80th Anniversary of the Soviet Victory over Nazism

A day to honor the past, the present, and the future.

The 2025 edition is arguably the most important Victory Day since 1945. It not only commemorates a profoundly significant historical event. It also happens to take place in a very special geopolitical moment in time, one of much anticipation for a fairer, multipolar world coming into existence; but also one facing great dangers, with the revival of nazism and fascism.

It has been 80 years since the Soviet victory over nazism brought us the end of World War II in Europe, the Great Patriotic War for the Soviet Union. Monumental were the sacrifices for putting an end to Hitler’s Reich. It was on the Eastern front that 70% of Nazi forces were directed to and 80% of their casualties occurred. The Soviet Union lost 27 million lives in WWII. The memory is profound; the resolve is unequivocal. And the endurance and valour forged in the nation’s soul comes to the rescue once again. It was not the first time the Russians had to be the ones to end a war in Europe – neither was it the last.

The fascist and nazi forces which had been camouflaged and undercover after WWII, have nowadays been surfacing and becoming again overt – not only in the European theatre but also in the Pacific.

Americans and British and French-made long-range missiles have been authorised to be used by the proxy Ukrainian regime against Russian territory.

In the Philippines, the US military has deployed the Typhon missile system and the NMESIS (Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System), a highly mobile coastal anti-ship missile system designed to strike surface vessels from land-based positions. With such missile systems deployed in the Pacific, particularly in the Phillipines, the US has the capability to reach major military and industrial centers in mainland China.

Even just a decade ago, when nazi forces in Ukraine were being funded and instigated by the United States and NATO, when – again – Nazis were trying to exterminate ethnic Russians in the Donbass, it would, nonetheless, seem too far off to consider Germany and Japan would militarize again in the way they are at the present time.

From sending only helmets to Ukraine in the early days of Russia’s Special Military Operation, Germany now has not only been providing the Ukrainians with several types of weapons, but German Leopard tanks have once again been driven by Nazis into Russian territory, having once again to be destroyed but Russian Forces.

Yet, that is not were the Germans intend to stop. Germany is getting ready for hot and direct war with Russia, along with its NATO allies, Poland and the Baltics being some of the most eager. Britain and France, this time around, mend no efforts to support the Nazi regime in Kiev and instigate Russophobia.

The glorification of nazism is now defended by a not so insignificant number of Western governments, as UN resolution voting results in recent years alarmingly show – for all voting results since 2004 regarding the UN resolution on “Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”, see here.

The majority of the European population don’t seem to be interested in war, but we mustn’t underestimate neither how the power elites are operating, nor the attachment to Western primacy and privilege cultivated for centuries in Western societies.

Despite the fact that most people in the world today understand how horrific the Nazi ideology is, de-nazification in Europe after WWII was far from complete. In Western Europe, more than being brought to justice, Nazis were, to a great extent, tucked down – “the Germans down” as NATO’s First Secretary General Lord Ismay once stated. And that was not exclusive to the Germans. Ukrainian Nazis, for instance, were integrated into Western societies by the thousands or tens of thousands. A huge number of Nazi officials were integrated into Western power structures, such as CIA, NATO, European Council, national governments. The moment would inevitably come when they’d try their more overt comeback.

As we denounce it, their attempts of re-nazification weaken. History must be spelt out, dismantling the historical revisionism fascist elites push for when, for instance, they pretend the United States liberated Auschwitz, which in reality was done by the Soviet Union. Or when, in Japan, attempts to rewrite history attribute to the USSR the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which in reality was carried out by the United States.

German AfD leader Alice Weidel has stated Hitler was a communist, when in reality he was vehemently against communism and was defeated by the communists, by the Soviets. She considers Hitler and Stalin “brothers in spirit”, when in reality Joseph Stalin was the leader responsible for defeating Hitler.

Frau Weidel might be pragmatic and want Russian gas. But certain stances of hers should not go unnoticed. She has affirmed she sees May 8, the date when Germany was freed from Nazi rule, as the anniversary of the defeat of her country rather than its liberation. Alice’s grandfather was Hans Weidel, a prominent Nazi judge, appointed directly by Adolf Hitler, responsible for sentencing opponents of the Third Reich. Apparently, the inheritance of her grandfather is rather strong in Frau Weidel.

Despite serving as inspiration for Hitler’s Nuremberg laws and segregation, and its companies and elites having financed and supported the Nazi movement and war effort, the United States eventually decided to join the war on the Allies side. American soldiers, therefore, did fight the Nazis in WWII and their contribution to end the war are to be honoured too. Many gave their lives in sincere commitment – about 400 thousand Americans died as they joined the fight to put an end to nazism, which killed 6 million Jews in Europe and 27 million Soviets.

The Chinese people endured tremendous sacrifices as well, losing over 20 million lives. China’s resistance to the Japanese invasion held down a great number of Japanese troops, being indispensable to the overall victory over fascism.

The people who made the greatest sacrifices in fighting nazism and fascism in WWII were, in fact, the “Reds” – the Soviets and the Chinese.

How profoundly significant to see, nowadays, Russia and China deepening ties and leading the very change of the world-system. They are by no means alone in this valorous multipolar endeavour. Many are the brave dedicated to this historic transition. But the Russia-China friendship is a fundamental key.

Xi Jinping is President Putin’s guest of honour in this years’ Victory Day commemorations and two joint statements were released by the two heads of states. The Russian president will also be present in Beijing in September, to commemorate the victory over Japanese fascism.

The People’s Liberation Army will join the Russian Armed Forces in its march through the Red Square on May 9, together with the military contingents of 12 other countries – Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

A strategic partnership agreement has been signed by Nicolas Maduro and Putin.

The brave Sahel Alliance is represented by Burkina Faso’s President Ibrahim Traore.

From West Asia, Palestine is made present. Although the current representative does not represent the Palestinian people in a more genuine manner, the fact that Palestine is invited and made present is a statement.

According to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, 29 foreign leaders are to attend the Victory Day Parade – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Abkhazia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Venezuela, Vietnam, Guinea-Bissau, Egypt, Zimbabwe, China, Congo, Cuba, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Palestine, Serbia, Slovakia, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia and South Ossetia will be present at the Victory Parade. India, Nicaragua and South Africa will be represented at a notably high level.

Many are the nations and peoples who join in sentiment at this sacred moment. The Allied forces in WWII were a combination of efforts for the good of humanity and many were the peoples giving some contribution.

Rubber was a much needed material to keep up the fight. When Japan blocked the British rubber route to Malaysia, where they had planted 700.000 rubber seeds smuggled from the Amazon, the Allies turned to Brazil, who signed a commitment to triple its production. The Brazilian government then mobilized a recruitment of volunteers, reaching the point of enlisting about 54,000 people, the so-called “rubber-tapper soldiers,” coming from different regions to gather rubber in the North of Brazil.

For the rubber-tapper soldiers struggling in the Amazon jungle, the Samaúma tree was a noteworthy presence. Also known as the mother of the forest, Samaúma is an Amazonian tree that, with its deep roots, extracts water from the soil and, with its above-ground roots, distributes it to other species. Her water is drinkable and the rubber-tapper soldiers could cut a root to quench their thirst. This majestic tree is considered a water-making machine, as its leaves facilitate the evaporation of water into the atmosphere as well. Considered sacred, serving as shelter and protection for other species of flora and for countless birds and insects, she also contains many medicinal attributes. No better symbol for BRICS 2025. This force of Nature is now also present in Moscow, represented by Brazilian President Lula, holding this year’s BRICS chairmanship, and another Brazilian and BRICS authority, Dilma Rousseff, President of BRICS New Development Bank.

EXTRACTING RUBBER FOR VICTORY is to collaborate in the War effort!

The heads of states and the countries represented in this immensely significant Victory Day in Moscow are not only an acknowledgement and respect for Russia’s and all of the former Soviet Union nations’ indispensable role in the victory against nazism and fascism in WWII, but they are also a stance before the current challenges, when the descendants of the old Nazis are becoming more overt in their attempts to carry on the Nazi project.

As Belorussian President Lukashenko recently apprised in Stalingrad:

“There is a war going on for the minds of our people and for the thoughts in their heads. A modern hot war is impossible without this preparation, and this preparation has already begun. That is why we have clung to this historical memory so much, to show the present and future generations, our children, what we had. And if suddenly we have to fight for our land, for our families, for our children, then we must fight the way our ancestors fought, not sparing either our lives or anything that we have. That is why we talk about this historical memory, and not because we want to talk… No, as soon as we forget the road to Khatyn, to Stalingrad, to the Brest Fortress, then everything will return again, instantly. We won’t even have time to notice it. Therefore, we must cling to this historical memory with all our teeth.”

For the past, respect and commemoration. For the present, diligence. For the future, preparedness and victory.

Victory will be ours. A fairer world will prevail.

С Днем Победы!

As Malcolm X warned, America is cunning like a fox, friendly and smiling, but more vicious and deadly than the wolf.

Fall not for the Trump trap. About a year ago I said Trump would win and the US empire would be in enhanced expansive mode. I also warned in 2024 that Trump is in for the fight – not merely internally, but surely externally, with his Sun and Uranus on the USA’s Mars in the house of the Other.

It is the United States who still, ultimately, pulls the strings of its Ukrainian puppets. It can do it directly and it can do it through the Europeans.

It is also the United States who is still Europe’s boss. The pretense of a rift between the Americans and the Europeans serves to increase the military budget in Europe, justifying and normalizing the idea that Europe is on its own and must strengthen its defense. In doing so, it’s supposed to take care of the Russian front, further severing EU-RU relations, whilst the United States pretends to be Russia’s friend.

And here we better remember the late Kissinger: “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.”

May we not forget this, for a real regeneration of America’s character is still some miles ahead into the future.

Precisely due to the fact that the multipolar world is advancing – already conceived and about to be born – the perverse US empire is doing all it can to pretend it has “changed.” Call them specialists in rebranding. That includes getting rid of the embarrassing woke, whilst moving USAID’s essential maneuvers to be under the State Department. And play now the Christian card again – “you don’t have to mean it, just say it,” as Emily Blunt bluntly put it.

The most similar thing to reality is illusion, for the latter tries hard to imitate the former. The new administration looks so “new” – yet, continues the US primacy agenda.

The United States has LOST in Ukraine. How could they reframe it? Change the president and pretend he is now the one who brings peace, he is the victorious (over their own defeat).

Once again, Russia wins over US funded Nazis. And, once again, the Americans try to pretend they are now “fighting” the Nazis, which they actually funded. This time around, with a scene at the White House, in a room full of people and cameras – and two professional actors as presidents.

They need to save face, all right. That is easy to grasp. The Russians, once again, allow Americans to pretend to the world that they are the “good guys” who came to “save the world” from the mad who are risking WW3 – a demanding task being actually carried out by the Russians, with Russian lives on the line and and the whole of Russian society standing strong.

Russians don’t really mind… They would even give the Americans – again – the trophy. In exchange for actual peace, that is. Some Russians would, perhaps, even pretend all troubles of the last 500 years were to be blamed on the Europeans, letting the perverse United States completely off the hook, as if they had never caused immense destruction for Russia in varied occasions such as the 1990s, also by funding Hitler, and by funding Banderites right after WW2 and to this day. Not to mention the innumerable mayhems the Americans have caused and still cause around the globe. Forget about ISIS, Al Qaeda and HTS… After all, if Trump says “we are not involved in Syria” that must be true, right?… Whilst anyone with one working neuron who is minimally informed knows the greatest troubles in Syria are created and sustained by the United States and its intermediaries, Israel and Erdogan’s Turkiye.

Russia has to be careful not to overextend itself and Russians want peace. They actually have a great country and a beautiful life to live, whilst contributing to improving life on the planet together with friendly nations. So as Americans rebrand themselves as a non-woke-deranged administration, based on “common sense…” Russians wish this was true. Trump will try to speak to Putin’s heart – “every day, thousands of lives…” Hurry up, Putin! Give us the ceasefire, give up on your momentum.

Americans are attentive to what Russians wish for, and will try to deliver as much as possible that very image… of sane common sense.

Marco Rubio approaches Lavrov in full “common sense” mode. Sure. What a pity his “common sense” card can be played so flexibly. Check out this clip where, in 2022, Rubio stated on CNN that assuming Russia was responsible for blowing up NordStream was not even an intelligence matter, but a “common sense” matter.

However, despite the fact that the United States is loosing the war and needed to save face, that is not its only objective in regards to Russia. The US empire hasn’t given up on trying to destroy it. They are delegating the Russian front to the Europeans and wanting them to literally pay the price.

A country built upon genocide and slavery, pretending to be the beacon of freedom and democracy, who at the end of WW2 pretended to be against the dehumanizing Nazi ideology, whilst in fact funding it and whilst still having segregation of black people in their very laws – so is the perversity ingrained in the very foundations of the country. It is not the swamp; it is the foundations. With its typically perverse structure, the United States of America masters image – although, with no depth. It now twists and turns it, trying to make it Hollywood again.

A cabinet with 13 billionaires to save Capitalism tells you they are the “revolution.”

They claim to be Christian but consider themselves entitled to abuse other nations and, either directly or by proxy, destroy the lives of other peoples around the globe – not quite Jesus-like if you ask me.

The Western system is going after Iran, North Korea and China, and has not given up on its war against Russia – it will try to dismantle or weaken it by whichever means they can.

Zelensky is so easy to buy… Don’t you think he would luv to change clothes and enjoy Miami? At the most he would need protection by US agents and that could easily be provided, if they really wanted him out and Ukraine in peace.

Countries in Europe are, since quite some time, unmistakably, preparing for war. Now is the time for Russia to set its position, the best possible position. I’m afraid Odessa is rather crucial for the Neptune in Aries times ahead, when maritime warfare is to be enhanced.

Western capitalism is collapsing, along with its most devoted country, which, unavoidably, is falling from its imperial status, not without a few wars – or a great war with different fronts.

As for the empire’s veils of illusions, the Lunar Eclipse today, at 23º56 Virgo, takes place on the USA’s MC and Neptune, the master of illusions and the ruler of its foundations. Whilst hope photoshops reality to make America seem oh so great “again,” for anyone looking objectively, the pretense of the empire reveals itself.

Let the veils drop.

Introduction by Olga Andreeva

Exactly a year ago in the summer, I saw Vanessa Guazzelli Paim for the first time. We met in Moscow, where she arrived after a month of living in St. Petersburg. My Facebook friend brought us together and asked me to show Vanessa Moscow. You must like each other – a distant Facebook friend mysteriously explained his plan. And so it happened. Vanessa humbly walked with me for dozens of kilometers around old Moscow, scorched by the summer heat, and listened to my lengthy stories about the past and present of the Russian capital. My English is terrible, but it turned out to be our only opportunity to overcome the language barrier. For the patience with which Vanessa listened to my helpless babble, she deserves a separate monument.

