal with the Insanity, relatively speaking, going on. Moving from this psychological framework to that of the spiritual one known by shamanic cultures, the trouble could be understood as collective “soul loss”. Golgol’s Dead Souls-as a title, an ironic theme and a true theme- fits right in. The indigenous, traditional Mongolian cultures of the lands east of current Russia, but part of the Soviet as well as earlier empires-were and are informed by this concept of soul loss. It typically occurs after trauma. A significant, necessary part of the soul detaches and becomes unavailable to the rest of the person. It takes the skills and knowledge of the shaman to bring it back. Until then, that part of the soul is stuck in the the underworld, land of the dead, or some such “place”-but in effect, a dead soul. As this is a collective problem, the soul is a plural one-Dead Souls, the metaphor Golgol uses in his many-layered novel reflecting the Russian psyche. Hoping to share this thought with @Vlad Vexler as well as with you.

@mikewannenburg5907

2 жыл бұрын

There seems to be a rogue remnant that loves and thrives on being spiteful ly out of step with decent humanity. Criminal brutish manipulaters of systems. Manipulating popular support to gain control and then to go rogue. Dragging a following of brutes along with them into the abyss filled with depravity and unspeakable inhumane actions, becoming a cancerous tumor on the body of humanity

@goobfilmcast4239

Жыл бұрын

Russia had its "chances" in 1918 and again in 1991 to establish a new way forward from the horrendous suffering created by their own rulers....some sniffed out a little money or petty power but most Russian are still SERFS...and did NOTHING...that is who Russian really are.

@Bojan28

Жыл бұрын

Lenin brought evil (communism) to Russia. Germany was almost on its knees during the First World War. In order to be able to send an army from the east to the west without consequences, the Germans send Lenin through diplomatic channels with a large amount of money, for soldiers, weapons, etc. Lenin spreads communism, the civil war begins and with that they solve the issue of Russia. While in other parts of Europe, communists were imprisoned, killed, expelled, etc. The ever-caring Germany sponsored the Russian Communists. The greatest misfortune that happened to Russia was communism, the destruction of religion, putting everything under one communist roof, labor camps, gulags in Siberia. How much the Russian people suffered because of Karl Marx's idea, which would not have passed even in Russia if it had not been sneakily introduced from the West (German, some historians mention Switzerland as well as England)

@user-mg3fj7iw8y

Жыл бұрын

@@ceceliablair9177 ребят, это у вас травма..

Brilliant stuff.

Well done, Vlad, keep it up.

The mysterious and wonderful KZread algorithms brought me to your channel. And I’m so grateful. A really extraordinary find! From an American perspective, and specifically a New York one, I’d like to add (perhaps slightly out of the context of this video) that one of the reasons the west was so slow in seeing the rise of Putin and discerning the breadcrumbs leading to the trajectory to where we find ourselves today - and one I have not heard many analysts mention - is on account of September 11, 2001. I was there, I remember the horror. And I remember for the next X years the fear and concerns of Islamic extremism seemingly dominating all international thought and policy (leading, and being the excuse, to such terrible decisions like GWB’s Iraq war of 2004, for one). But with regards to Putin then, I still clearly remember him being referred to as an “ally” in the context of this newly expanded West coalition and this being the way his war against “violently Islamic” Chechnya was portrayed. The same US MSM outlets recasting today the horror of his history of invasions had a very different point of view some 19 years ago. Just a thought…:)

@emmajk7433

2 жыл бұрын

Very valid point x

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

Wonderful the winds of the algorithm allowed you to drop by. I think the people who are now appalled by Putin break into several groups. Those who were very wary from the start. Those who got wary in his second term. And those who got wary when he came back in 2012. I was in the first group, but I can't boast, because it is true that he has undergone a vast transformation. I talk about his civilizational turn circa 2012 in other videos.

