Debunking Я Русский Оккупант (I am a Russian Occupant) and the 'Putin's missing' scare

With over 5.5 million views, the russian video titled "Я Русский Оккупант" (Ya Russki Okkupant) has caused quite a stir. Before you continue reading, I recommend that you take a couple of minutes and see this monstrosity for yourself.

The vast majority of non-Russian viewers have (quite rightly) passed this video off as propaganda. Unfortunately, they do so for the wrong reasons. Allow me to explain that there is nothing in this video that is not true. Except, of course, the 'occupant by birthright' segment. Of course, this video could not have risen from the hands of any Kremlin associate. The channel was created by some video editing hot-shot based out of vk (Eastern European social media) who just so happened to think of some interesting (and controversial) ideas for videos. In case you are unfamiliar with youtube, here is a link to this channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCED5DUaqfEGLd6p8PnKoEWw. I will now go through the separate instances of occupations to illustrate that the propaganda aspect of this video is not through what is said, but it seeps through what is not said. 

To begin with, Siberia was, as the video states, occupied in 1581. This was the result of a power struggle in the region between Russia and the Siberian Khanate (Sibir). There was hardly any fighting involved in this power struggle, however. Once Russian explorers and landowners began building forts throughout Siberia, the Siberian Khanate basically dissolved itself. Siberia, today, remains a religiously diverse area. By this, I mean to say that the native Siberians were allowed to keep their religion. In addition, Siberia is the location of the JAO (Jewish Autonomous Oblast). This being said, the Russian occupation of Siberia had a significant net benefit for the indigenous population. Fur trading was booming and the rights of the natives were, for the most part, respected. So the Russian occupation occurred pretty much as the video said. The Siberian area was given new life, oppression wasn't a big issue, and everybody benefited.

In contrast with the Siberian occupation, the occupation of the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) came with far darker tones. The video refers to the Soviet occupation as opposed to the Russian Empire's conquest of those areas from Sweden (who conquered them from Denmark and the Livonian Order) in 1721. To be frank, the video would have gained some credibility in referencing the Russian Empire's occupation over the Soviet occupation, as the Soviet occupation involved mass arrests, a cultural war of 'political religion,' the forced relocation of thousands of Baltic inhabitants, as well as the hand off of Baltic land to Russian workers (All of the Baltic States still have sizable Russian minority groups). Again, nothing said in the video is untrue. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the populations of all of the Baltic nations have fallen dramatically. They have fallen to the point of  domestic crisis, in fact.

As the video correctly states, the majority of Baltic emigrants fill cheap labor positions throughout the EU. The conclusion on this one is a complete toss-up. On one hand, the Soviet Union made the Baltic States livable. On the other, the policies of Stalin, Khrushchev, and Brezhnev were unjustifiably wrong when dealing with the Baltic States. The video was partially correct on this one, but it left out very critical information that, if mentioned, voids the fantasy of a justified Soviet occupation. 

Next up on the list are the Central Asian nations. (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan). As with the Baltic States, the video is referring to accomplishments made during the Soviet period. Again, the video does so to the detriment of its argument. The Central Asian Nations were colonized by the Russian Empire and were even a part of the short-lived 1917 Russian Republic. So, they stayed with Russia throughout the most turbulent events of its recent history. The region, however, rebelled against Bolshevik rule and declared autonomy. The new government of the so-called 'Turkestan' was short lived despite its valiant defiance of Soviet rule. After this, the story is very much the same as that of the Baltic Nations. Infrastructure was rapidly constructed and massacres, deportations, and forced migration were commonplace. The end of the story is that the video is, again, only partially correct. Whether or not the average quality of life increase was worth the atrocities is up for debate. Although, you might want to refrain from arguing with the locals, as they know the answer for themselves. 