Occasionally, sparing my ears unaccustomed to English speech, Vanessa shared her impressions of Russia, St. Petersburg and Moscow. And I was amazed at the depth and sincerity with which she responds to everything she sees and hears. So far, all my contacts with foreigners have been quite superficial. I am used to the fact that any foreign tourist rushes to the Red Square in Moscow and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. This is usually the end of the acquaintance with Russian culture and history. But Vanessa was a clear exception. She has seriously set herself the task of understanding Russia and Russians. She was brilliantly familiar with modern Russian politics and economics, often surprising me with her knowledge of the names and diverse points of view of our leaders. She was well versed in the history of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which is far from obvious to a Westerner who is being manipulated by all the world's media. She did not need to explain anything, prove anything, she did not need to bring dozens of historical references down on her head and immerse herself in all the vicissitudes of relations between Russia and Ukraine. She already knew all this. Vanessa set herself a higher-order task. She wanted to understand not only the current moment of Russian history. She wanted to understand the nature and essence of Russian civilization, which she believed was radically different from the Western one. In this civilizational difference, she saw something like hope for all mankind. "Russia will save us!" she often said, and I blushed in response: Russians hardly tolerate any pathos, it's easier for us to be ironic and witty than brutally serious. But Vanessa wanted to understand, and jokes would be inappropriate.

So we walked around Moscow for about two months, until my new friend left for St. Petersburg, and then for her homeland. Since then, we have continued to communicate on social networks, like good old friends, waiting for Vanessa to come to Russia again. But this fall I was asked to give a short lecture on the nature of Russian civilization in an academic city near Moscow. I immediately thought of Vanessa and her civilizational way of knowing Russia. To complete the picture, I asked her to write about her impressions. That's how this text was born, which you can read below.

I was so excited by Vanessa's monologue that I not only read this text in full to a Russian audience on October 10, but also wrote two small experiences of my own view of Russian civilization. Our example turned out to be contagious. My old friend from St. Petersburg, poet, historian and essayist Andrei Polonsky soon joined our intercontinental dialogue and wrote about his vision of Russia. As a result, a trialogue consisting of four texts was developed. We present them to your court.

The clash with the West helped the Russians realize their civilizational value

Vanessa Guazzelli Paim

Originally published on Vzglyad

No wonder the Russian language is one of the foundational languages of the multipolar world coming into existence.

Language shapes culture and is shaped by it, by the collective fabric of the unconscious, which French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan would describe as being structured as language. Much of a culture is revealed in its words and its signifiers, in how they articulate to convey meanings.

World in Russian: Мир. Peace in Russian: Мир.

Also world in Russian: Свет. Light in Russian: Свет.

I don’t mean to go woke here, but… It is what it is: in Russian culture, the world happens to be conceived as peace and as light. The Russian culture conceives the world as peace, and peace as possible for the world – not only for the individual or the nation, but for the world. The Russian culture conceives the world as light, and light as a collective dimension. That is how the collective is conceived in Russian civilization.

The Russian civilization – an invitation marks its beginning. How civilized an inaugural act when, in 862 AD, Rurik is invited to lead the Rus. Not by oppression or forceful domination, but by invitation, to reign and secure the domains, making Novgorod the new home - дом.

Russia now is East and West, Europe and Asia. The immense Eurasian nation in its enriching historical layers, results now in the Russian Federation, such a unique combination of flavors, with undeniably interesting achievements in all its eras – including those by outstanding rulers, such as the great Peter and the great Catherine; and those achievements by the very collective upfront, when the first people’s republics took place. Each historical period could be subjected to criticism. There’s always that which could be improved. But the very combination of the different collective experiences through time forge a nation, refined both by the glory of achievements and the hardships of lessons learned.

The first anti-colonialist nation in the world, Russia dared to give birth to the first communist experience. It was the USSR who inspired China in its search for a better system, which nowadays pays off, improving the lives of hundreds of millions. Of course there were mistakes, how could there not have been? It was so new! Yet, how interesting a civilization the Soviet peoples built, beyond what had so far been conceived – amongst its emblematic prowesses, Sputnik, the first satellite. Sacrifices were many and, for that very reason, the achievements should not ever be disregarded.

Russia also went full-on into neo-liberal capitalism, tasted it no holds barred, dived into the experience – and learned.

Russian people got to see what the Western concept of “competitive market” means. But Russians happened to have, by experience, another register operating in them as well – the register of cooperation. That set the difference between monopolies in service of greed, and monopolies that result from the development of the best for the nation’s interest.

That brings me to a very important word in Russian culture nowadays: профессиональный (professional) – and also высокопрофессиональный (highly professional). For Russians, a fundamental component of one’s dignity is to be professional. Whatever you do, be professional. It is one’s duty to give one’s best, and Russians know it.

And, sometimes, Russians might also be a bit too hard on themselves, highly critical of themselves and the country. That happens as well. However, facing Western Russophobia and Western economic-cultural-military war against the motherland has helped many realize and better own Russia’s worth – but it’s still a lesson in process.

In Patriarch Park, editor Berlioz and writer Ivan Bezdomny respond differently to their encounter with Woland. Bulgakov’s Master and Margarida conveys a warning – one who does not acknowledge the existence of God, of the Divine in life, might also fail to perceive the devil’s tricks. Moreover, foreign evil only thrives if one’s own ethics succumbs. No one can defeat a Russia that knows itself and honors its principles, its values.

One of Russia’s values, it seems to me, is Russian faith – if not in God, in the motherland, in the greater force of life, despite all odds.

As much value is given to education, all Russians can read and write. Shockingly, that is not the case in all rich and developed Western countries, such as the United States, where 21% of adults are illiterate in 2024, and 54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level (https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/post/literacy-statistics-2024-2025-where-we-are-now ).

The multipolar world in the making is build on a very concrete dimension, the economy of real assets and very pragmatic principles, such as indivisible security. Nonetheless, it is also made of the capacity to conceive, to imagine – and deliver. In that regard, too, the contributions Russia brings to the table are, in fact, plenty. The enchanting St Petersburg, how it was built and how it was rebuilt after the horrific siege its people endured, is inspiring to the eyes and to the soul. May Gaza also, one day, rise from the ashes so beautifully.

Together, Moscow and St Petersburg are, unmistakably, my two favorite cities in the whole wide world. As a woman, never have I felt so safe in my feminine nature as in Russia. Safe and free. Free to be fully feminine and, yet, safe. Free to be both strong and expressive, and delicately feminine as well. In Russia, I never felt like I had to guard my femininity, for the risk of being taken as prey. I felt appreciated but respected, not in danger. Neither did I feel like the strength of one’s character was unwelcomed. From my very first days in Russia, I noticed how women can be both feminine and strong in this society.

And what a society. The sense of communion experienced at the theatre, for the ballet or the opera, is so fine…! Very different felling than being in a Western theatre, I must say. But not only in the theatre. This deep, unspoken sense of community can be perceived in everyday-life situations, like taking the metro. It can be lived in a very concrete manner, when ladies offer help to a foreign younger woman who has hurt her foot and discretely limps on a Saint Petersburg sidewalk. Or when a man. sharing a double cabin on the night train with a foreign woman, makes her not defensive, but acts so respectfully, she feels protected. When, in Moscow, a series of gentlemen of different ages offer to carry a foreign lady’s luggage – out of the train, out of the station, down the stairs – simply because they are men, physically stronger, and were able to help.

No fake smiles in Russian ethics. But genuinely fraternal eyes are a common feature. One cultural trait I found quite enchanting is how Russians aren’t afraid of genuine emotions. Far from being cold, they respect sincerity. I find Russian people to be quite percipient and responsive to what is expressed in sincerity – be the expression demure or intense, if there’s sincerity, your claim or expression is likely to be heard, considered, respected. Call it emotional maturity.

Despite today’s Russophobia in the West, and regardless of having to defend the motherland from foreign invasion a few times in history, Russian culture allows for the existence of the other, of another, a fellow human being. The Russian word Другой (another) contains the word друг (friend) in it – the Russian words for another and friend have the same root, sounding quite similar. The other in Russian is, in principle, a potential friend.

What about the self, what about the individual in Russia? In my personal experience, I found Russian people to be truly respectful of privacy, not intrusive at all, although not individualistic as people in Western societies tend to be.

Я, the word for I, happens to be also the last letter in the Russian alphabet. Last letter?! Western fearsome emphasis on individualism might find this a horrible place to be. But, mind you, it is no mediocre position. Every writer knows the last phrase or word can be even more important than the first. It sets the tone that will echo while all that came before is being assimilated. To be the last is a highly polite, noble, heroic place to be. It means you can hold the door for the whole alphabet, and a whole alphabet of ancestors has got your back.

And what an interesting alphabet it is! It allows a meaningful place for я (ya), for the individual subject, backed by the whole collective of letters. While the Russian language conceives a friendly place for the other, a world meant as light and a world meant for peace.

These are some of the contributions of the Russian world (Мир, Свет).

What is Russia to me? It is trust, faith. I trust the Russian soul – wide expense for dreams and for living. Strength given by fidelity to it.

Russian Gravity

Olga Andreeva

Originally published on Vzglyad

When it comes to Russian civilization, we always run the risk of falling into that zone of imagination where wishful thinking is easily given out as reality. The desire to make our love for the motherland not metaphysical, but specifically material, often leads us into the wilds of not particularly responsible propaganda. That is why living and authentic evidence of what is usually spoken about purely metaphorically is so valuable. They are incredibly rare. But there are strange approaches, Pushkin said, and people of culture understand what he is talking about. I want to tell you about one of these approaches now.

Vladimir Nabokov has a wonderful, but not the most famous novel called "Feat". This is the story of a young man whose mother took him out of Russia, engulfed by revolutionary fire, at the age of 16. On the way to Crimea, the boy had seen enough of the horrors of red and white life, and therefore left his homeland in confused reverie –what kind of country is this? Nevertheless, his subsequent fate was extremely successful. The wealthy brother of the boy's father hospitably opens the doors of his luxurious chalet in Switzerland to a mother and son who have lost all their fortune. The life of a Russian nephew turns into a quiet and virtuous paradise: tennis courts, morning horseback riding, admission to Cambridge, books, foreign languages, the venerable Swiss society of rich old men. In Cambridge, too, everything is quiet and virtuous: first friends, first love. Everything is somehow measured and rather boring.

Somewhere in the middle of this almost eventless descriptive novel, the reader begins to wonder why he is reading all this. Nabokov's main character, a growing up young man, is distinguished neither by audacity of temper, nor by heroism, nor by an exotic character. Rather, he is in a strange state of confusion, constantly asking himself – who is he, where is he from, and why is he here at all?

The whole novel turns out to be written for the sake of the last five pages. From them we learn that a young man standing on the threshold of a brilliant career of a wealthy Swiss aristocrat suddenly disappears. The investigation reveals that the hero has been carefully preparing for escape for several months. He bought maps, met with different people, made supplies, until finally he bought a peasant dress and crossed the Russian border. There, in revolutionary Russia, the hero disappears, leaving relatives and friends in complete perplexity – what could attract a happy inhabitant of the Swiss Alps into the dark, wild and impoverished country of the Soviets?

Nabokov unobtrusively hints to the reader that the main temptation experienced by his hero lies in the presence of meaning. It was Russia, so dysfunctional, filled with inescapable tragedy… And, yet, only she could give him the right to a meaningful and passionate existence, which happy Switzerland simply did not know. This phenomenon could be called Russian gravity. It does not always work and not at all. But emigrants are most familiar with it.

Anyway, when I finished reading Nabokov, I was sure that the great writer had come up with a brilliant metaphor for his nostalgia, embodying in the hero an impossible dream of returning to his homeland. After all, for a resident of Russia, which over the past century has not got out of its chronic distress, it is difficult to imagine a real young man abandoning a Swiss chalet for the modest and unguaranteed joys of meaningfulness.

That's exactly what I thought until I read Andrei Trubetskoy's memoirs called "The Ways Are Inscrutable." Andrei Vladimirovich Trubetskoy, the son of the writer Vladimir Trubetskoy, unlike Nabokov's hero, had a huge list of personal claims against the Soviet government. His father and sister Varvara were shot in 1937, his sister Alexandra and mother died in custody, and his brother Grigory spent 10 years in the camps. However, the biography of Trubetskoy Jr. does not sound at all like a warlike song of hatred for the motherland.

In 1939, 18-year-old Andrei was sent to the army. And in the summer of 1941, Andrei was seriously wounded. He woke up already in captivity. At the beginning of the war, the International Red Cross was still working in the territories occupied by the Germans and was receiving Russian prisoners of war for treatment. Trubetskoy was admitted to the Red Cross hospital in Poland, where he spent several months. There, all patients were provided with qualified supervision and treatment. However, Soviet prisoners who were discharged automatically ended up in camps, where they most likely starved to death. Trubetskoy had to share their fate. Fate nevertheless preserved him. Just a few days before his discharge, he was found by a distant relative who had a small estate in Poland near the Belarusian border. The new uncle took Andrei to his place and finally put him on his feet. While Andrei was gaining strength on the village's fresh milk, his uncle sent him German documents and the former prisoner became a full-fledged citizen of occupied Europe.

After recovering his health, the young Trubetskoy went on a trip to France, Austria and Germany, where the numerous and highly wealthy relatives of the Princes Trubetskoy lived. He was introduced to the most aristocratic houses in Paris and Vienna. He knew the languages, the documents were in order, so Andrei had no problems with getting a very tempting job. His relatives vied with each other to offer him shelter and a dust-free service. The trips to Europe lasted more than a year. And then the young Trubetskoy unexpectedly returned to his uncle's Polish estate, contacted local partisans, stocked up on peasant clothes and fled to the forest. The partisans helped him cross the front line, so Trubetskoy ended the war the same way he started - as a Red Army soldier.

It is not difficult to imagine what happened to him next. After the war, he was imprisoned, but Stalin died soon after, and mass rehabilitation began. Trubetskoy returned, got married, graduated from college and became a serious scientist. And this is no longer a fantasy of a great writer, but a real biography of a very real person.

It turns out that Nabokov did not invent anything. Russian gravity really exists. Our Russian genetic habit of standing on the threshold of great history often does not promise us well-being. But it is always guaranteed to make our lives full of passionate reflection. The stories of Nabokov and Andrei Trubetskoy show that passion often wins in the competition with bourgeois well-being. The main thing is to preserve this sense of homeland and one's own Russianness. Then you will definitely not find yourself on the sidelines of life.