@WarblesOnALot

2 жыл бұрын

@@VladVexler G'day, Those same Algorithms brought me here, too. If you might like to consider a Kangaroo Feeder's Viewpoint...(?). Last Wednesday I uploaded, "Pop-Psychobabble Analysing (Lilli)Putin's Waaauugh(!)..." and yesterday I posted "Global Warming Sit.Rep. ; Ukraine War-Effect Analysed..." My Channel runs on a prepaid Mobile Phone, so I can't post Links...; you'll have to backtrack to my Videos to find them. Think of it as a Contra Deal, you've shared your view ; hopefully you'll allow me to share mine. Such is life, Have a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

@timgerk3262

2 жыл бұрын

@@VladVexler it seems then he gave up all pretense about then of an open or intellectual society: the "don't say gay" laws, the foreign agent registration laws, etc. It would be great to hear you further analyze the personal & public influences on the Russian executive power around that time.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

@@timgerk3262 we will talk more about all of this!

Thank you Vlad, from yet another recent discoverer of your work, for this insightful tour into Russia's history and culture. Via an exquisite and pivotal quote from Gogol, no less... I wonder what you think of the notion of Russia's fundamental differences from Western Europe when looked at from an even deeper historical perspective. By this I mean the rise to dominance of Muscovy, having taken on and started to emulate the strategies of absolutist authoritarian leadership from the Mongols who previously dominated them. In stark contrast to Novgorod, with its fledgling institutions and self-correcting mechanisms much more similar to those developing in Western Europe at the time - no doubt influenced by its membership of the Hanseatic League. I think it's a legitimate question to wonder if Russia would have become something very different to what it is today had Novgorod not been decimated, leaving no alternative to Moscow's concept of statehood on the table. Or indeed if Novgorod itself had risen to primacy over Moscow, setting up the beginnings of a Russian state from a very different set of values and ideology entirely. There's a great (if somewhat light on details) KZread video about this very idea, at least as a basic overview to this picture. I'd love to hear your take on this much longer historical perspective. In fact, I think everyone would benefit a great deal from hearing your views on this! kzread.info/dash/bejne/mGyO06SFk6zcp5M.html

@yuppers1

2 жыл бұрын

I was about to ask the same question. Could you please share your take? Is it possible that Gogol correctly embodied the Russian psyche as aimless- or at least undefined as to their vision- yet furious and powerful (and ruthlessly conquering), like the Mongols?

@LancesArmorStriking

2 жыл бұрын

My guess is that Moscow would have won anyway. The Mongols were impartial, if brutal, rulers, choosing whomever allied with the Khan. This happened to be Moscow- ironically, Novgorod submitted to the Mongols instead of fighting, and wasn't entirely destroyed. So we don't even need to imagine; Moscow was propped up to balance against a rising Lithuania-- but to simply switch Novgorod in its place is an assumption that could not happen. I think that if Novgorod weren't destroyed, or become stronger than Moscow, it would simply have been what Moscow is today. For any of the Russian cities to gain power, they would have had to accept Mongol rule, cooperate with them against Lithuania, and adopt some of their ideas. The common factor here is the Mongols. If Rus had never been broken apart, I think it would be a more European country. But history wanted differently...

Hey uh... what's the music that plays when you're narrating the Gogol passage?

I love your lessons, Vlad! I don't know why. They won't do me any good. But it's still extremely pleasant to listen to such well organized and well presented material. I don't need to know this, but I enjoy learning it. I suppose I need guidance. Длинный Джон

Thanks Vlad. As someone with only a high-school understanding of philosophy, your videos are insightful and interesting. Especially since you mostly focus on contemporary topics. I do have one rather burning question: Do you think philosophers often need to express themselves in obusfacted / cryptic language? I feel like that's just a disguise for logical gaps, or at least that's how most people communicate when given the need to fill such.

