We left off talking about the Soviet Generation last time. By the by, some commenters over on Unz got mad and accused me of promoting pro-Western talking points and being anti-Russian for being a bit harsh, admittedly, about the old-timers. Well, putting aside that some people seem incapable of seeing the world with any nuance and fall back on good vs. evil, black and white narratives, its also an amusing reaction when you consider that the Soviet Generation doesn’t really even see itself as Russian or Ukrainian or Belorussian for that matter. They see themselves as Soviets first and foremost and their allegiance and true love is for a dead political ideology and project, not for the country that they ended up in when the whole thing collapsed. There is even an entire movement of pro-Soviets that refuses to acknowledge that they are Russian and wave their Soviet passports around, saying that the USSR was never formally dissolved, therefore, they remain Soviets and not Russians. And just because these people are anti-Western because the West is supposedly an imperialist, capitalist, bourgeois project, doesn’t mean that they are Russian patriots. But whatever. Consider me what you will if you must, but I think my positions and worldview will become clearer as the blogging continues.
May 18, 2022·edited May 18, 2022Liked by Rurik Skywalker
Good article and enlightening to a Westerner born in the early 50`s who grew up in the Cold War when we were told that the USSR was our enemy and communism was to be feared . Reds were under the bed in those days and a good story it was as we cowered in fear of nuclear armageddon. I think when the Soviet Union ended it was also very bad for the West and things have rapidly gone downhill ever since .
It is said the the Soviet Union lied to it`s people about how great communism was but they told the truth when it came to how bad the " capitalism " of the West was.
We in the English speaking world are now emershed in " Wokism " of the most terryfying kind and whereas Russia has emerged from their "1984 " Orwellian existence we are now deeply entrenched in it .
Your blog is great! I learn something new with every blog post you write and I even get to laugh while learning. Great article! I am looking forward to the further posts about the Russian equivalents of the millenials and Gen Z.
Thank you for publishing this series. I discovered it at UNZ.
I am of Romanian origin and your description of Russian Boomer generation matches well with the Romanian Boomer Generation that stayed in Romania. The economic collapse, the disfunction of the bureaucracy, the widespread corruption of politicians kept alive the dream of better world through communism, rebranded and socialism. The recent digitisation of the many public services brought another level distress and increased antagonism to the Western way. But they are old and their children hold opposite views hence the ruling class merely waits for death to remove them as an obstacle to further Westernisation.
The Romanian Generation X is largely like the Russian Generation X with some nuances. Freedom of movement within the EU prompted many of them to move abroad, gravely depriving the country of living forces. The ones that stayed directly absorb Hollywood, Latin American, Turkish, and now Indian TV shows exposing them to entirely non-European mindsets, which slowly but surely degrades the local culture. When I visit my old province, I recognise and appreciate the Austro-Hungarian culture that I grew up in among the old people. This is still known but not practiced among the Generation X in favour of the American-plus-world subculture. Generation Y and Z are totally ignorant of it. The break is striking. It affects the language, the form of houses, the furniture, the clothes, the cuisine, the pastime, everything. The country of the generations Y and Z is foreign to me and to the Boomers. The saddest part is that it is entirely willing and embraced with enthusiasm.
Such breaks are less pronounced in Western countries where evolution is slower and the dynamic or inertia of local cultures are stronger.
As an underachieving Boomer, now retired, I just loved this enlightening piece of political-cultural-generational history. Already had a bit of the gopnik scene explained in YT videos by Bald and Bankrupt, a Brit Gen X'er who travels extensively in the FSU. Want to compliment you on the adroit use of two rarified English words: dint and swarth. The former I haven't heard or seen in decades, but you used it correctly. The latter seems to be your creative parse on swarthy. Slipped in seamlessly. Keep that prose rocking and Boomers be rolling w/ you.
The unifying element between Russian and Western Gen X seems to be disillusionment with the previous system. The difference being that in Russia, the system formally collapsed - no one could deny it (aside I guess from boomers stuck in the denial part of the five stages). In the west, the system was formally still operative - it just wasn't functional anymore. Hence the drop-out slacker ethos of western Gen X.
The other similarity is that both adopted a nihilistic hedonism as the closest thing to an ethos. In Russia they got drunk a lot. In the West they had a bit more money, so they went backpacking for months at a time and lost themselves in rave culture. In both cases it was a reaction to a general sense of, everything's fucked, there's no hope, fuck it might as well enjoy ourselves.
Engaging and very poignant. The common thread between "the east and west", Russia and America, "communism and capitalism" is that they're the sides of the same coin - materialism. People just focused on stuff and material possessions. I remember my parents talking about trying to get shit, or showing new imported shit off, or my own memories trying some new snickers bar...the CHEWING GUM? Were you of old enough to be aware of the chewing gum in the late 80s? So...yeah, very depressing. And to think of it an absolute void of anything spiritual. My parents are both atheists.... don't think its weird.