Sleeping Beauty

Olga Andreeva

Originally published on Vzglyad

Russian society, like perhaps any other, has several levels of self-reflection and behavioral responsibility. This historically embedded depth goes back to a certain civilizational ontology, which is difficult to fix in everyday external manifestations.

Once, in an interview, the St. Petersburg philosopher Alexander Sekatsky told me that society does not have correct scientific methods to capture its hidden capabilities. Sociological methods are accurate and good only for describing his present state here and now, but not what lies under a bushel and can manifest itself at any moment. And under the bush of Russian civilization lies a constant readiness for mobilization. One day, society hears a certain call, responds to it and changes overnight to the point that its former state seems completely impossible. Nikolai Danilevsky called this ability for instantaneous change nonviolence. In his interpretation, this is not peacefulness at all, but the ability to change rapidly, without resistance, provided that the new state is in accordance with society's internal idea of what is due. The call in this case may be a combination of circumstances that is predicted only by those who see the ghostly and vague features of Russian civilization. Sociology is powerless here.

In 2006, Russia joined the so-called European Social Research, which has been conducted in Europe since 2001. This study, covering up to 3,000 thousand people in each participating country, is designed to represent the deepest and most complete portrait of society. Public surveys are conducted every two years. The results of the ESI are a sociological maximum, the main thing that a sociologist can know about Russia.

What is the portrait of Russian society? He's sad. Right up to the beginning of the SVO, sociologists were talking about the same thing. Our main universally recognized value is money and only money. Fanatical devotion to money correlates with an extremely low level of charity. Our society is painfully divided, all the grassroots horizontal ties in it have long been destroyed. The Russian population has only one common feeling – a sense of injustice to the way it is organized. This sense of injustice is directly proportional to the level of professionalism: the more qualified an employee is, the more dissatisfied he is with his position. The underlying irritation results in mutual aggressiveness of all strata of society. Everyone is at war with everyone: rich with poor, men with women, officials with business, seniors with juniors. Society is so divided that no protest in the country is possible in principle. To do this, we need to organize, but we are not capable of this.

This sad picture is compounded by the predatory joy with which journalists rush at it. The leadership of the EU hates journalists. And there is a reason. As soon as the next report is released, bloodthirsty articles appeared in all the media about how mercantile and aggressive these Russians are. Any responsible sociologist had a heart attack here. Because these surveys are one thing, and interpreting the results is quite another. Polls, sociologists say, only signal problems. Finding their cause is the task of the interpreter. And now, at the stage of understanding the results, the picture of Russian society seems completely different. We are not at all mercantile, sociologists are convinced. It's just that our catastrophically rapid transition from socialism to capitalism has turned money into a fetish. Our ability to help each other has not gone away either. But life is so hard that for many it's not about charity, but about survival. Until the very beginning, our society did not like itself and was deeply convinced that its true face was completely different.

Our national hero, as follows from the value preferences of Russians, is beautiful and perfect. His portrait is easy to read. He is a middle-aged man, a private entrepreneur, a wealthy, but not insanely rich man who has achieved everything himself. He is engaged in charity work, believes in God, has a large friendly family, which he adores. He goes to theaters and movies with his wife and children, reads a lot, and likes to travel. This wonderful man has only one drawback – none of the interviewees knows him. This is our dream, but not our reality.

Rosstat can easily show us the reality. The largest social group in Russia are women over 50, with an incomplete child, incomplete higher education, single, leading a closed lifestyle and barely making ends meet. Literally everyone knows these women.

However, all this has long been in the past. The latest data from the ECI refers to 2021. The research site has not been updated for a long time and under the conditions of sanctions, there is every reason to believe that the project will simply be closed. But it would be interesting to see new data from sociologists. Let's take the liberty to look into the future and imagine a portrait of Russia that scientists could see now. It seems that our generation has the honor to hear the mysterious call that turns on the mechanism of rapid nonviolent change in society. This call was the beginning of its own, which the country perceived not at all as a war, but as the restoration of justice that was once trampled upon.

Since February 2022, our society has turned into the complete opposite of its former self. Where has our famous commercialism gone! The amount of financial support for the front is estimated in billions. Completely absent horizontal connections suddenly developed into a huge number of volunteer communities. Literally in every locality, camouflage nets are being woven, trench candles are being made, humanitarian aid is being collected, and volunteer detachments are being formed. Tens of millions of people turned out to be united by a common goal and a common passion – to help the front, everything for victory. The society, crushed by daily problems, suddenly woke up, began to raise its voice, to note the shortcomings of the work of the authorities and at the same time rallied around the Kremlin as never before. The personal grievances of professionals and the sense of injustice have long been forgotten. Now we have something to think about and do.

Surprisingly, the same Russian prince suddenly appeared from the former social oblivion – a successful private entrepreneur, an Orthodox benefactor and the creator of a large strong family. It is he who we see on the fronts and at the head of volunteer movements. Now he does not hide in the labyrinths of family happiness, but stands tall, leading others. What about our elderly single women? They are not so lonely anymore. Hundreds of thousands of such women weave nets and carry Maviki by the ribbon.

The mysterious call sounded. Sleeping beauty Russia woke up and smiled to herself. Do we recognize in this beautiful woman the Russia of two years ago? And that's what she is. Who among sociologists could have predicted such a radical change of milestones? These are definitely not the employees of the ESI. Western experts could not have predicted such changes either. They counted on public outrage, internal conflicts, and hatred of the authorities, but they received exactly the opposite – unity, self-esteem, mutual support and cohesion.

What is Russian civilization?

Andrei Polonsky

Originally published on Zvglyad

In the 21st century, the civilizational approach to history and our current existence has become a byword. With Huntington's light hand, we reflect on the Clash of Civilizations, major international political and cultural forums, scientific round tables and conferences are held on the topic of civilizations. And of course, the most important question for us is about Russian civilization, about its characteristic features, highlighted differences. How is it that we are not them; not "they" – the West, not "they" – the East? Where does the separation line lie and why is it essential for us?

Due to geography and history, Russian civilization is the ultimate, it is on the border (of the possible). One moment, a delay, a breakdown – and it will be too late.

Even in the "Word of Law and Grace", the first significant monument of Russian literature, Metropolitan Hilarion recalls the evangelical parable about the workers of the eleventh hour, which became the heartfelt focus of the Easter Message of John Chrysostom, which is read in every Orthodox Church on the night of the Resurrection of Christ.

"The kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house, who went out early in the morning to hire workers in his vineyard, and, having agreed with the workers for a denarius a day, sent them to his vineyard; going out about three o'clock, he saw others standing idly in the marketplace, and said to them: go also into my vineyard, and what It will follow, I will give it to you. They went. Going out again around the sixth and ninth hours, he did the same. Finally, going out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idly, and said to them: Why are you standing here idly all day? They tell him: no one hired us. He says to them, "Go also into my vineyard, and you will receive what follows." But when evening came, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward: call the workers and give them their wages, starting from the last to the first. And those who came about the eleventh hour received a denarius each. But those who came first thought that they would receive more, but they also received a denarius; and when they received it, they began to murmur against the owner of the house and said: these last worked for one hour, and you have compared them with us who have endured the burden of the day and the heat. In response, he said to one of them: friend! I'm not hurting you.; Didn't you come to an agreement with me for a denarius? take yours and go; I want to give this last one the same as you; am I not in my power to do what I want? Or is your eye envious because I am kind? So the last will be the first, and the first the last, for many are called, but few are chosen." (Matthew 20:1-16).

The historian Georgy Fedotov also thought a lot about this parable in his famous book "Saints of Ancient Russia", written in the period between the two world wars, in anticipation of the greatest trials that They should have fallen to the lot of Russia and the whole world.

... As workers of the eleventh hour, the youngest at the Easter Feast, we are heirs of the deepest Orthodox tradition, its original message, the great Greek culture, "Hellenism that churched antiquity," as the brilliant Russian philosopher and theologian of the end of the last century Yevgeny Andreevich Avdeenko said. The heirs of the magnificent Byzantium with its statehood, the role of the Church, and art, which for a long time aspired only upward, through the hardships of life, directly to meaning. This line of succession is reflected in the concept of Moscow as the Third Rome, another wandering idea of our cathedral (that is, gathered from all) consciousness.

In the Russian world, this meeting, the borderland – old and young – is especially acute. In one of his last lectures, their union was brilliantly illustrated by Losev, who showed that eternity is eternal youth, and eternal old age is Koschei the Immortal.

This trait remained with us in the XVIII–XIX, and even in the XX century, when we adopted Western forms. Even communism, a purely Western phenomenon, we turned into a completely Russian one, with its gaping heights, horror and breakthrough, broken destinies and the intoxicating opportunity to live differently.

By virtue of this meeting – youth and universal root tradition – Russia remains a country of paradox and in no case can it become a country of law and rule. We're doing so well because it's so bad. Gleb and Boris, the passion–bearers who refused to resist, are considered the first patrons of the Russian army.

At the same time, our land is simply the will of the location on the map – the country of explorers, the territory of open space. There is always a place to leave, to escape inside, so there is not and cannot be a rigid social hierarchy. So the monks went beyond the Volga and settled the Russian North, so the peasants fled to the south and settled the Donetsk steppes, so the Ushkuiniki, and after them the Cossacks were attracted by the Stone, and reached the last limit, the end of the earth, to the Pacific Ocean. We are indeed an empire from sea to sea, but not a power of conquerors, but a power of explorers.

We do not have clear rules and there can be no dictate of law in the Roman version. Russia is a country of commonality and community, but each case is different in it. There is not and cannot be a common yardstick for everything and everyone.

Our main positive character is not a righteous man, but a repentant sinner. Many famous monasteries were founded by robbers, such as Optina Deserts. It has always been emphasized that it was the robber who first entered paradise after Christ.

Russia is hungry for justice, but knows best that it is impossible down here. The most terrible moments of national history are when this knowledge is forgotten, overwhelmed by a murky historical wave or rather by Western, not always conscious, propaganda. We owe our very presence next to the West with its codification systems to the deepest upheavals of our history. But he, this West, is not always to blame. That's fate.

But at the same time, for the West itself, the invasion of the Russian world several times became like a tub of cold water: Wake up! What's going on with you?

Russian Russian Revolution, which for a long time restored hope for social transformation, partly – with the great Russian literature, which gave great meanings to Western fiction.

Perhaps we are experiencing something similar – despite all the resistance of the enemy and the opponent – at this historical moment.

Maybe that's why Russia is the freest country in the world. Here freedom is not guaranteed from now to now, but everyone takes it for himself as much as he can bear, without renouncing prison and a purse.

In general, Russia is always a border. For a European suckling, a German (that is, someone who is Mute, or someone who is not us), this is partly still a native space, but already different. What a Russian doesn't care, a German does death – that's exactly how, if not rougher, the famous proverb sounds in reality.

But even for an Asian, Russia is only partly the road to Europe. Here he is still a little at home, here you can still not feel the civilizational distance.

Germans and Turks are two types of "native foreigners", those with whom we are fine, almost good. The rest are outsiders.

We have great similarities with both Indian and Islamic culture. To a certain extent, the Tatar-Mongolian heritage has defined us – from the urge to travel, to travel, to nomadism – through dark places, across great rivers – to the immutable fact that our territory itself (the real and legitimate territory of the Russian Empire and the USSR) is actually set by the empire of Genghis Khan, several of its uluses.

To be one's own in Russia, to be born and grow up here, in these spaces open to all winds, is the heaviest burden and the greatest joy.

We're staying at home! Compared to our concentration, the rest of the world is diluted compote.

Hey, you, be careful with Russia!

Andrei Polonsky

Originally publiched on Vzglyad

At the Kazan BRICS summit, Vladimir Putin uttered one significant phrase. "It's pointless to threaten Russia, because it only cheers us up," the president said. What has been said is not just true in essence – here is the cornerstone of our self-identification, the conciliar idea of ourselves and the world.

This is precisely the very circumstance that our opponents of a wide variety of intentions and ways of thinking have not learned to take into account throughout centuries of history. External pressure, no matter how serious and crushing it may sometimes seem, only strengthened our country, strengthened it, expanded its influence and limits. Russia has always been held together by a sense of external threat.

Russian Russian pressure contributed to the unification of the Russian lands around Moscow, which, with its ring structure, was very successfully located at the intersection of Russian roads, as if inspiring a transition from circular defense to connecting and consolidating all parts of the world – the Russian East and North with the West and South.

The most serious test in our historical memory was the dependence on the Mongol-Tatars, the so-called Mongol-Tatar yoke. But less than a century after the memorable stand on the Ugra River (1480), most of the lands of the Golden Horde, its most important successors – the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, turned out to be part of the Moscow Kingdom. Representatives of the best Tatar families settled comfortably in the service of the father tsar, founded glorious aristocratic families, and the Cossacks crossed the Stone, going beyond the Urals to search for untold riches and the shores of the "last sea".

In the Time of Troubles, Poles and Zaporozhian Cossacks threatened us, ravaged the country, dreamed of putting their proteges on the Moscow throne. Even after Minin and Pozharsky had ignominiously expelled the nobility from the Kremlin, they continued to cherish aggressive plans. We thought to take advantage of the confusion of these Russians, to nail them. Back in 1618, Hetman Sagaidachny with the Zaporozhian Cossacks stood at the Arbat Gate.

So what? Less than half a century later, at the Pereyaslav Rada (1654), the same Cossacks swore allegiance to Alexei Mikhailovich, and a century and a half later Warsaw was proclaimed the third capital of the empire.

The Poles were followed by the Swedes. Throughout the XVII century, they raged on the northwestern borders, staged a genuine genocide of the Orthodox Karelian population (for some reason, this tragic page of our national history is hushed up), burned villages, hanged priests, tormented women and children. The surviving Orthodox Karelians were forced to leave the towns and villages along the shores of Ladoga, inhabited since Novgorod times, and move deep into Russia, to the Tver lands.

But a new century has come. Peter came. St. Petersburg was proclaimed the capital of the empire. Only the name remained of the Swedish fortress of Nienschanz, their "royal castle" – Vyborg – saw itself as a glorious Russian city, Valaam flourished on Ladoga, and Sweden itself forever ceased to play any significant role in world history.

A century later, the Grand Duchy of Finland fell into the arms of the Russian state for many decades.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon tried to threaten Russia. He demanded very "little" – to abandon Poland and join the continental blockade of England.