This is a wonderfully perceptive piece of intellectual analysis. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to listen to your views on this subject. You have managed to pull together aspects of this situation that I had been dimly aware of and show how they are connected and may well have formed the backdrop to the mess that Putin has now got his country and potentially much of the world into.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

@ghlscitel6714

2 жыл бұрын

Same for me. Kudos, Vlad.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

@@ghlscitel6714 thank you!

@ghlscitel6714

2 жыл бұрын

@@VladVexler It is an honour.

Amazing insight Vlad. I just bought the book and look forward to reading it

I've been clicking through these videos for what feels like ages now, and I swear I'm going in circles! It's like one video leads to the next, and then the next, and before you know it, I'm lost in a vortex of endless content. Will there ever be a grand finale? A theory we can either confirm or debunk down the line? Or am I doomed to forever be stuck here, endlessly clicking one link after another?

I just discovered your channel, I appreciate it really very much. The perspectives you give on Russia and on Putin are informative and very well argued, and they help me move along my understanding of the current war. Despite living in it, I struggle with the concept of "The West" - in another talk I heard it being defined as "democracy, human rights, rule of law, consideration for institutions" (I would probably add capitalism to that list). But can it be that simple, considering the visceral antipathy the discourse of "the West" can and does often evoke?

You are a true classic. I'm following you since almost the very beginning and you hasn't ceased to amaze me.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

When did you jump on board?

@corneliumorgovan3505

2 жыл бұрын

@@VladVexler very long time ago. There were around 100 subscribers I guess.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

@@corneliumorgovan3505 wow! Sorry the early videos would have been bad!!

@corneliumorgovan3505

2 жыл бұрын

@@VladVexler No way. Not at all.

Thank you, Vlad. Once again, you encapsulate so many important reflections on the matter! As a Pole, I feel that Fukuyama's 'end of history' was an elaborate way of sweeping East European achievements under the rug. It's not that we dismantled communism through decades of continued, evolving and maturing resistance. It's not that our totalitarian leaders stepped up to the challenge and allowed - sometimes even fostered - the change. No, it was all inevitable. We didn't really accomplish anything, we merely embraced the correct values. It was all thanks to the West. Also as a Pole, I just need to comment on the 'shock therapy policy'. We - among with Czech Republic and Baltic States - are the poster boys for its success. We managed to transform our countries into functional capitalist societies. Back in 2000s, there was an attitude that Poland vindicated the 'shock therapy policy', and if other countries didn't make it? Well... It's somehow _their_ fault. Never mind that the 'shock therapy transformation' had grotesque socio-economic consequences that we feel to this day. Never mind that Poles, Czechs and Balts were under communist oppression for only half as long as former USSR states (including Russia). Never mind that Poles and Czechs had strong free market traditions, which communism never managed to root out. It's not like our history, circumstances and conditions affected the outcome. To Fukuyama's followers, were just a western vanity project. Once we succeeded, we somehow became a tool to shame everyone who didn't.

@skarbuskreska

8 ай бұрын

That's what I hate the most about the pro Putin talkers "but it's all the American imperialism/fault/propaganda" basically denying every other nation their own history, values, sentiments even will of power grab etc. Making everone a puppet, also acting like American politics in itself never changed one bit and always had a clear goal that everyone followed along with no changes in policy. You have Taiwan openly asking the US for protection, yet my ex making it a conspiracy acting like the US forces poor Taiwan, negating all of the history even how Taiwan and mainland China came to be in the first place. I hate those "but the US"-conversations. They are simplistic, black and white, boring even, as there is no interest shown to dive into history, maybe learn from others arguments, that you can check if you doubt. It's changing discussion partners, but it's always the same old propaganda talking points. After some time it's like talking to a dry wall, on which some of the phrases are written. Even if you trap them argumentatively, like let's say ok, maybe it's American proxy war, but why does Putin bomb civilians most of the time, or don't take their wounded Russian soldiers with them? They will hold their breath for a short break (you can literally hear their brain gears working) then bring some unrelated "argument" like the Americans bombed civilians in Afghanistan too, yeah sure I didn't ask about the US though, how does them bombing Afghan civilians make it somehow ok for the apparent "good guy" Putin to bomb cilvilians? And why don't we take what Taiwanese, Poles etc say into consideration? It all usually ends them shouting something like "you watch too much propaganda" and leaving the conversation, because they have no real arguments, just the same old stupid propaganda talking points they never really questioned.