So...i don't have such flare for prose what I wanted to express and I am repeating myself - the white world has been Jewified. In the West by surplus and prosperity and in the East by constant deficit and poverty.
I would like you to write or at leat point me in the direction of good sources about the social engineering in the USSR. the monobloxks, small apartments and living spaces conducing to the usual 2kids family. Was it on purpose? And if so - a planned genocide?
I see the current Ukraine and the past 30 years as a controlled ethnic genocide via emigration and very low birthrates (abortion, surrogacy suicide). What are your thoughts?
Good article and enlightening to a Westerner born in the early 50`s who grew up in the Cold War when we were told that the USSR was our enemy and communism was to be feared . Reds were under the bed in those days and a good story it was as we cowered in fear of nuclear armageddon. I think when the Soviet Union ended it was also very bad for the West and things have rapidly gone downhill ever since .
It is said the the Soviet Union lied to it`s people about how great communism was but they told the truth when it came to how bad the " capitalism " of the West was.
We in the English speaking world are now emershed in " Wokism " of the most terryfying kind and whereas Russia has emerged from their "1984 " Orwellian existence we are now deeply entrenched in it .
Your blog is great! I learn something new with every blog post you write and I even get to laugh while learning. Great article! I am looking forward to the further posts about the Russian equivalents of the millenials and Gen Z.
Thank you for writing.
Hello Rolo,
Thank you for publishing this series. I discovered it at UNZ.
I am of Romanian origin and your description of Russian Boomer generation matches well with the Romanian Boomer Generation that stayed in Romania. The economic collapse, the disfunction of the bureaucracy, the widespread corruption of politicians kept alive the dream of better world through communism, rebranded and socialism. The recent digitisation of the many public services brought another level distress and increased antagonism to the Western way. But they are old and their children hold opposite views hence the ruling class merely waits for death to remove them as an obstacle to further Westernisation.
The Romanian Generation X is largely like the Russian Generation X with some nuances. Freedom of movement within the EU prompted many of them to move abroad, gravely depriving the country of living forces. The ones that stayed directly absorb Hollywood, Latin American, Turkish, and now Indian TV shows exposing them to entirely non-European mindsets, which slowly but surely degrades the local culture. When I visit my old province, I recognise and appreciate the Austro-Hungarian culture that I grew up in among the old people. This is still known but not practiced among the Generation X in favour of the American-plus-world subculture. Generation Y and Z are totally ignorant of it. The break is striking. It affects the language, the form of houses, the furniture, the clothes, the cuisine, the pastime, everything. The country of the generations Y and Z is foreign to me and to the Boomers. The saddest part is that it is entirely willing and embraced with enthusiasm.
Such breaks are less pronounced in Western countries where evolution is slower and the dynamic or inertia of local cultures are stronger.
As an underachieving Boomer, now retired, I just loved this enlightening piece of political-cultural-generational history. Already had a bit of the gopnik scene explained in YT videos by Bald and Bankrupt, a Brit Gen X'er who travels extensively in the FSU. Want to compliment you on the adroit use of two rarified English words: dint and swarth. The former I haven't heard or seen in decades, but you used it correctly. The latter seems to be your creative parse on swarthy. Slipped in seamlessly. Keep that prose rocking and Boomers be rolling w/ you.
The unifying element between Russian and Western Gen X seems to be disillusionment with the previous system. The difference being that in Russia, the system formally collapsed - no one could deny it (aside I guess from boomers stuck in the denial part of the five stages). In the west, the system was formally still operative - it just wasn't functional anymore. Hence the drop-out slacker ethos of western Gen X.
The other similarity is that both adopted a nihilistic hedonism as the closest thing to an ethos. In Russia they got drunk a lot. In the West they had a bit more money, so they went backpacking for months at a time and lost themselves in rave culture. In both cases it was a reaction to a general sense of, everything's fucked, there's no hope, fuck it might as well enjoy ourselves.
LOL ... Depressing and funny at the same time. Basically, we're all fucked.
Engaging and very poignant. The common thread between "the east and west", Russia and America, "communism and capitalism" is that they're the sides of the same coin - materialism. People just focused on stuff and material possessions. I remember my parents talking about trying to get shit, or showing new imported shit off, or my own memories trying some new snickers bar...the CHEWING GUM? Were you of old enough to be aware of the chewing gum in the late 80s? So...yeah, very depressing. And to think of it an absolute void of anything spiritual. My parents are both atheists.... don't think its weird.
So...i don't have such flare for prose what I wanted to express and I am repeating myself - the white world has been Jewified. In the West by surplus and prosperity and in the East by constant deficit and poverty.
I would like you to write or at leat point me in the direction of good sources about the social engineering in the USSR. the monobloxks, small apartments and living spaces conducing to the usual 2kids family. Was it on purpose? And if so - a planned genocide?
I see the current Ukraine and the past 30 years as a controlled ethnic genocide via emigration and very low birthrates (abortion, surrogacy suicide). What are your thoughts?