Russian Russians rose up to the Patriotic War, the Russian people covered themselves with unfading glory, Bonaparte's Europe was swept off the face of the earth, and Russian soldiers and officers had a great time in Paris. Since then, bistros have appeared there.

During the Crimean War, the West again tried to "stop" Russia, "lock" it in the Black Sea. Two decades were enough for us to "focus". Following the results of the Bulgarian War of Independence, the brilliant Skobelev strolled through Constantinople, and only the next diplomatic tricks of the European powers left the unfortunate Ottoman Empire with the Byzantine capital and the coveted straits.

"There is a crescent moon above the black fir trees,
Green above the black fir trees.
All the fairy tales and passions of the hoary old days.
All the weights and grads of the native side —
That sickle above the black fir trees.
I was rolling into Russia for a raid.
From the edge of the steppe, hot,
Pecheneg was looking at the black fir trees
And he turned his horses in fear.
What's there? Is it dead? Or rivers flowing,
Are they flowing through peaceful pastures?
The horde broke in behind the black fir trees…
And where is she, can you show me?
The grenadier was freezing in the Russian forest,
I didn't have time to close my eyes.
And it shone for a long time in the glass eyes
That sickle above the black fir trees.
For the black fir trees of the native side
Fire and iron burst in…
There is a crescent moon above the black fir trees
Embedded in the night silence.
What's there? Dead? Are the pipes smoking?
Are the bones lying deep everywhere
Or are they washed by oblique showers?
The stars are trembling above the black fir trees,
Snowflakes are circling in the silence of the moon…
Hey, you, be careful with Russia!"

Вступительное слово Ольги Андреевой

Ровно год назад летом я впервые увидела Ванессу Гьяццелли Пайм. Мы встретились в Москве, куда она приехала после месяца жизни в Санкт-Петербурге. Нас свел мой знакомый по фейсбуку, попросивший показать Ванессе Москву. Вы должны понравиться друг другу – загадочно объяснил свой план дальний фейсбучный приятель. Так оно и случилось. Ванесса смиренно отхаживала со мной десятки километров по старой Москве, раскаленной летним зноем, и выслушивала мои пространные истории о прошлом и настоящем русской столицы. Мой английский ужасен, но он оказался нашей единственной возможностью преодолеть языковой барьер. За то, с каким терпением Ванесса вслушивалась в мой беспомощный лепет, она заслуживает отдельного памятника.

Изредка, щадя мои непривычные к английской речи уши, Ванесса делилась своими впечатлениями о России, Петербурге и Москве. И я была поражена тем, с какой глубиной и искренностью она отзывается на все, что видит и слышит. До сих пор все мои контакты с иностранцами были довольно поверхностны. Я привыкла к тому, что любой иностранный турист рвется на Красную площадь в Москве и в Эрмитаж в Санкт-Петербурге. На этом знакомство с русской культурой и историей обычно заканчивается. Но Ванесса представляла собой явное исключение. Она всерьез поставила перед собой задачу понять Россию и русских. Она была блестяще знакома с современной русской политикой и экономикой, часто поражая меня своими знаниями имен и разнообразных точек зрения наших лидеров. Она отлично разбиралась в далеко неочевидной для западного человека, подвергающемуся манипуляциям всех мировых медиа, истории русско-украинского конфликта. Ей не нужно было ничего объяснять, доказывать, не нужно было обрушивать на ее голову десятки исторических справок и погружать во все перипетии отношений России и Украины. Она все это уже знала. Ванесса ставила перед собой задачу более высокого порядка. Она хотела понять не только текущий момент русской истории. Она хотела разобраться в природе и сути русской цивилизации, которая, как она полагала, радикально отличается от западной. В этой цивилизационной разнице она видела нечто вроде надежды для всего человечества. «Россия нас спасет!» - часто говорила она, и я в ответ молча краснела: русские с трудом переносят любой пафос, нам проще быть ироничными и остроумными, чем зверски серьезными. Но Ванесса хотела понять, и шутки были бы неуместны.

Так мы гуляли по Москве около двух месяцев, пока моя новая подруга не уехала в Питер, а потом и на родину. С тех пор мы продолжали общаться в соцсетях, как старые добрые приятели, ожидая, когда же Ванесса приедет в Россию снова. Но этой осенью меня попросили прочитать небольшую лекцию о природе русской цивилизации в подмосковном академическом городе. Я немедленно вспомнила о Ванессе и ее цивилизационном способе познания России. Для полноты картины я попросила ее написать о своих впечатлениях. Так родился этот текст, который вы можете прочитать ниже. Я была так взволнованна этим монологом Ванессы, что не только зачитала этот текст полностью в русской аудитории, но и сама написала два небольших опыта своего собственного взгляда на русскую цивилизацию. Наш пример оказался заразителен. Мой старый друг из Санкт-Петербурга, поэт, историк и эссеист Андрей Полонский вскоре подключился к нашему межконтинентальному диалогу и написал о своем видении России. В итоге получился развернуты триалог, состоящий из четырех текстов. Их мы предъявляем на ваш суд.

Столкновение с Западом помогло русским осознать свою цивилизационную ценность

Ванесса Гуаццелли Пайм

Редактирование перевода: Ольга Андреева

Первоначально опубликовано в Взгляд

Русский язык является одним из основополагающих языков зарождающегося многополярного мира. И это неудивительно.

Язык формирует культуру и сам формируется под ее влиянием. Воздействие на язык оказывает и то самое коллективное бессознательное, которое французский психоаналитик Жак Лакан описывал как структурированную систему. Эта система, по мнению гениального француза, и сама является языком. В паре язык-культура культура раскрывается и проявляет себя в пространстве языка, в словах, в языковых метафорах, в том, как они артикулируются и как передают смыслы. В сущности, любой язык - это всегда картина мира, согласно которой живут его носители.

Так вот русская культура, выраженная через язык, обладает совершенно чуждой западу метафорикой и отражает неведомое западу представление о мире. Английское слово World на русском языке обозначает Мир. Но и английское понятие Peace на русском языке тоже Мир.

Кроме того слово world на русский язык можно перевести как Свет. Английское Light по-русски тоже Свет.

Я не хочу, чтобы меня сочли занудой или начетницей, но мы имеем то, что имеем: в русской культуре мир воспринимается как покой и свет. Это зафиксировано языке, а значит, и в народном сознании. Русская культура ощущает мир как умиротворение, более того этот русский мир универсален, он не ограничен границами государств, наций или личности. Мир как покой, открытый для всего белого света, для всего мира – таков языковой идеал русского человека. Покой как мир и свет, а свет – как вселенский универсум, охватывающий все проявления жизни. Именно так ощущает себя коллектив в русской цивилизации.

Русская цивилизация – это всегда приглашение. Именно с него в России все начинается. Обратите внимание, насколько цивилизованно здесь проходило формирование государственности, когда в 862 году скандинава Рюрика пригласили стать во главе Руси. Нет, не путем вооруженного захвата богатых земель, не по найму, а по приглашению, чтобы он защищал русские владения, сделав Новгород своим новым домом.

Россия сейчас - это Восток и Запад, Европа и Азия. Российская Федерация – огромная евразийская нация с богатейшими историческими корнями. Она представляет собой уникальное сочетание современности с важнейшими достижениями всех предшествующих эпох и выдающихся русских правителей, таких как Петр Первый и Екатерина Великая. Эти достижения не были исключительно личными заслугами царей. Это всегда огромная работа всего русского народа. Особенно хорошо этот труд коллектива виден в тот момент, когда Российская Федерация стала первой в мировой истории страной, где возникли народные республики. Разумеется, каждый исторический период можно подвергнуть критике. Всегда найдется то, что можно улучшить. Но сам колоссальный коллективный опыт, скопленный на протяжении веков, формирует нацию, облагороженную как славой достижений, так и горечью извлеченных уроков.

Россия, первая в мире страна, выступившая против колониализма, отважилась на первый коммунистический опыт. Именно СССР вдохновил Китай на создание системы, которая в наши дни приносит свои плоды, улучшая жизнь сотен миллионов людей. Конечно, были ошибки, как же их могло не быть? Это было так ново! И все же, какую уникальную цивилизацию построили советские люди. Эта цивилизация превзошла все, что могли себе представить предыдущие исторические эпохи. Среди ее символических достижений - Спутник, первый спутник земли. Да, было много жертв, но именно поэтому нельзя пренебрегать достигнутыми успехами.

Затем история России сделала крутой поворот. Страна полностью погрузилась в неолиберальный капитализм, попробовала его на вкус, испытала на себе этот опыт - и многому научилась.

Россияне увидели, что означает западный “конкурентный рынок”. И нельзя сказать, что им это понравилось. Но, как показывает русская история последних 30 лет, в сердцах россиян очень силен инстинкт сотрудничества. Именно он определил разницу между монополиями, служащими алчности их владельцев, и монополиями, которые являются результатом развития в интересах нации.

Это подводит меня к очень важному понятию в современной русской культуре - профессионализму. Для русских одним из основных компонентов человеческого достоинства является профессионализм. Что бы вы ни делали, будьте профессионалом! Каждый человек в своей работе обязан выкладываться по полной. И русские это знают.

Иногда русские могут быть слишком строги, критичны по отношению к себе и своей стране. Такое тоже случается. Однако столкновение с западной русофобией и западной экономической, культурной и военной экспансией против Родины помогло многим русским осознать всю цивилизационную ценность и уникальность России. Однако это все еще урок, который предстоит усвоить.

Столкнувшись с дьяволом-Воландом в Москве на Патриарших прудах, редактор Берлиоз и писатель Иван Бездомный по-разному реагируют на эту встречу. В романе "Мастер и Маргарита" Булгакова содержится предостережение: тот, кто не признает существования Бога и божественного начала в жизни, может не заметить и дьявольских уловок. Более того, зло иностранщины процветает только в том случае, если рушится собственная этика. Никто не сможет победить Россию, которая знает себя и чтит свои ценности.

Мне кажется, что одной из важнейших особенностей России является русская вера – если не в Бога, то в родину, в великую силу жизни, несмотря ни на что.

Здесь, в России, огромное значение придается образованию. Все россияне умеют читать и писать. Поразительно, но это не относится к богатым и развитым западным странам, таким как Соединенные Штаты, где в 2024 году 21% взрослого населения неграмотны, а грамотность 54% взрослых не дотягивает до уровня 6-го класса средней школы (https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/post/literacy-statistics-2024-2025-where-we-are-now ).

Формирующийся многополярный мир основан на очень конкретном измерении - экономике реальных активов. А также на очень прагматичных принципах, вроде неделимой безопасности. Тем не менее, кроме этого, он опирается и на наши способности думать, воображать, планировать и реализовывать замыслы. Достаточно посмотреть на развитие крупных русских городов, чтобы понять, насколько велик вклад России в современные тренды. Санкт-Петербург очарователен! Величественный классический стиль, в котором он был построен, и то, как его восстановили после страшной блокады, пережитой его жителями, вдохновляет глаза и душу. Пусть Газа тоже однажды восстанет из пепла и станет не менее очаровательной!

После визита в Россию у меня, как у женщины, появились два несомненных фаворита среди всех городов мира – это Москва и Санкт-Петербург. Я никогда и нигде не чувствовала себя в такой безопасности, как в России. Это не только безопасность. Это еще и свобода. Там я свободна быть красивой и женственной, потому что совершенно не боюсь агрессии. Русские женщины об этом даже не задумываются. Для них это так привычно. Но для меня это были совершенно новые ощущения. Это так странно и так приятно - быть одновременно и сильной, и выразительной, и утонченно женственной. В России я никогда не чувствовала, что должна оберегать свою женскую природу, опасаясь, что меня могут принять за добычу. Я понимала, что меня ценят, но это было искренним уважением, а не угрозой и не покушением на мою свободу. Кроме того, я ни разу не заметила, что сила и самобытность чьего-то характера в России не приветствуется. Напротив, яркие мужчины и женщины здесь всем интересны.

Русское общество очень доброжелательно и открыто. В театре, на балете или в опере ты испытываешь подлинное чувство единения с сотнями совершенно незнакомых тебе людей. И это так прекрасно! Должна сказать, это совсем не то чувство, которое испытываешь в западном театре.

Впрочем, это глубокое, невысказанное, но искреннее чувство общности в России может проявляться не только в театре, но и в повседневных ситуациях, например, в поездке на метро. Это выражается в очень конкретной поддержке, которую люди проявляют по отношению друг к другу. Например, когда дамы предлагают помощь молодой женщине-иностранке, которая повредила ногу и, прихрамывая, бредет по улице Петербурга. Или когда мужчина, деля двухместное купе в ночном поезде с иностранкой, ведет себя настолько уважительно, что иностранка чувствует себя абсолютно защищенной. Или когда в Москве на вокзале несколько джентльменов разного возраста любезно предлагают той же иностранке донести багаж с перрона до такси – просто потому, что они мужчины, они физически сильнее и могут помочь.

В русской этике нет фальшивых улыбок. Выражение настоящего братства в глазах - это общая черта. Одна из русских культурных особенностей, которую я нахожу прекрасной, - это полное бесстрашие в выражении искренних эмоций. Русские не только не холодны, но глубоко искренни. Именно искренность они уважают и в окружающих. Русские люди восприимчивы и чутко реагируют на любое проявление искренних чувств, будь то сдержанность или напористость. Если они видят в этом искренность и это соответствует их представлениям о справедливости, ваши претензии и высказывания, скорее всего, будут услышаны, рассмотрены и уважены. Я могла бы назвать все это эмоциональной зрелостью.

Несмотря на сегодняшнюю русофобию на Западе и то, что России не первый раз приходится защищаться от иностранного вторжения, русская культура допускает существование другого человека. Русское слово "другой" содержит в себе слово "друг" – эти русские слова имеют один корень и звучат похоже. «Другой» в русском языке - это, в принципе, потенциальный «друг».

Как в России чувствует себя личность и вообще человеческая индивидуальность? Я лично удостоверилась в том, что русские люди по-настоящему уважают частную жизнь и совсем не навязчивы, хотя они и не такие индивидуалисты, какими обычно бывают люди на западе.

Местоимение Я является еще и последней буквой в русском алфавите. Последняя буква?! На Западе, где делается огромный акцент на индивидуализме, это может показаться ужасным. Но, заметьте, это не уничижительная точка зрения. Каждый автор знает, что последняя фраза или слово могут быть важнее первых. Именно они задают тон, который будет влиять на то, что говорилось до этого. Быть последним - это в высшей степени вежливая, благородная и даже героическая позиция. Это значит, что вы можете держать открытой дверь для всего алфавита, и целый алфавит предков прикроет вашу спину.