Just started watching your vids. I used to live down the street from you on Tverskaya. I can't remember what year you left, but you would have been a little kid still. Your vids always have such a cliff hanger element. AAHHH.

This is the type of material I'd only expect to hear at an (always waitlisted) graduate seminar at a top university in the US. Thank you for the video.

@VladVexler

Жыл бұрын

My pleasure. There is also a second channel called vlad Vexler Chat, with Q&As and longer commentary. If you ever want a thought commented on or a question answered, just drop it in a new comment!

@crabluva

Жыл бұрын

@@VladVexler I have enjoyed those videos a lot as well, although I personally prefer this type of format. My freshman year at NYU I took an incredible course called "Russia: Between East and West" with a wonderful professor (Yanni Kotsonis), and I think this video was about as revealing as several weeks worth of lectures. I don't know how you feel about this, but there is a long history of exiled philosophers and social scientists helping Western militaries/governments in conflicts in order to understand their opponent. The most well-known example would be the contributions of the Frankfurt School to the OSS and their assistance in rebuilding Germany after the war. Recently, Peter Zeihan has given several lectures hosted by the US government. I think civilian and military intelligence/leadership would find your insight into the Russian psyche extremely fascinating. I think it is also vital for people to understand that Russia's motivations are much deeper than what most public intellectuals state, and how broken Russian society is. I didn't realize this before February 24th, but many of my Russian friends really do live in another dimension from the rest of us. The stuff they would tell me about the West, even people who in my mind were European was very shocking. For example, one friend of many years who's a brilliant programmer told me he thought the reason Americans say "Let's go Brandon!" instead of a more profane statement about the President was to avoid going to jail and thought I was lying when I said that doesn't happen here...

Какой прекрасный у вас язык и манера речи! Слушаю и чувствую себя умным человеком.

This was brilliant! Cheers

This is such a unique and well-articulatred presentation of the current situation from a Russian historical perspective that Putin obviously holds. You are particularly insightful as to why Putin does not like Lenin, something that has not made sense to me from my Western thinking. I am so thankful for the opportunity to see this even if the implications are somewhat disturbing. Thank you so much!

@martinpiekarski1512

2 жыл бұрын

Well, actually he hates Lenin for one particular thing especally. Namely, as Lenin started the Soviet Union, he gave qute a lot of autonomy to all of the territories previously subjugated by the Russian Empire. Under Lenin's USSR model, these countries which then became distinct soviet republics should have had their self-governance as long as the 'whole body' of USSR was kept coherent. This is in straght contradicton to putler's idealized Russia's model in which it subjugates as much as it virtually can without giving any freedom to any of its subjects. In other words, he wants something like Roman Empire, thinking that it is Russia's destiny to designate the course of the world while at the same time he sees himself as some sort of chosen messiah or similar crap. As you can see, there is indeed a lot of paralells to nazism in his ideology.

@GuinessOriginal

2 жыл бұрын

@@martinpiekarski1512 didn’t Lenin draw up the borders of the modern Ukraine, a national and borders which had never before existed? And encouraged Ukrainian nationalism and made schools teach in Ukrainian for the first time?