Now, for the biggest offender-- Ukraine. It is one thing to occupy the provinces of your enemies, wage war with those who constrain your ethnic borders, or colonize the vast stretches of land on your frontiers. But, to commit planned genocide of your nation's brother (Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus were born out of the same nation-- Kievan Rus'), exploit its people for grain profits, and generally label them as 'untrustworthy' cannot be balanced out by tanks, aircraft, or automobiles (as the video would love to attempt). Granted, the Russian people also suffered from the same crimes of their government, but not to the extent of the Ukrainians. If you want a picture painted for you, then look up the Soviet famine of 1932-33. Ukraine is the breadbasket of Eastern Europe. It produced grain. And it did so long before the Russians conquered Ukraine from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1793-95 (The Poles referred to Ukraine and Ukrainians as Ruthenia and Ruthenians, respectively). Stalin (and to a certain extent, his successors) intentionally starved out Ukraine by harvesting its grain and selling it on international markets (mostly to the US and Canada, ironically), which left hardly any grain left for the population. The non-farming populations of the Ukraine would fall, and more grain could be sold internationally. Horribly evil and brutally brilliant. The video's comparison of post-Soviet Ukraine and Soviet Ukraine is undoubtedly its biggest flaw. While the situation in Ukraine improved over the years in the Soviet Union; the crimes that were committed against the Ukrainian people remained equally numerous. I would dare say that this is one instance, in which, it is not arguable that the video was completely wrong. If the video, again, had chosen to examine Imperial Russia, the situation would not be quite as bad. As it stands, however, this is where the propaganda aspect of this video truly shows its ugly head. 

I don't think that I have to comment on the 'occupant by birthright' segment because I think that the narrator was being sarcastic at that point.

As for the rest of the video, I liked the segments about the 'time of troubles (Polish-Lithuanian Invasion & Occupation, failed Livonian War, Succession Crisis, etc.),' the war of 1812, and WW2 which show the resiliency and determination of the Russian nation & people. It was refreshing to get away from the propaganda and actually take a look at why Russia (NOT the Soviet Union) is so awesome (Obviously the Soviet Union fought WW2, but during this time, Stalin loosened his grip on his war against non-Soviet Culture. He even made promises and concessions to reward his citizens if they won the war. The average Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian, etc. could look at the promises made and see everything that they wanted their nation to be. This nation, arguably, was a close depiction of where the Russian Empire would have been, had it not been interrupted. Obviously, it was all a lie). 

As for 'Western Values' and fake 'Democracy,' I will inevitably address those issues in detail later. So I will leave them alone for now.

The last segment, which involved an email to Barack Obama, was very clever. And, on another side note, it it pretty obvious that the animator (ОКеям Нет--OKeyam Nyet) used the Battlefield 3 Russian Soldier model. I, admittedly, giggled for a little bit upon realizing it. 

This video truly is unofficial propaganda, but keep in mind that some of its claims hold some merit. Of course, just about everything, including the nature of this video, is up for debate. 

---The 'Putin's missing' Scare---

Normally, I ignore most misinformed tripe about Putin, Russia, Putin's Russia, The New Cold War, etc. that is thrown out of alarmingly self-obsessed news outlets, but this one really got me thinking. No, not about Putin dying, or getting married, or taking a vacation, or affair this or alien abduction that. No. I was worried about who will become president of Russia once Putin is done. Obviously, with its overwhelming popular support, United Russia will remain in majority. In addition, a UR candidate would likely win any election. This brings up Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is hardly known in the west. Imagine Joe Biden, but he speaks Russian. He is a decent administrator but, for the most part, he is the government's public relations guy. Some unfair allegations have arisen that his is Putin's lapdog. The simple fact is that the two politicians are friends. Plain and simple. But back to the point. Medvedev is no Putin. Perhaps he can learn from close observation, but I am skeptical. As for the other options-- unless oligarchs, communists, or incompetent nationalists sound particularly attractive, I would hope that the Russians hunt high and low for another candidate as able and as dedicated to his/her country as Putin has been. I am now legitimately concerned about Russia's future, as no ruler, I fear, can guide Russia to the future that it deserves once Putin is gone. Obviously, by western standards, Putin is a dictator. But that is why he is so brilliant. As I said above with other issues, I will inevitably go into more detail at a later date, but I will go ahead and wrap up. I fear that no other leader can walk the same tightrope between democracy and autocracy. I fear that no other leader can tread between Russia's need to escape the shadow of communism while upholding the accomplishments of that era. And I certainly fear that no other leader has the backbone to set a nation's wealthy few into their place. Before you ask about his foreign policy, I'm afraid that I'll have to put that topic off until later also (But you can check out the book Frontline Ukraine by Richard Sawka if you are itching for information on the subject-- It was written by a Pole so you don't have to worry about untruthful Pro-Russian comments). 

As usual, thanks for reading. And, of course, never take my word as fact. If you're interested, look this stuff up yourself and formulate your own opinion. Chances are such that it will be different than mine.