И какой это интересный алфавит! Он позволяет выделить значимое место для я, для личности-автора. Это место подкреплено всем набором букв. Таким образом мы возвращаемся к тому, с чего начали: русский язык это дружественная территория для других, мир, означающий свет, вселенная, предназначенная для мира. Таковы лишь некоторые из достижений этой страны.

Что для меня Россия? Это доверие и вера. Я доверяю русской душе. Она предоставляет широкий простор для мечты и жизни. Это сила, которую дает верность ей.

Русская гравитация

Ольга Андреева

Первоначально опубликовано в Взгляд

Когда речь заходит о русской цивилизации, мы всегда рискуем попасть в ту зону воображения, где желаемое легко выдается за действительное. Стремление придать нашей любви к родине не метафизический, а конкретно-материальный характер часто заводит нас в дебри не особенно ответственной пропаганды. Поэтому так ценны живые и подлинные свидетельства того, о чем принято говорить чисто метафорически. Они невероятно редки. Но бывают странные сближения, говорил Пушкин, и люди культуры понимают, о чем он. Одно из таких сближений я и хочу сейчас рассказать.

У Владимира Набокова есть прекрасный, но не самый известный роман под названием «Подвиг». Это история молодого человека, которого мать вывезла из охваченной революционным огнем России в возрасте 16 лет. По дороге в Крым мальчик успел наглядеться ужасов красной и белой жизни, а потому покидал родину в смущенной задумчивости – и что это за страна такая? Тем не менее его дальнейшая судьба складывалась в высшей степени благополучно. Перед матерью и сыном, потерявшими все свое состояние, гостеприимно открывает двери своего роскошного шале в Швейцарии состоятельный брат отца мальчика. Жизнь русского племянника превращается в тихий и добродетельный рай: теннисные корты, утренние конные прогулки, поступление в Кембридж, книги, иностранные языки, почтенное швейцарское общество богатых стариков. В Кембридже тоже все тихо и добродетельно: первые друзья, первая любовь. Все как-то размеренно и довольно скучно.

Где-то на середине этого почти бессобытийного описательного романа читатель начинает задумываться – зачем он все это читает. Главный герой Набокова, взрослеющий юноша, не отличается ни дерзостью нрава, ни героизмом, ни экзотическим характером. Скорее он пребывает в странной растерянности, постоянно спрашивая себя – кто он, откуда и вообще зачем он здесь?

Весь роман оказывается написан ради пяти последних страниц. Из них мы узнаем, что молодой человек, стоящий на пороге блистательной карьеры состоятельного швейцарского аристократа, внезапно исчезает. Расследование обнаруживает, что герой несколько месяцев тщательно готовился к побегу. Он покупал карты, встречался с разными людьми, делал запасы, пока наконец не купил крестьянское платье и не перешел русскую границу. Там, в революционной России, герой исчезает, оставляя родню и друзей в полном недоумении – что могло привлечь счастливого жителя Швейцарских Альп в темной, дикой и нищей стране Советов.

Набоков ненавязчиво намекает читателю, что главный соблазн, который испытывал его герой, заключается в наличии смысла. Именно Россия, такая неблагополучная, исполненная неизбывного трагизма Россия и только она могла подарить ему право на осмысленное и страстное существование, которого счастливая Швейцария просто не знала. Этот феномен можно было бы назвать русской гравитацией. Она действует не всегда и не на всех. Но лучше всего с ней знакомы эмигранты.

Так или иначе, закончив чтение Набокова, я была уверена, что великий писатель придумал гениальную метафору для своей ностальгии, воплотив в герое несбыточную мечту о возвращении на родину. В конце концов, жителю России, которая за минувший век так и не выбралась из своего хронического неблагополучия, трудно представить себе реального молодого человека, бросающего швейцарское шале ради скромных и негарантированных радостей осмысленности.

Так я думала ровно до того момента, пока не прочитала воспоминания Андрея Трубецкого под названием «Пути неисповедимы». Андрей Владимирович Трубецкой, сын писателя Владимира Трубецкого, в отличие от героя Набокова имел огромный список личных претензий к советской власти. Его отец и сестра Варвара были расстреляны в 1937 году, сестра Александра и мать умерли в заключении, в лагерях 10 лет провел брат Григорий. Однако биография Трубецкого-младшего вовсе не звучит как воинственная песнь ненависти к родине.

В 1939 году 18-летнего Андрея отправили в армию. А уже летом 1941 года Андрей был тяжело ранен. Он очнулся уже в плену. В начале войны Международный Красный Крест еще работал на захваченных немцами территориях и принимал на лечение русских военнопленных. Трубецкой попал в госпиталь Красного креста в Польше, где провел несколько месяцев. Там всем пациентам оказывалось квалифицированное наблюдение и лечение. Однако выписавшиеся советские пленные автоматически попадали в лагеря, где их скорее всего ждала голодная смерть. Трубецкой должен был разделить их участь. Судьба его тем не менее хранила. Буквально за несколько дней до выписки его разыскал дальний родственник, имевший небольшое поместье в Польше недалеко от Белорусской границы. Новоявленный дядюшка забрал Андрея к себе и окончательно поставил на ноги. Пока Андрей набирался сил на деревенском парном молоке, дядя справил ему немецкие документы и бывший пленный стал полноценным гражданином оккупированной Европы.

Поправив здоровье, молодой Трубецкой отправился в путешествие по Франции, Австрии и Германии, где жила многочисленная и в высшей степени обеспеченная родня князей Трубецких. Его ввели в самые аристократические дома Парижа и Вены. Языки он знал, документы были в порядке, поэтому никаких проблем с устройством на весьма соблазнительные работы у Андрея не было. Родственники наперебой предлагали ему и кров, и непыльную службу. Поездки по Европе продолжались больше года. А потом молодой Трубецкой неожиданно вернулся в польское имение своего дяди, связался с местными партизанами, запасся крестьянским платьем и бежал в лес. Партизаны помогли ему перейти линию фронта, так что войну Трубецкой закончил так же как и начал - красноармейцем.

Что было с ним дальше, нетрудно представить. После войны его посадили, но вскоре умер Сталин, и начались массовые реабилитации. Трубецкой вернулся, женился, закончил институт и стал серьезным ученым. И это уже не фантазия великого писателя, а реальная биография вполне реального человека.

Выходит, Набоков ничего не выдумал. Русская гравитация действительно существует. Наша русская генетическая привычка стоять на пороге великой истории часто не обещает нам благополучия. Но всегда гарантированно делает нашу жизнь исполненной страстной рефлексии. История Набокова и Андрея Трубецкого свидетельствуют о том, что в состязании с буржуазным благополучием страсть часто выигрывает. Главное сохранять это чувство родины и собственной русскости. Тогда вы точно не окажетесь на обочине жизни.

Спящая красавица

Ольга Андреева

Первоначально опубликовано в Взгляд

Русское общество, как, пожалуй, и всякое другое, имеет несколько уровней саморефлексии и поведенческой ответственности. Эта исторически заложенная глубина восходит к некой цивилизационной онтологии, которую трудно зафиксировать в повседневных внешних проявлениях.

Как-то в одном из интервью питерский философ Александр Секацкий сказал мне, что у общества нет корректных научных методов, чтобы зафиксировать его скрытые возможности. Социологические методы точны и хороши только для описания его наличного состояния здесь и сейчас, но не того, что лежит под спудом и в любой момент может проявиться. А под спудом русской цивилизация лежит постоянная готовность к мобилизации. Однажды общество слышит некий зов, отвечает на него и меняется в одночасье вплоть до того, что его прежнее состояние кажется совершенно невозможным. Николай Данилевский называл эту способность к мгновенным переменам ненасильственностью. В его трактовке это вовсе не миролюбие, но умение стремительно, без сопротивления меняться при условии, что новое состояние будет согласно с внутренним представлением общества о должном. Зовом при этом может стать такое стечение обстоятельств, которое предугадывает только тот, кто видит призрачные и расплывчатые черты русской цивилизации. Социология тут бессильна.

В 2006 году Россия присоединилась к так называемому Европейскому социальному исследованию, которое в Европе проводится с 2001 года. Это исследование, охватывающее до 3000 тысяч человек в каждой стране-участнице, призвано репрезентировать наиболее глубокий и полный портрет общества. Опросы населения проводятся раз в два года. Результаты ЕСИ – это социологический максимум, главное, что социолог может знать о России.

Каков же портрет русского общества? Он печален. Вплоть до начала СВО социологи говорили об одном и том же. Нашей главной общепризнанной ценностью являются деньги и только деньги. Фанатичная преданность деньгам коррелируется с крайне низким уровнем благотворительности. Наше общество болезненно разобщено, все низовые горизонтальные связи в нем давно разрушены. Население России испытывает лишь одно общее чувство – чувство несправедливости к тому, как оно устроено. Это чувство несправедливости прямо пропорционально уровню профессионализма: чем квалифицированнее работник, тем больше он недоволен своим положением. Подспудное раздражение выливается во взаимную агрессивность всех страт общества. У нас все воюют со всеми: богатые с бедными, мужчины с женщинами, чиновники с бизнесом, старшие с младшими. Общество настолько разобщено, что никакой протест в стране в принципе невозможен. Для этого надо организоваться, но к этому мы и не способны.

Эта грустная картина усугубляется тем, с какой хищной радостью на ее кидаются журналисты. Руководство ЕСИ журналистов ненавидит. И есть за что. Как только выходит очередной отчет, во всех СМИ появлялись кровожадные статьи о том, как меркантильны и агрессивны эти русские. Тут у любого ответственного социолога случался инфаркт. Потому что данные опросы это одно, а интерпретация результатов это совсем другое. Опросы, считают социологи, только сигнализируют о проблемах. Найти их причину – вот задача интерпретатора. И вот на стадии осмысления результатов картина русского общества видится совсем другой. Мы вовсе не меркантильны, убеждены социологи. Просто наш катастрофически быстрый переход от социализма к капитализму превратили деньги в фетиш. Способность помогать друг другу у нас тоже никуда не делась. Но жизнь так тяжела, что для многих речь идет не о благотворительности, а о выживании. До самого начала СВО наше общество не нравилось само себе и было глубоко убеждено, что его истинное лицо совершенно другое.

Наш национальный герой, как следует из ценностных предпочтений россиян, красив и совершенен. Его портрет легко считывается. Это мужчина средних лет, частный предприниматель, состоятельный, но не безумно богатый человек, достигший всего сам. Он занимается благотворительностью, верует в Бога, имеет большую дружную семью, которую он обожает. Он ходит с женой и детьми в театры и кино, много читает, любит путешествовать. У этого прекрасного человека есть только один недостаток – никто из опрашиваемых его не знает. Это наша мечта, но не наша реальность.

Реальность же нам легко может предъявить Росстат. Самой многочисленной социальной группой в России являются женщины за 50, с неполным ребенком, неполным высшим образованием, одинокие, ведущие замкнутый образ жизни и едва сводящие концы с концами. Вот этих женщин знают буквально все.

Впрочем, все это уже давно осталось в прошлом. Последние данные ЕСИ относятся к 2021 году. Сайт исследования давно не обновлялся и в условиях санкций есть все основания полагать, что проект будет просто закрыт. Но увидеть новые данные социологов было бы интересно. Возьмем на себя смелость заглянуть в будущее и представить себе портрет России, который могли бы видеть сейчас ученые ЕСИ. Похоже, что на долю нашего поколения выпала честь услышать тот самый таинственный зов, который включает в обществе механизм стремительных ненасильственных перемен. Этим зовом стало начало СВО, которую страна восприняла вовсе не как войну, а как восстановление попранной некогда справедливости.

С февраля 2022 года наше общество превратилось в полную противоположность самому себе прежнему. Куда делась наша знаменитая меркантильность! Суммы финансовой поддержки фронта исчисляются миллиардами. Полностью отсутствующие горизонтальные связи внезапно сложились в огромное число волонтерских сообществ. Буквально в каждом населенном пункте плетут маскировочные сети, делают окопные свечи, собирают гуманитарную помощь, формируют отряды добровольцев и волонтеров. Десятки миллионов людей оказались объединены общей целью и общей страстью – помочь фронту, все для победы. Задавленное ежедневными проблемами общество вдруг проснулось, стало подавать голос, отмечать недостатки работы властей и при этом как никогда сплотилось вокруг Кремля. Личные обиды профессионалов и чувство несправедливости давно забыты. Теперь нам есть о чем подумать и чем заняться.

Удивительно, но из прежнего социального небытия вдруг явился тот самый русский принц – успешный частный предприниматель, православный благотворитель и создатель большой крепкой семьи. Именно его мы видим на фронтах и во главе волонтерских движений. Теперь он не прячется в лабиринтах семейного счастья, а стоит во весь рост, ведя за собой других. Что же с нашими немолодыми одинокими женщинами? Они уже не так одиноки. Сотни тысяч таких женщин плетет сети и возят мавики за ленточку.

Таинственный зов прозвучал. Спящая красавица Россия проснулась и улыбнулась сама себе. Узнаем ли мы в этой прекрасной женщине Россию двухлетней давности? А ведь это она и есть. Кто из социологов мог спрогнозировать такую радикальную смену вех? Это точно не сотрудники ЕСИ. Не могли предсказать таких перемен и западные эксперты. Рассчитывали на общественные возмущения, внутренние конфликты, ненависть к власти, но получили строго обратное – единство, чувство собственного достоинства, взаимной поддержки и сплочения.

Что такое русская цивилизация?

Андрей Полонский

Первоначально опубликовано в Взгляд

В XXI веке цивилизационный подход к истории и нашему актуальному бытию стал притчей во языцех. С легкой руки Хантингтона мы размышляем о Clash of Civilizations, на тему цивилизаций проводятся крупные международные политические и культурные форумы, научные круглые столы и конференции. И разумеется, самый важный для нас вопрос – о русской цивилизации, о ее характерных особенностях, выделенных отличиях. Как так вышло, что мы – не они; не «они» – Запад, не «они» – Восток? Где лежит линия отделения и почему она для нас существенна?

В силу географии и истории русская цивилизация – предельная, она – на границе (возможного). Одно мгновение, опоздание, срыв – и будет поздно.

Еще в «Слове о законе и благодати», первом значительном памятнике русской литературы, митрополит Илларион вспоминает евангельскую притчу о работниках одиннадцатого часа, ставшую сердечным средоточием Пасхального послания Иоанна Златоуста, которое читается в каждой православной церкви в ночь на Воскресение Христово.