@warreneckels4945

2 жыл бұрын

@@GuinessOriginal Lenin deserves little credit for Ukrainization. From 1917-1922, the Bloodlands west of the Dnipro lived up to their name with WWI and a series of civil and international wars. There were two short-lived Ukrainian states, more likely because the Soviet Union had other things on their mind, like a civil war. The move toward Ukrainization began late in Lenin's term, and continued through the years that Stalin consolidated his power in the Kremlin. Stalin reversed it starting in 1929. By the 1950s there was sort of an official Ukrainian culture: Shevchenko statues started appearing, Soviet cinema produced two films that presented him as anti-Tsar (which he was) but not quite as a Ukrainian nationalist (which he also was). Official Ukrainian culture was rural, "salt of the earth" and Russophilic. To be sure, Ukrainians contributed so greatly to Soviet achievements that they should be referred to as "Soviet", not "Russian".

@martinpiekarski1512

2 жыл бұрын

@@GuinessOriginal Not exactly. Borders of Ukraine as an independent country were first drawn around 19 c., when t was still under Russan Empire but did not exist as an independent state. It gained some temporary independence around WWI after large chunk of its territory was taken over by Germans who served Russians some real harsh beating. Because Russan Empire collapsed and the successor soviet government was still in disarray facing multitude of problems at once, it temporarily gave up on Ukraine which had almost exact shape it has now, except for the fact it was divided into two parts: the alrger eastern region and smaller western area around Lviv which was largely populated by Poles who refused to give it up to Ukrainians and so fighting for that territory broke out. But the soviets under Lenin did not want to give up on Ukraine and during the 1920 campaign they were able to absorb the region to the USSR. Then they tried to do the same thing with Poland but failed. Still, for its doom Ukraine remained in soviet hands but was kind of autonomous republic known as Ukrainian SSR. For its doom especially because Holodomor happened not too long later. Ukrainian nationalism is one of the by-products of those times. Largely propelled by Holodomor which was a huge catastrophe. But it's not like it appeared right after Holodomor and did not exist before, because it has existed in ukrainian mentality for at the very least 200 years. Interestingly, those extremist nationalist factions, such as the Organization of Independent Ukraine were formed n the western, previously polish regions.

@martinpiekarski1512

2 жыл бұрын

@@GuinessOriginal Also, keep in mind that Lenin was russian and not ukrainian, so naturally, he cared primarily for the russian interests. Later soviet leaders, such as Khrushchev and Brezhnev were ethnically ukrainian so they actually did more for Ukrainians. Still, Lenin had some contribution to ukrainian independence at the very least.

I've listened to a few hours of your videos, and Jesus Dude, why you are not over 1M subscribers is beyond me. You give tons more rich analysis than any other youtuber on the subject.

Cool vid - learned some stuff

AMAZING TRANSLATION OF GOGOL! WHO DID IT?

Dude, this was a surprise and beautiful experience

Hi Vlad, great video! I really like you're quote "that if you feel that youve answered the question its an indication that you havent taken it seriously enough". It really applies to being a physicist while working with engineers (ahaha, a joke, they are super smart, just have a dif approach) But i wanted to comment on the idea that the Russian idea of historical density is not clear, while the western is very clear. Given the Russian resistance to western influence, it seems that the Russian historical destiny is now being defined in contrast to the western views. Not sure if this is true, but its kinda interesting that Russia is blaiming Ukraine for doing exactly this but in the opposite direction, that is by definiting themselves as everything that is NOT russian (at least that how i see it)

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

Sometimes a culture’s picture of itself is fairly accurate, sometimes it’s very false. Russia is an extreme case of the latter.

@dickystrike6966

2 жыл бұрын

The thing you're writing about alredy was in the other Gogol's book named 'Taras Bulba'. Whith key line of russian imperial ukranian Taras killing his pro-western son saying that he has breed him and thus has to kill him.

Hi Vlad Vexler, Your analogy and way of speaking and telling about this subject truly touched me. It's an inspiration to start reading the literature you mentioned Thank you so so so much. Kind regards from the Netherlands.

@VladVexler

Жыл бұрын

Hug back at ya from London!