Class Based Privilege vs Privilege Based Class and Leonard Nimoy

I, being a frequent adventurer on the internet, have come across the term 'privilege' on several occasions. Being the Russia fanatic that I am, I could not help but wonder about the nature of the word as it is used. Anybody who has studied Russia knows full well the lengthy divisions of privilege between the intelligentsia and the peasant class. Even further, The Soviet Union, that big, red, evil blob, encouraged the development of immense privilege inequality at every possible step. This may not seem to make any amount of sense given the 'egalitarian nature' of the Soviet Union (more on this below). But it was there. I am baffled to see the word privilege used, in its own slanted, assigned meaning, to describe the issue of inequality in the United States. To begin to address this, one must first define this word. Privilege is a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people.

I will begin with the Soviet Union. As I described above, the issue of inequality went far beyond any communist manifesto could possibly have predicted for a self-proclaimed 'socialist' society. I am, of course, referring to the game. The horrible, evil game. The game of political dependency, outing your neighbors, and whitewashing the actions of borderline-inhuman (secret) policemen. This is the game which is referred to in the phrase "playing the game" in reference to gaining an advantage in a political system. Widely known, but often rejected, the Soviet regime actively encouraged its citizens to be as selfish as possible. Stand for your Comrades! But as they look the other way, report their anti-state political activity. You will earn the trust of the ever-powerful communist party. With trust comes our infamous word, privilege. With the horrible policies of the power-hungry Supreme Soviet, the Soviet government relied on the dependency of its citizens. By this, I mean that their citizens would always have to look the other way. They were always unable to say anything. The outcry of the common, decent Russian /Pole /Ukrainian /Belorussian, etc would be answered with two world-shattering fates. 1) The break of the individual and his/her family with the state (itself a death-sentence). 2) (In many cases, worse than death) the further reduction of the individual into a source of hard labor in the Gulag (Archipelago for the Solzhenitsyn veterans out there). This was the case. It was a win-win for the state and a lose-lose for the individual. On one hand, the state held a free source of hard labor, and on the other hand, the state kept dissent in check and held hostage the 'happiness' of its people (which it could take away at the drop of a hat).

The 'Gulag Archipelago'

Having acknowledged that, it becomes easy to see that, in the Soviet Union, your privilege determined your class. The Soviet Class System (de facto) was not supposed to exist. The government would deny it at any point. This does not change the fact that it was a real entity. I would actually recommend that you would take a two-minute break and watch this video http://youtu.be/UeO44STvnJw?t=2m18s from here to around 4 05. Watched it? Good. This example is one of many. To reiterate, the closer you were to the top of the mighty Soviet ladder, the more privilege that the state handed out to you. This 'trust' that the government bestowed upon its good and loyal citizens quickly materialized into additional meal rations, first place in bread lines, diplomatic immunity, a reputation worthy of fear and respect. These things or their equivalents, to some degree, are determined by your class here in the United States.

To contrast the brutal, unfriendly Soviet 'class' system, we have that of the United States. This class system is, thankfully, very different from the other system. In this system, your class determines your privilege. If you are economically well off, you have the advantages of the society. If you are economically downtrodden, by contrast, then you have very little of those advantages. The biggest difference lies in the fact that there is class movement in the United States. If you, for example, are born into a poor family, you always have the opportunity to improve your standing (and not by condemning your neighbors to work themselves to death in the Gulag). This, of course, was not always the case. Even today, there is still education inequality based on different neighborhoods, states, counties, cities, etc. The opportunities are still there, however. While not perfect, the scholarship system and the military (as stated in a previous blog) provide a means to a higher education to those who cannot afford it. In many cases, scholarships specifically, this aid is designed to address those of less privileged backgrounds. A degree does nothing if it sits on a shelf in one's home, however. This brings us to another couple of issues employment and recession. http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm This chart shows that education, pay, and employment are directly related. This being shown, your chances are better when you are educated. Education, as mentioned before, can be attained with enough work (obviously, having parents that can pay for said education is more convenient, but if those who do don't work, then they'll fail eventually). Now, like all economies, that of the US must rise and fall, often unpredictably. Sometimes, it can be near-impossible to get a job. This is when people start to fall in class. Class movement is not always a good thing. In this case, when the economy goes bad, people start to suffer. It is inevitable. When your class falls, so does your privilege. It then becomes easy to feel resentment to those who have more privilege than you.