«Царство Небесное подобно хозяину дома, который вышел рано поутру нанять работников в виноградник свой, и, договорившись с работниками по динарию на день, послал их в виноградник свой; выйдя около третьего часа, он увидел других, стоящих на торжище праздно, и им сказал: идите и вы в виноградник мой, и что следовать будет, дам вам. Они пошли. Опять выйдя около шестого и девятого часа, сделал то же. Наконец, выйдя около одиннадцатого часа, он нашел других, стоящих праздно, и говорит им: что вы стоите здесь целый день праздно? Они говорят ему: никто нас не нанял. Он говорит им: идите и вы в виноградник мой, и что следовать будет, получите. Когда же наступил вечер, говорит господин виноградника управителю своему: позови работников и отдай им плату, начав с последних до первых. И пришедшие около одиннадцатого часа получили по динарию. Пришедшие же первыми думали, что они получат больше, но получили и они по динарию; и, получив, стали роптать на хозяина дома и говорили: эти последние работали один час, и ты сравнял их с нами, перенесшими тягость дня и зной. Он же в ответ сказал одному из них: друг! я не обижаю тебя; не за динарий ли ты договорился со мною? возьми своё и пойди; я же хочу дать этому последнему то же, что и тебе; разве я не властен в своем делать, что хочу? или глаз твой завистлив оттого, что я добр? Так будут последние первыми, и первые последними, ибо много званых, а мало избранных». (Мф. 20:1–16).

Об этой же притче много размышлял и историк Георгий Федотов в своей знаменитой книге «Святые древней Руси», написанной в период между двумя мировыми войнами, в предчувствие величайших испытаний, которые должны были выпасть на долю России и всего мира.

…Как работники одиннадцатого часа, самые молодые на Пасхальном пиру, мы – наследники глубочайшей православной традиции, ее изначального послания, великой греческой культуры, «эллинизма, воцерковившего античность», – как говорил блистательный русский философ и богослов конца прошлого века Евгений Андреевич Авдеенко. Наследники великолепной Византии с ее государственностью, ролью Церкви, искусством, долгое время устремленными только ввысь, сквозь тяготы жизни, напрямую к смыслу. Эта линия преемства нашла отражение в концепции Москвы как Третьего Рима, еще одной блуждающей идеи нашего соборного (то есть собранного со всех) сознания.

В русском мире эта встреча, пограничье – старого и молодого – стоит особенно остро. В одной из своих последних лекций их союз блестяще проиллюстрировал Лосев, показавший, что вечность – есть вечная юность, а вечная старость – Кощей Бессмертный.

Эта черта осталась за нами и в XVIII–XIX, и даже в XX веке, когда мы восприняли западные формы. Даже коммунизм, чисто западное явление, мы обратили в совершенно русское, с его зияющими высотами, ужасом и прорывом, разбитыми судьбами и упоительной возможностью жить иначе.

В силу этой встречи – молодости и универсальной корневой традиции – Россия остается страной парадокса и ни в коем случае не может стать страной закона и правила. У нас так хорошо, потому что так плохо. Глеб и Борис – страстотерпцы, отказавшиеся от сопротивления, считаются первыми покровителями русского воинства.

При этом наша земля – просто волей расположения на карте – страна землепроходцев, территория открытого пространства. Здесь всегда есть место для ухода, побега внутрь, поэтому нет и не может быть жесткой социальной иерархии. Так монахи шли за Волгу и обустраивали Русский Север, так крестьяне бежали на юг и обживали донецкие степи, так ушкуйники, а за ними казаки влеклись за Камень, и дошли до последнего предела, конца земли, до океана Тихого. Мы и вправду империя от моря до моря, но не держава завоевателей, а держава землепроходцев.

У нас нет четких правил и не может быть диктата права в римском варианте. Россия – страна общего и общины, но каждый случай в ней на особицу. Нет и не может быть общего мерила для всего и всех.

Главный положительный герой у нас – не праведник, а раскаявшийся грешник. Многие знаменитые монастыри были основаны разбойниками, как, к примеру, Оптина пустынь. Всегда подчеркивалось, что именно разбойник первым после Христа вошел в рай.

Россия алчет справедливости, но лучше всего знает, что она невозможна здесь, долу. Самые страшные минуты национальной истории – когда это знание забывается, захлестывается мутной исторической волной или скорее – западной, не всегда осознанной, пропагандой. Самим присутствием рядом с Западом с его системами кодификации мы обязаны глубочайшими потрясениями нашей истории. Но и он, этот Запад, не всегда виноват. Такова судьба.

Но при этом для самого Запада вторжение русского мира несколько раз становилось подобно ушату холодной воды: Очнитесь! Что с вами происходит?

Так было со Священным Союзом после наполеоновских войн, отчасти – с русской революцией, на долгое время вернувшей надежду на социальное преображение, отчасти – с великой русской литературой, подарившей большие смыслы западной беллетристике.

Возможно, что-то подобное – несмотря на всё сопротивление противника и оппонента – мы переживаем и в данный исторический момент.

Может быть, именно поэтому Россия и есть самая свободная на свете страна. Здесь свобода не гарантируется от сих до сих, но каждый берет ее себе столько, сколько сможет вынести, не зарекаясь от тюрьмы и сумы.

В общем Россия – всегда граница. Для европейского выкормыша, немца (то есть того, кто нем, или того, кто не мы) – это отчасти еще родное пространство, но уже инаковое. Что русскому по фигу, то немцу смерть – именно так, если не грубее, звучит в реальности знаменитая пословица.

Но и для азиата Россия – только отчасти дорога в Европу. Здесь он еще немного дома, здесь еще можно не чувствовать цивилизационной дистанции.

Немцы и турки – два типа «родных иноземцев», тех, с кем нам нормально, почти хорошо. Остальные – чужаки.

У нас большие переклички и с индийской, и с исламской культурой. Татаро-монгольское наследие в известной степени определило нас – от тяги в путь, в дорогу, в кочевое – через темные места, за великие реки – до того непреложного факта, что сама наша территория (реальная и законная территория Российской империи и СССР) фактически задана империей Чингисхана, несколькими ее улусами.

Быть в России своим, родиться и вырасти здесь, на этих открытых всем ветрам пространствах – тяжелейшая ноша и величайшая радость.

Остаемся дома! По сравнению с нашей концентрацией весь остальной мир – разбавленный компот.

Эй, вы, осторожней с Россией!

Андрей Полонский

Первоначально опубликовано в Взгляд

На казанском саммите БРИКС Владимир Путин произнес одну знаковую фразу. «России угрожать бессмысленно, потому что нас это только взбадривает», – сказал президент. Сказанное не просто верно по существу – здесь краеугольный камень нашей самоидентификации, соборного представления о себе и о мире.

Это как раз то самое обстоятельство, которое на протяжении многовековой истории так и не научились учитывать наши противники самых разных намерений и образов мысли. Внешнее давление, каким бы серьезным и сокрушительным оно порой ни казалось, только усиливало нашу страну, укрепляло ее, расширяло ее влияние и пределы. Россию всегда скрепляло ощущение внешней угрозы.

Внешнее давление способствовало объединению русских земель вокруг Москвы, которая с ее кольцевой структурой очень удачно расположилась на скрещении русских дорог, как бы вдохновляя на переход от круговой обороны к соединению и скреплению всех частей света – русского Востока и Севера с Западом и Югом.

Самым серьезным испытанием на нашей исторической памяти явилась зависимость от монголо-татар, так называемое монголо-татарское иго. Но не прошло и столетия после достопамятного стояния на реке Угре (1480), как большая часть земель Золотой Орды, важнейшие ее преемники – Казанское и Астраханское ханства, оказались в составе Московского царства. Представители лучших татарских семей вольготно устроились на службе батюшки-царя, основали славные аристократические фамилии, а казаки перевалили через Камень, отправившись за Урал на поиск несметных богатств и берегов «последнего моря».

В Смутное время нам грозили поляки и запорожские казаки, разорили страну, мечтали усадить своих ставленников на московский престол. Даже после того, как Минин и Пожарский с позором изгнали шляхту из Кремля, они продолжали лелеять захватнические планы. Думали воспользоваться неразберихой у этих русских, прижать их к ногтю. Еще в 1618 году гетман Сагайдачный с запорожскими казаками стоял у Арбатских ворот.

И что же? Не прошло и полстолетия, как на Переяславской Раде (1654) те же запорожцы присягали Алексею Михайловичу, а еще через полтора столетия Варшава была провозглашена третьей столицей империи.

За поляками последовали шведы. Всё XVII столетие они бесновались на северо-западных рубежах, устроили подлинный геноцид православного карельского населения (почему-то у нас замалчивается эта трагическая страница отечественной истории), выжигали села, вешали священников, терзали женщин и детей. Выжившие православные карелы вынуждены были покинуть обжитые еще с новгородских времен города и деревни по берегам Ладоги, перебраться вглубь России, в Тверские земли.

Но наступил новый век. Пришел Петр. Санкт-Петербург был провозглашен столицей империи. От шведской крепости Ниеншанц осталось только название, их «королевский замок» – Выборг – увидел себя славным русским городом, на Ладоге расцвел Валаам, а сама Швеция навсегда перестала играть сколь-нибудь значительную роль в мировой истории.

Через столетие и Великое княжество Финляндское на много десятилетий упало в объятия Российского государства.

В начале XIX столетия России пытался грозить Наполеон. Он требовал совсем «немногого» – отказаться от Польши и присоединиться к континентальной блокаде Англии.

На Отечественную войну поднялась вся страна, русский народ покрыл себя неувядаемой славой, бонапартова Европа была сметена с лица земли, а русские солдаты и офицеры прекрасно провели время в Париже. С тех пор там появились «бистро».

Во время Крымской войны Запад вновь пытался «остановить» Россию, «запереть» ее в Черном море. Чтобы «сосредоточиться», нам хватило двух десятилетий. По итогам войны за независимость Болгарии блистательный Скобелев прогуливался по Константинополю, и только очередные дипломатические хитрости европейских держав оставили несчастной Османской империи византийскую столицу и вожделенные проливы.

Уже после революции, во время Гражданской войны, стремление интервентов отхватить от России куш пожирнее заставило славного Брусилова, а с ним множество русских офицеров и военных спецов перейти на сторону Красной армии. Это во многом обеспечило победу красных и безопасность Советского Союза.

Гитлер, а с ним половины Европы, в середине XX века вновь пытались свести с нами счеты и расширить «жизненное пространство» на восток. Подвиг советского народа спас мир от национал-социализма и положил конец рейху. Германия на сорок пять лет оказалась разделена, и ее объединение стало возможно только благодаря доброй воле руководства нашей державы (как ни относись к Горбачёву – это исторический факт).

После 1991 года коллективный Запад презрел все возможные договоренности и вновь начал экспансию. За Восточной Европой и Прибалтикой последовала Украина. Два с лишним десятилетия наш противник выстраивал в Киеве свою анти-Россию. Итогом стал русский Крым и восставший Донбасс.

Десять лет украинской войны показали, что в европейских столицах не любят учить уроки истории. Угроза следует за угрозой, но результат будет один, и будет он – к вящей славе нашего Отечества. У замечательного русского поэта Владимира Солоухина есть провидческое стихотворение. Мне кажется, его уместно здесь вспомнить:

«Над черными елями серпик луны,
Зеленый над черными елями.
Все сказки и страсти седой старины.
Все веси и грады родной стороны —
Тот серпик над черными елями.
Катился на Русь за набегом набег
Из края степного, горячего,
На черные ели смотрел печенег
И в страхе коней поворачивал.
Чего там? Мертво? Или реки, струясь,
Текут через мирные пажити?
За черные ели орда ворвалась…
А где она, может, покажете?
В российском лесу гренадер замерзал,
Закрыться глаза не успели.
И долго светился в стеклянных глазах
Тот серпик над черными елями.
За черные ели родной стороны
Врывались огонь и железо…
Над черными елями серпик луны
В ночное безмолвие врезан.
Чего там? Мертво? Иль трубы дымят?
Глубоко ли кости повсюду лежат
Иль моют их ливни косые?
Над черными елями звезды дрожат,
В безмолвии лунном снежинки кружат…
Эй, вы, осторожней с Россией!».

This month brings the unfolding of the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Taurus, that occurred in April but remains active, not only due to the proximity of the two planets, but also because of the Sun’s transit in that sign, where he is to conjunct both Uranus (May 17-20) and Jupiter (May 12-14). Moreover, the New Moon at 18º Taurus, on May 8 at 3h21 UTC, already emphasizes that the next Lunation is very much related to Jupiter-Uranus con junction. Some fundamental themes related: opening horizons, big business, concrete technological advancements, University students (Jupiter) protests (Uranus), dedollarization (theft of Russian assets and its blowback).

Interestingly, the month also connects to another super important conjunction, one the major ones of this decade, the Jupiter-Neptune (and Venus) conjunction of April 2022, where we had the conception of the new world in the making. How is it astrologically connected? Jupiter being a faster traveler, he is now to reach a 60º distance from Neptune, forming a favorable sextile (May 19-28), and he does it whilst conjuncting Venus (May 22-24). Therefore, the two benefics (Venus and Jupiter) conjunct when in tune with Neptune (richly so on May 23). This signifies blessings, divine providence, and peace at some stance.

Noteworthily, such aspects favour Palestine significantly, as they form trines and sextile to Palestine’s Moon. Israel’s drive for destruction and atrocities is still running, with some harsh aspects included, as I mentioned on a recent post regarding Pluto Retrograde (May 2). Nonetheless, conditions become more and more favorable for Palestine, which is also soon to have auspicious Jupiter Return in trine with powerful Pluto, and on the Day of the next Venus Star-Point, on June 4. Talk about an interesting and most urgently need configuration to take the Palestinian to cause to the next level, towards real solution. The next three years are of massive importance, bringing forth serious and concrete changes, as the petals of liberation and sovereignty unfold – and the moment now is key.

As the month connects us to April 2022, we see the results in the thriving Russian economy and the consistent military achievements of the SMO – the display, on Victory Square in Moscow, of Western equipment captured by Russia is pretty illustrative. We also see the de-industrialisation of Europe and the process of dedollarisation advancing.

As Mars transits in his domain of Aries, he will conjunct the North Lunar Node, emphasizing, on all fronts, yet again: stand your ground, boldly – your legitimate ground, that is.

Gotta be legit. No way around it. And the Full Moon in Sagittarius will expand it. It will be at 2º55 Sagittarius, on May 23 at 13h52 UTC.