This is your most important video imo, and definitely my favourite. It's such a scary and interesting thought, that at the core of the russian identity there is a question mark.

@msmaryna961

7 ай бұрын

Indeed. My greatest takeaway from 17 months of war and watching Russian TV, is that the nation has a MAJOR identity crisis. They don't know who they are without an "empire", without an enemy, without the intellectual and cultural heritage in Kyiv - which can't be replicated. Ironically, Ukraine's identity and cultural ethos is much crisper.

war is ignorance, peace is compromise and compassion, this can only occur with understanding of the other, thank you for educating me. The more we understand the less we fear

Thank you very much for this video. How fascinating, that a work of literature can shed light on what is happening today in Russia, Ukraine, and Europe! It made me think about the assumptions that we who are educated in the Western democracies take for granted. The scariest part of this video was Putin's statement "What good is the world for us, if it is a world without Russia?" It made me feel that the entire world is being taken to the edge of a dangerous existential precipice.

Thank you so much for this and all of your content Vlad. Your lerspectives are such an important contribution to our ongoing understanding of Russia and the Russian psyche. I truly believe a wider audience would benefit from your insights, and I'm wondering if you've had the opportunity (or could get the opportunity) to talk to one of the big podcasters? Sam Harris comes to mind amongst others.

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

I haven’t yet! I’ve sadly had very little time to develop my own work or this channel recently, as my health has not been great. But I am very open to guest appearances and of course would speak with Sam. Really appreciate the support! Since the interview with John Campbell, I’ve recently been on Mallen Baker’s channel for a conversation about Russia.

@ads998

2 жыл бұрын

@@VladVexler thanks Vlad, I'll check out that channel. I hope your health improves soon :)

Your English translation of Gogol's poem, can you provide it to us as a text? THANKS. As I am a French Canadian (Québec), I am in need to read it thus I can appreciate the nuances.

Vlad, your videos are all aces. Thanks.

@VladVexler

9 ай бұрын

Thank YOU!

Wow! I enjoyed your analysis of the Russian psyche. You explained the tendency for Russia to see itself as the "other" - to reject the imposition of Western thought and methods of modernization. Question: Can you elaborate on what the Russian vision for itself would be, beyond rejecting and distancing from the West? Does it have one? The scene from Gogol seems to describe an unstoppable force hurtling forward, uncontrollably, without a clearly defined goal. Please elaborate on this topic in a future video. Thanks!

@domen1154

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, where is this going?

@VladVexler

2 жыл бұрын

What a wonderful question. I think the shortest answer would be to go back to the 1910s, and draw a great deal from that period. Russia was culturally looking to the West. Democratic reforms felt possible. Politics was useless but shockingly low on corruption. To get more specific, I think there are political reforms Russia would have to make to stand any chance of letting go of its Imperial complex.

@radar536

2 жыл бұрын

Well, read about the american exepcionalism, and interventions and land steal since it could started to do. Begining with the indiginous people holocaust, then against Mexico. And the british, the french...

@dinhnguyen2110

2 жыл бұрын

@@VladVexler That is an interesting way to put it. In the West, our historical education puts the late Tsarists period as particularly authoritarian. Thus, it was not any more ideal than Soviet Communism or post-Soviet Kleptocracy. What is modern Russia's attitude on that part of their history? If I wanted to be really cynical, I could make a case that it was the culmination of the Western-style feudal-monarchical progression that was common in pre-industrial Europe when it was first learnt. Did Russia get screwed by a "Western experiment" again? Seems to me that all this ignores the fact that ideas are difficult to stop. Anywhere. Russia isn't unique in buying the first idea that claims to solve all ills.

@huskytail

2 жыл бұрын

@@VladVexler what do you think of the "Ruskiy mir" as a Russified version of the Pax Romana and the way some Russians see the country as the Third Rome and unifier of the Slavic and Orthodox world? I am yet to see anyone addressing this part of Russian history and its direct or indirect impact on the modern Russian culture and politics. I have only recently discovered your channel, so please excuse me if you already discussed it.