However, this is not about resentment. This is about inequality. Inequality will always exist in a multicultural society. Period. The United States is a multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-whatever nation. Bigotry exists among individuals, communities, and most importantly, business executives. What we must understand, however, is that we are not the Soviet Union. We do not deport mass amounts of Tatars from their homes, purposely starve out peoples deemed 'untrustworthy,' or arrest people en-masse because their inherent facial features make them seem 'suspicious'. Something we have done, on the other hand, is provide land set aside for specific ethnic groups. Some feel that ghettos, reservations, etc. are provided to offer safety, community, and whatever other garbage excuse that they can come up with. This is an area that the soviets may have beaten us on. The Soviet Union oversaw the creation of what is known as the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (region). This provided safety to Jews across the Soviet Union. Jews who had suffered terrible discrimination (odd considering that the hatred of Jews was a primary attribute of the Soviet's most hated enemy, Nazi Germany). I was kidding, not about the JAO, but about the Soviets beating us at something. While the JAO was a real construction, the Soviets still had no answer for the millions of displaced Poles, Germans, Tartars, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, etc. other than the Gulag, of course. In the creation of reservations and ghettos, the US had dug itself into problems which will take several generations to solve. The fortunate part is that our class system will play the largest part in solving these issues of historically created discrimination. The Soviet system of privilege based class kept the 'untrustworthy' and 'useless' ethnic groups at the bottom simply because the government controlled the class system (as described above). Here, anybody may rise above their background. Will people of minority status experience unfair discrimination? Probably at some point, but hardly ever will such discrimination be enough to keep them forever down. Especially if they really want to move up.

Specifically, the term privilege describes one's class standing by its very definition in relation to the US economic environment. However, privilege, on the internet, refers to one's racial, religious, and sexual background in addition to class. I do not think that this is the proper use of the word. To refer to one's privilege is a statement which is purposed, on the internet, to prove that an individual has had an easier life because of the aforementioned factors. For instance, a white, christian, middle-class, straight, male lives an easier life because of being white, christian,  middle-class, straight, and  male. I believe that this is the case but only because of one of the factors: being middle class. As we have already stated, discrimination will happen. It is unfortunate and inexcusable. However, class can be transcended in the US. Along with class comes wealth. Wealth is the key to all levels of immunity, special treatment, etc. which I despise. It does, however, mean that privilege is anyone's to be earned. I, for one, do not believe that something that someone has earned warrants accusations of privilege based blindness. Furthermore, I believe that it is wrong to discredit one's argument based on something that is a show of hard work and discipline. There are exceptions, however. Two examples strike me the most: those who inherited their wealth (and thus, their privilege) and those who have not yet been cut off from parental dependency. So, if you are arguing with the offspring of a multi-million dollar company owner or an immature middle schooler, high schooler, college student, dropout, etc. then you have a permissible reason for using the internet definition of privilege. I would, however, appreciate it if people didn't utilize the internet definition of privilege. It ignores the work that others have done, it ignores legitimate arguments, it is used as a silly comeback, and it is disrespectful to those who have truly suffered because of privilege immobility and inequality.

---Leonard Nimoy---

I, also being a trekkie, was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Leonard Nimoy. I have watched Star Trek for maybe eight years now, and I have been a massive fan since I first saw the show. Spock was my favorite Star Trek character for maybe five of those years (I started with Scotty and eventually worked my way over to Bones). Spock was simply awesome. His character development over the course of the Original Series and the TOS movis was extremely touching, as an alien from another culture, who had no emotion at all, learned to care for his friends and become more and more human as Star Trek went on. Nobody could have portrayed Spock more perfectly than Leonard Nimoy. However, we must remember Nimoy as the man he was alongside the legend that he created. Leonard Nimoy was, in my opinion, one of the few respectful and good-hearted hollywood types. I despise hollywood and its selfish, over-dramatic, narcissistic tendencies. Leonard Nimoy was the complete opposite of all of those things. He looked out for his co-workers, he kept a cool head, he blew nothing out of proportion, he cared for others, and he was a bastion of decency. The world has lost a great man. Let us not only remember Spock, but let us remember and emulate the traits of human decency and honor that Leonard portrayed through Spock and through his own life. 

We should follow his (and Spock's advice) lets forget our differences on the day to day, because everyone should live long and prosper.

--- Keyboard Woes---

I want to apologize if I left out any "m's," semi-colons, or colons. The keyboard that I use hasn't been functioning properly lately. I can not type any of the above letters or symbols. I have been copy and pasting the m's throughout the post. Thanks for the forgiveness.