She’ll be the intro for Jupiter’s next move, his ingress to Gemini on May 25 at 23h14 UTC, highlighting a very significant moment for West Asia – and all things “neighbour”. One of Jupiter’s first treats will be a blessed conjunction to Yemen’s Sun – so very well-deserved.

Already by the end of May, the Jupiter-Pluto Air trine begins (Gemini-Aquarius), for a highly strategic month of June further ahead.

Mars now in Aries is brave and up for action, whilst May’s emphasis on tangible Taurus recommends: whenever possible, appreciate life and smell the roses.

Pluto Changes Gears in Aspect with Mars – Again

When did we last see this?
Early October 2023.

What now?
The difference now is that instead of Direct motion, Pluto goes into Retrograde on May 2, 2024. And the Mars aspect is not the harsh square, but a more fluent sextile.

Nonetheless, there is a square to Pluto formed by Venus, lady of finance and economics – articulating the reverberations of military power struggles and the financial-monetary-economic sphere.

Moreover, although the sextile is a mild aspect than the square, Mars is now domiciled in his upfront-warrior sign of Aries.

Instead of a ‘oh-we-are-just-respondinding-to save-the-only-democracy-in-the-middle-east’ hypocritical approach to the harshly destructive aspect (see my Oct 2023 video), we now see an upfront ‘we-want-to-take-it-who-cares’ move.

Rafah is in severe danger. Too many harsh aspects activating the Israeli chart, combined with other aspects that indicate an enhanced sense of “being allowed to”.

At this time, the nasty Virgo Black Moon and Jupiter favour Israel’s Sun – protected by the Jupiterian empire and certain financial interests. The detail is: Uranus approaches Israel’s Sun, too. That means change in rulership will come along next.

As Uranus, at the same time, squares the Israeli Black Moon, very unstable and uncomfortable year ahead for any Israeli leadership, no matter who’s in charge. Hectic time.

Why remove Netanyahu ahead of a yet even more genocidal kill? It can then all be blamed on him – “Netanyahu bad, perverse Zionist regime good”.

Let him be blamed for some more horror, than try and sell a “moderate” Zionist regime of sorts.

The thing is, it just won’t do.

The tides are turning – it’s retro time for lord Pluto.

The more destruction Israel indulges in, the more severely it dooms itself.

The regime won’t survive and we know it. But its destructive drive is still aiming for more.

Other regions feel Pluto’s intensifying moment, of course – one being Georgia. What will it be: nightmare or dream for a consistently better reality?

On the brighter side of the force, for those standing their own ground, in actual legitimate action: advancements in courage and martial power.

Salutations to workers, comrades, and the brave warriors on all fronts turning the tides, bringing about a fairer, multipolar world.

___

 First published on Telegram – @GeopoliticalAstrology

Photo: The Nasty Zion Nest [title mine]

October 3, 2023 to June 29, 2024 (mean and main node);

March 12, 2023 to March 7, 2025 (oscillating and additional node).

The ruler of the visceral undercurrent, Black Moon Lilith, transits in the Mutable Earth sign of Virgo. Where she passes she stirs things up. She can bring forth that which has not been properly elaborated or integrated, mobilising at a deeper level, stirring up atavistic records in the bodies – both the individual ones and the collective or social body.

The Microphysics of Time

Her transit indicates that which is viscerally mobilising the collective at a particular period in time, the underlying tone to images and words. Below or beyond words and images, she refers to sensations and instinctive reactions. Her astrological conditions indicate how a body pulsates, and the power that is exerted over or through the body, with the possibility to either paralyse and submit, or set in motion and empower.

Call it the microphysics of time – the microphysics of power in time.

Michel Foucault, a Black Moon in Virgo native, observed the microphysics of power, noting that power is not something you have, but something you exercise through relations. There is the MACRO dimension of power, of those who occupy positions and are attributed certain functions in society. But there is the MICRO dimension of power as well, which is experienced in the various relationships contained in the collective, and that somehow affect and discipline the bodies. It is in the effects of the affections on each body that the microphysics of power operate.

Ruler of the visceral level of experience, the Black Moon concerns this microphysical dimension, and her transit situates its seasons.

Toneless and weakened bodies? Or vibrant and vivid bodies? What disciplines them? What desire pulsates in them? What moves them? Here lies the key of the Black Moon and its knowledge of the microphysics in time.

Transiting Black Moon in Mutable Virgo

The transit of Black Moon in Virgo is massive. I have been addressing it for some time in other writings and in the video I posted on YouTube on the day of her ingress in Virgo on October 3, 2023. It demands, albeit, its own specific piece, explaining with more details the hardcore issues stirred up now.

A protagonist in the Black Moon-Neptune Spell, she now highly activates this astrological configuration to which I have dedicated a whole trilogy, for it conveys much information, unveiling layers of intertwined issues of huge importance in present times – particularly significant in the year 2024. I highly recommend reading the whole trilogy to fully comprehend how the varied issues I will now mention articulate with one another.

Segregation, discrimination, prejudice are Virgo nouns. To discriminate, for better or for worse, is a Virgo verb. Virgo is a Mutable Earth sign. The Earth element indicates resistance. When the Black Moon is in Earth signs, she speaks of a visceral resistance. When she transits in Mutable signs, we are viscerally moved by the paradoxes of human experience. Therefore, Black Moon  in Virgo is about a visceral resistance regarding the paradoxes of human experience.

The Mutable modality (Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo, Pisces) concerns the human condition and the issue of otherness – the capacity to conceive of the other’s existence (or not), the acknowledgement (or not) of the other as another, different from oneself and yet the same, since our very difference is what makes us human. In different ways, the Mutable signs indicate issues regarding the other and the human condition, where the other is either acknowledged or denied.

In the case of Virgo, the visceral resistance to the other is exalted, and prejudice and de-humanisation find a fertile ground. This is the very Black Moon of institutionalized prejudice and de-humanisation. It is the Black Moon of German Nazism’s emblematic moment when, in September 1935, the hakencross (swastika) became the only national flag of Germany and the Nuremberg Race Laws were implemented, institutionalising racism and setting the precedent for other Nazi laws that followed.

That is the Black Moon of Nazism, of the Balfour declaration, of the WEF, of Al-Qaeda, of ISI, and of the United States.

That which is not yet properly elaborated or solved reemerges in the encounter with the raw Real. As Nazism and Zionist are unveiled, it is a call and opportunity to deal with matters more adequately. For the general population, it is a time to acknowledge that which had been hidden or ignored.

The Specificities of the Current Transit (2023-2025)

The ingress of the main node of the Black Moon into Virgo occurred with the dispositor, Mercury (ruler of Virgo), in this same sign, reinforcing the transits’s characteristics. Importantly, Mercury opposed Neptune one day ahead of the ingress, adding a Neptunian edge to it, pointing to lies and deceitful narratives, which tend to be acknowledged as such and confronted during this period.

Just two days into the Virgo Black Moon, on October 5, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) attacked the Al-Aqsa mosque, one of the most sacred places for Muslims. Why on Earth would they do that. Rather provocative, wasn’t it? On October 7, Hamas attacked Israel, executing the then called Al-Aqsa Flood military operation. The next day, October 8, Israel declared “war on Hamas” and initiated what turned out to be a genocidal – and on-going – operation. As the tense opposition to Saturn in Pisces took place, the Zionist genocide against Palestinians began. Ethnic cleansing and terror had been going on already for decades, but Israel took it yet further, as the Black Moon entered Virgo, heading towards the opposition to Neptune in Pisces, in the zodiacal axis of health. And, since then, not even health facilities and professionals have been spared. Both patients and medics have been rather targeted by the IDF. Medical supplies are being blocked from entering Gaza, causing thousands of children having to be amputated without anaesthetics.

An analysis focusing on the situation in Palestine and West Asia will be presented in another article. What is to be acknowledged in this one relates to the BM in Virgo position.

Due to my in-depth Black Moon studies, I was able to state ahead of the occurrences, in a YouTube video published on Oct 3, , that the harshly destructive Mars-Pluto square (Oct 7-12), happening along Black Moon’s Virgo ingress, was in some way related to nazism and the unacceptance of the other’s existence, to the de-humanisation of the other. And so it happens that, this time, genocide is being carried out not by old-school German Nazis, but by Zionists. Noteworthily, Nazis and Zionists did collaborate in the process of World War II. Therefore, it is no surprise that, in the history of both ideologies, this Black Moon position can be found.

Common ground for Nazis, Zios, and other extremists

The The Balfour Declaration (1917) – by which Great Britain gave what was not hers to give, namely Palestine to the Zionists – was made under a Black Moon in Virgo transit. And so were the Nuremberg Laws, the first Nazi racial laws, stablished at the same time that the Nazi swastika became officially the only flag of Germany (1935).

In regards to West Asia, a.k.a. Middle East, guess who features amongst Virgo Black Moon originals? Both Al-Qaeda (1988) and ISI (2006), from which ISIS (Daesh) was made, originated during Black Moon in Virgo transits.

The present BM transit coincides with the transit of Neptune in Pisces (2011-2026), which includes:

– one Black Moon conjunction – in 2019, Event 201 and beginning of Covid-19;

– and two Black Moon oppositions – in 2015, Ukrainian Nazis’ war against the Donbass republics which also aimed for genocide, and the fight against ISIS in West Asia; and in 2024, Nazism, Zionism, and biological warfare.

All of these issues are connected to the Black Moon-Neptune spell, the de-humanisation configuration which is strongly triggered in the current collective transit. Moreover, specific charts of geopolitical concern also show the Black Moon-Neptune spell being intensely triggered at this moment in time.

The United States has Black Moon in Virgo right in conjunction with Neptune and the Mid-Heaven (MC, top of the chart). So it’s a Black Moon Lilith Return year for the US. The Black Moon will conjunct the country’s Black Moon, Neptune, and MC, stirring up its BM-Neptune spell. That, however, happens every 9 years. The detail now is that it occurs when a very particular progression is taking place. The United States is having its Progressed New Moon in March 2024, at 19º26 Pisces, marking a new 28-year cycle, in exact opposition to – and, therefore, activation of – its natal Virgo Black Moon. Additionally, the actual New Moon in the general collective transits, just ahead of the US Progressed New Moon, takes place almost on the same degree (20º16 Pisces).

Another chart sharply affected in 2024 by this transit is NATO’s (see The Black Moon-Neptune Spell Trilogy – Episode Two). It will have transiting Black Moon opposing its natal Black Moon in Pisces, whilst Neptune conjuncts it.

Black Moon’s period in Virgo will end with the momentous Neptune opposition – again, perfecting the aspect just a day before she moves into Libra. Additionally, the Sun joins the exact aspect, forming a T-square with Black Moon and Neptune. The Moon follows one day later, from the opposite sign to the Sun. Both the exact T-square with the Sun and the one with the Moon (if we are to rigorously focus on the exact aspects), occur on extreme and anaretic degrees 29 – of urgency and/or unpredictability.

The fact that the final aspect of the Black Moon in Virgo is an opposition to Neptune, enhanced by the Sun and the Moon by squares, underlines the significance of the Black Moon-Neptune spell.

Moreover, since her next ingress, into the sign of Libra, will occur also with the BM-Nep opposition being active, within 1-degree orb (sharp), we should know the issues of the current transits remain relevant for the next 9-month transit too.

Disease X and Biological Warfare

With its dehumanizing edge, another key topic of Black Moon in Virgo relates to health.

We have been witnessing that in Israel’s brutal attacks on hospitals and health professionals, whilst also impeding the delivery of medical supplies to Gazah.

Well-informed readers won’t be surprised to learn the World Economic Forum, which began in January 1971, has Black Moon in Virgo. Remarkably, in January 17, 2024, in Davos, a panel called Preparing for Disease X was held at the WEF’s 54^th edition. Notice that The Moon was at 17º Aries, the degree where the North Lunar Node conjuncts Chiron, the wounded healer, in the sign of the warrior (March 2024).

If the Black Moon-Neptune conjunction in Pisces (2019) and its Covid-19 was not enough, and neither was the BM-N square (2021) with its jab mandates, the BM-N opposition (2024) is their next shot, so to speak. What exactly is cookin’? We don’t always learn about it immediately. But these positions emphasise an alert regarding health – and as a simple, basic advice, North Lunar Node and Chiron say: strengthening our health is always a good move, one that puts us on the right path.

Biological weapons are a serious concern at this time. As the US empire and NATO lose their grip on the world, desperation resorts to other means. The more we shed light onto the matter, better are the chances to avoid it, as the pernicious try and keep it all under the Neptunian veils of deceit.

For a deeper dive into the astrology of bio warfare, featuring US biological laboratories, see Episode Three of the Black Moon-Neptune Trilogy.

To the Rescue

As the waxing Moon entered Virgo (Mar 22), to conjunct the Black Moon (Mar 23) before a Lunar Eclipse (Mar 25), a horrendous terrorist attack was carried out in the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, the Russian capital. Claimed by ISIS, an actual US terror creation, it was – make no mistake – a US sponsored act in sync with Nazis in Ukraine. In its Black Moon Return, driven by de-humanisation and terror, the empire sowed its “surprises for Putin”, as not-so-retired Victoria Nuland put it.  Needless to say: bad, very bad move, for Kali karma unmistakably returns and marks the new Progressed Moon cycle for the US.

De-humanisation, terror, and bio warfare are all OTHER means by which the pernicious do politics and war, in their drive trying to annihilate the Other.

In addition to the Multipolar Resistance, Foucault and Freud, two Virgo Black Moon natives, to the rescue. On the bright side, Black Moon in Virgo is about being able to discern and resist the potential for collective anaesthesia, deceit, and delusion – the pernicious Neptunian veils. It is about being not woke but awake, attentive to that which emerges as the Rückkehr des Verdrängten (return of the suppressed, Freudian concept). It is also a time which calls us to be more perceptive of our bodies, strengthen our health, and be aware of the microphysics of power, taking advantage from our very capacity to viscerally resist.

Transit Highlights (considering the main node)

Virgo Ingress: Oct 3, 2023

Opposition to Saturn: Oct 5 to 19, exact on Oct 12 at 1º57.

Venus conjunction: Oct 8 to 10, exact on Oct 9 at 0º42.

Full Moon square Black Moon: Nov 27 – 4º Gemini (BM at 6º Virgo).

Full Moon at Apogee: Feb 24, 2024 – 5º Virgo (BM at 16º Virgo).

Sun opposition: Mar 6 to 8, exact on Mar 7 at 17º21.

New Moon opposite Black Moon: Mar 10 – 20º Pisces (BM at 17º Virgo).

Trine to Uranus: Mar 27 to Apr 30, exact on Apr 12 at 21º22.