Thank you so much for this video. This touches my heart. I was only 9 when the communism fell, and yet I will never forget the spirit of hope and enthusiasm of this change. And, later on, even though the nineties in Poland where pretty rough time, this spirit of hope and progress and freedom prevailed. Yes, when I was growing up me and many of my friends were fascinated by the idea of the end of history. I wanted this to be true, desperately, yet deep in my heart, I doubted. Furthermore, I was gripped by the different vision brought by Barber in his Jihad vs McWorld. globalization sooner or later faces with the resistance. Barber called this resistance Jihad, but, in fact, this resistance will be different in every country. In Poland it's Polish (largely catholic) nationalism, In Russia, it can be the old fashioned imperialism. I also remember well that quote from the Dead Souls. This very quote have always given me a dread. I have always feared of Russia. Admired it's culture to be sure, but dreaded of the country. And this awful sense of history. You can ignore the history, but, unfortunately, history doesn't ignore you.

@Slavdya

Жыл бұрын

At the university in 2000-2001, we doubted the correctness of Fukuyama's ideas, but saw the "continuation" of history in the conflict between Christians and Muslims. There were a lot of confirmations - from Yugoslavia to 9/11.

@KissatenYoba

Жыл бұрын

>spirit of hope and enthusiasm Tell this to tens of millions of people who died due to capitalist restoration during the 90s. Capitalism managed to make all the myths about communism real, including insane death numbers

@arddv1

Жыл бұрын

@@KissatenYoba tens of millions died is an exaggeration. The biggest demographic hit was plunging birthrate, so we might say russia lost 10 millions of population and it would be true, bit wasnt because people were dying but werent born instead.

@KissatenYoba

Жыл бұрын

@@arddv1 Except it never stops the anticommunists from projecting czarist Russia's population into the future and talking about how communism killed all those missing people. Except we talk about deathrates skyrocketing as well

Vlad, which version of Hohol's "Dead Souls"? The 1st version, or the flip-flap version? That's my question.

Dear Vlad, I thoroughly enjoy your perspective on Russia in general, and on Putin’s aggressive ambitions and actions in particular. This video is my personal favorite, and I must have seen it four times by now, a full year later. Both passionately poetic and analytically astute, it is an absolute gem. Every time I watch it, however, I am curious as to why you don’t comment on Gogol’s Ukrainian ancestry. If nothing else, it is a curious coincidence. Thanks again for your thoughts and your perspective. I wish you all the best. Best regards, Per

@msmaryna961

7 ай бұрын

He mentioned it in the written video description. Maybe added later? I certainly noticed that he avoided this fact. Still a great video. Even intelligent Russians need to grapple with the level of propaganda they have absorbed.

Great channel, the role of poetry in national identity is not just a Russian thing but in other countries and if you do not look at the history and culture of a country and a people you will never understand its motives.

@arthurseery

Жыл бұрын

Again... MOST people never read that shit. Have MOST Americans read Nathaniel Hawthorne?

@takoykakest

Жыл бұрын

@@arthurseery The thing is literature is not just forming national identity but rather reflects it in an unconcious way. So if you want to really understand some national idea or mentality or direction of its movement you need to familiarize yourself with at least of some deep culture layer. But of course if your goal is to leave your life, have your salary and some day face the end, of course it isn't necessary at all.

Vlad I am grateful for the amazing educational journey you are taking me on. Thank-you.

@VladVexler

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I am still learning !

@pastblaster3285

Жыл бұрын

Bravo Mr. Vexler .....That is one fine educational video you put together there .....

What an amazing translation! Just beautiful.

Vlad, thank you and congratulations to a highly enlightening precious video. That's a great inspiration, honestly.

@VladVexler

8 ай бұрын

My pleasure and thank you - for being here.