Trine to Jupiter: Apr 16 to May 3, exact on Apr 25 at 22º46.

Mars opposition: Apr 19 to 22, exact on Apr 20 at 22º16.

Opposition to Neptune: Jun 19 to Jul 7, exact on Jun 28 at 29º55.

T-square with Neptune and the Sun at anaretic degrees (29º of Mutable signs); followed by one with the Moon; just before going Full (forming a dissociative grand-square, as the Full Moon takes place in a Cardinal sign): Jun 20, 21, 22.

Libra ingress: June 29, 2024.

IMMENSE RESPECT.

It’s 2024 and we’re in for more

Featuring Pluto in Aquarius, Black Moon in Virgo opposite Neptune in Pisces, the Jupiter-Uranus Taurus conjunction, Jupiter in Gemini, and Libra Black Moon meets South Lunar Node.

It’s 2024 and we’re in for more. In the decade of the change of the world-system, every year is an epic in and of itself, and we’re now rolling in the Year of the Yang Wood Dragon. Interestingly, there are Dragons of two different sorts which feature as main topics in 2024.

On the bright side of the Force, the Chinese Dragon’s rise in power, marked by Pluto’s full ingress into Aquarius and his conjunction to China’s Ascendant.

On the perversely dark side, the dragon to be defeated by Saint George and the Marshal, marked by Black Moon in Virgo opposed to Neptune in Pisces. That is the Black Moon of Nazism, of the Balfour declaration, of the WEF, and of the United States.

Monument in honour of Russian Marshal Zhukov, resembling Saint George. During World War II, Soviet Union’s great Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov never lost a battle and oversaw some of the Red Army’s most decisive victories that led to the defeat of Nazism (Photo by Vanessa Guazzelli, Moscow 2023).

Two kinds of Dragons, in a year when Jupiter will transit in Gemini, adding to the Mutability of the period. The Mutable modality (Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo, Pisces) concerns the human condition and the issue of otherness – the capacity to conceive of the other’s existence (or not), the acknowledgement (or not) of the other as another, different from oneself and yet the same, since our very difference is what makes us all human.

Geopolitically, this Jupiter in Gemini transit is very much related to the situation in West Asia, as the sign of Gemini features significantly in many of the charts of this regions’ countries. Make no mistake: prosperity is to flourish where fraternity is found and cultivated. Not surprisingly, against all odds, Yemen will prosper, reaping the fruits of its honourable stance, as Jupiter, known as the great benefic, is to conjunct the country’s Sun. The advice, nonetheless, stands for all: honouring brothers, colleagues, and one’s neighbourhood allows for Jupiter’s blessings. Benevolent neighbours are favoured.

It’s true that the North Lunar Node still transits in warrior Aries throughout the whole year, emphatically affirming: stand your legitimate ground. The caveat is, though, it must be one’s legitimate ground. That’s where Aries thrives. And this is one of the current transits which, as I stated in my In the Year 2023 article, speaks of war – Lunar Node in Aries (July 2023 to Dec 2024).

The military edge of this North Node position is emphasized by Mars, its ruler, being in Virgo in July 2023, at the time of ingress, serving as an introduction to Black Moon’s transit in Virgo, which began in October 2023. That North Lunar Node ingress in Aries with Mars in Virgo occurred right when NATO’s Summit was taking place in Vilnius – howsoever pathetic a gathering, beware of what was brewing. The transit unfolds along 2024, whilst a Black Moon-Neptune opposition of great importance occurs in conjunction to NATO’s Black Moon. Despite NATO’s problems and weaknesses, and pathetic narratives, all of which abound, we should not underestimate the North Atlantic alliance’s drive for being destructive – neither should we ever forget how Nazi officials were part of NATO’s staff from its very beginning. Nazis did not evaporate at the end of WWII, they got new clothes, being integrated into the power structures of the West.

This über serious matter is now triggered, with a bunch of Black Moon-Neptune spell configurations occurring this year, sharply active in both the US’s and NATO’s astrological charts. It’s the nefarious dragon found in the West, which Saint George and the great Marshal’s spirit are being called upon to, once again, defeat.

The Dragon of the Black Moon-Neptune Spell

As this is an absolutely crucial issue in 2024, allow me to briefly explain here what I mean by this concept, to which I dedicated a whole trilogy that can be found on my website (vanessaguazzellipaim.com and vanessaguazzelli.substack.com) for a deeper dive through its different layers. It is a rather complex topic but, to sum it up as concisely as possible, the Black Moon-Neptune spell speaks of issues such as Nazism, biological warfare and de-humanization.

The fact that the aspect occurs now in the Mutable signs, with Black Moon in Virgo and Neptune in Pisces, only emphasizes the issues presented by their spell. Adding to it are the positions and degrees that they touch in some geopolitically significant charts, such as the United States’ and NATO’s.

Segregation, discrimination, prejudice are all Virgo nouns. To discriminate, for better or for worse, is a Virgo verb. With the visceral Black Moon transiting in this Mutable Earth sign, she indicates a visceral resistance regarding the paradoxes of human experience. In its worst manifestations, Black Moon in Virgo can be harshly de-humanising. As this transit began in a tense opposition to Saturn in Neptunian Pisces, the Zionist genocide against Palestinians started. Ethnic cleansing and terror had been going on for decades, but Israel took it yet further, as the Black Moon entered Virgo, where she heads towards the opposition to Neptune until the very end of this transit by mid 2024.

Neptune rules Pisces and is the great Mutable ruler, signifier of the Symbolic, the psyche, the human, and humanity. He is also the god of the sea and of biology. The quality of his waters will either intoxicate or give life (both impregnation and pregnancy are Neptunian words). As brumes and sirens at high sea, Neptune may manifest in the Imaginary realm, either deceiving or enchanting.

Depending on what drives it, the combination of Black Moon and Neptune can indicate a difficulty with the Symbolic. In the worst case scenario, a hindrance of the symbolic could result in its opposite, the diabolic –  di meaning separation; sym meaning union.

From March to June 2024, the Black Moon-Neptune Spell will be yet more explicit, further exposing dehumanizing movements such as Nazism and Zionism – both of which are intertwined since the early days of German Nazism and are intricated in the current power structures of the West.

The Black Moon Return of the United States occurs now, in a rather peculiar

configuration. The US has Black Moon in Virgo right in conjunction with its MC, with

Neptune being there too. Thus, in the first half of this year, transiting Black Moon conjuncts the country’s Black Moon, Neptune, and MC, stirring up its very BM-N spell. That occurs every 9 years, though. This time, however, it happens when a very particular progression is taking place. The US is having its Progressed New Moon in March 2024, marking a new 28-year cycle, in exact opposition to – and, therefore, activation of – its natal Virgo Black Moon. Moreover, the Neptune opposition to the US MC is also occurring, whilst the collective transit of the Black Moon-Neptune opposition applies. Add to it the fact that it sharply activates NATO’s Black Moon in Pisces.

In a nutshell: it is a freaking serious Black Moon-Neptune spell moment.

Time calls for acknowledging the dehumanising perversity of the US empire. It is no coincidence that the atrocities carried out by the Zionist regime in West Asia and those by Ukrainian Nazis have been funded by the United States, home built on slavery, land of indigenous genocide.

However harsh this may sound, there is a dehumanising perversity ingrained in the United States’ political structure from its very beginning. Yes, there are good, decent and valorous people in the US, no doubt. But the country has been stablished and structured through noteworthily perverse means; and, importantly, up to this day, that does not seem to have really gone away. The reason why, at this moment in time, as the transition of world-systems is taking place and the hegemonic beast is in desperation, its perverse nature must be pointed out. Call it the acknowledgement that may enable healing. The structural dehumanising traits of the American empire must be addressed straightforwardly – for the good of the American people, who, nowadays, are more and more reaping the effects of US actions, as chicken come home to roost; and, unmistakably, to the benefit of the whole world. What are defenders, instigators and financiers of Nazism if not Nazis themselves? The very origins of German Nazism, as explained in my Black Moon-Neptune Spell Trilogy, were intertwined with American influence, inspiration, and material support.

Furthermore, Nazism did not just disappear from the face of the Earth at the end of WWII. To a much greater extend than commonly acknowledged, after WWII, Nazis were incorporated into Western power structures.

Call it the Black Moon-Neptune challenge on the path to the Saturn-Neptune

conjunction in 2025-2026, which marks the change into a new world-system.

Biological Warfare

As this Black Moon configuration also relates to issues such as health, eugenics and bio warfare, Disease X is not only being announced but cherished with much anticipation by the eugenicists. WEF’s Davos crew, for instance, would luv another go in the attempt to reset the system by biological warfare. Covid-19 came about with the Black Moon-Neptune conjunction in Pisces – peaking around the time of Event 201 and the first cases of infection in Wuhan. We now have the BM-N opposition applying, to peak by mid 2024, in the biological axis of health (Virgo-Pisces). Therefore, it is extremely important to keep on cutting through the veils and denouncing biological warfare, be it the US biolabs in places like Ukraine and the bioweapons there produced, be it mRNA vaccines and mandates, or whichever new health-related procedures they might try to impose. Resistance is not at all futile, and we have already experienced how cutting through the veils of mass illusion has dismantled some of the eugenicist reseters’ plans, perhaps the reason why this year’s WEF summit’s moto was “trust”. They aren’t getting the “trust” in their so-called science and projects as they wished for.

Well, trust is a Taurus word – that brings us to the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction.

The Jupiter-Uranus Conjunction in Money Taurus

Ahead of his ingress into Gemini in May, Jupiter plays his top gig in the sign of Taurus in April 2024. The Jupiter-Uranus conjunction is of geo-economic significance, strongly activating the Cornucopia of the Multipolar World – in my 2022 lecture and article, I expounded on Uranus in Taurus and other transits concerned with the changes in the monetary, financial and economic realms.

The Saturn-Uranus square broke the horn, so to speak, being related to the breaking of the structures, the structural challenges and changes in the economic sphere (2021-2022). Now the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction says it is time to know what we want in our basket, as the horn turns into Cornucopia. Its context is dedollarization – an ongoing process. Uranus revolutionizes, whilst Jupiter expands. Being a conjunction, it’s nature can be considered somewhat neutral, as in depending on us to direct it, to choose what we bring into our Cornucopia as the new world-system is created. It is a moment that presents the opportunity to, materially (Taurus), open horizons (Jupiter-Uranus).

Mind you: there is an alert to be given in regards to this monetary-financial-economic transit. The neoliberal owners of capital, the ultra billionaires and the multinational corporations, who have so many Western leaders at their service, are trying their way into the new system in the making. As the saying goes, if you can’t beat the multipolar, find your way in – and try to sneak in your systemic patterns.

For instance, amongst other places, BlackRock is intensely invested in Saudi Arabia, with Aramco’s Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser having joined BlackRock’s Board of Directors in July 2023. In October, when the genocide of Palestinians had begun in the region, an annual gathering of the financial elite took place in Riyadh, where “the captains of Wall Street met the Saudi princes of Saudi Arabia”, as some have described it. The official narrative was that war is bad for business and should be avoided – to what extent, one could wonder. A few days later, back in the West, both Black Rock’s Larry Fink and J.P. Morgan’s Jamie Dimon were interviewed by the Sunday Times and, from the tip of their tongs, said practically the same thing, Fink’s quote being: “a combination of the Hamas atrocities of 7 October, Israel’s resultant attack on Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year had pushed the world “almost to a whole new future.” Dimon also blamed “Israel’s war on Hamas” and “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine” for the “scary and unpredictable” scenario we now face. “What’s happening on the geopolitical front right now is the most important thing for the future of the world – freedom, democracy, food, energy, immigration,” he said. Sure, freedom for their own financial manoeuvres and concentration of capital. The geopolitical front is the most important for our future, all right. But their concern is how to keep their control of the world, how to sneak into the new system their own neoliberal ways. Not only that. The ready-made blame on the wars for the “scary and unpredictable” future not just feeds into the fear the system likes to instigate, it also puts the blame of any systemic failure on wars. Never mind the extreme “everything bubble” at the final stages of the current Western system – just blame it on Hamas and Russia.

And that brings me to the point where the ingrained intertwinement between the geopolitical and the economic fronts expresses itself in the combination of the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction and the Black Moon-Neptune spell: as Jupiter and Uranus conjunct, the Black Moon forms an Earth trine to them, whilst sharply opposing Mars in the Neptunian sign of Pisces. This configuration peaks in April 2024, but should be considered more broadly, as it builds up and unfolds in the neighbouring months.

Nazi NATO wants war with Russia by whichever means they might have. Macron has, recently, taken the lead in blatant escalation. Playing Napoleon, he not only fails to take Empress Josephine’s advice – “don’t go to war against Russia” – but is under Rothschild’s ownership and guidance.

Uranus is, by definition, always surprising. How are banks doing, FED? Will the everything bubble resist the Jupiter-Uranus chemistry? Or are the neoliberal owners of capital, in fact, preparing for it? After all, we mustn’t forget J. P. Morgan’s words: millionaires do not use astrology, billionaires do. They might not access it to its finest, but these major conjunctions sure don’t go under their radar.

Uranus is also about innovation and technology, and can further open horizons for digital currencies and blockchain-based payment systems. The technology itself isn’t the problem, and can rather be the solution, as in BRICS financial structures. Who controls it and who it truly serves are the important questions. Although Uranus in Gemini, which begins in 2025, tends to speed up these technological advancements in trade and transactions, what is now being shaped in the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Taurus matters, and may contribute to dedollarization.

Interestingly, it takes place at the very root (IC) of China’s astrological chart.

Pluto in Aquarius and the rise of the Chinese Dragon

The new era for Chinese power will flourish with Pluto (power) in Aquarius (new era) which reaches China’s Ascendant (AC) in 2024 and 2025, in five acts along these couple of years, entering China’s 1st house, the house of identity and the nation itself.

With Pluto in Aquarius and on China’s AC and Moon (until 2026), comes empowering momentum. But, precisely because of it, dangers do too. To counter and compensate for the dangers of Pluto, directed Venus and progressed Venus and Jupiter on AC and Moon to the rescue: great are the challenges, but so is the mantle of flowers.

Pluto has now reached the Chinese AC. His first conjunction, peaking in March, began in February 2024, with both Mars (martial) and Venus (economic) joining the significant crossing.

On the Venusian front, China surpasses $ 125 billion trade surplus in January-February this year, beating market expectations.

Moreover, around the time of Pluto’s ingress in Aquarius to conjunct Chinese AC, came a significant acknowledgement of China’s rise as the top industrial superpower, its production exceeding that of the nine next largest manufacturers combined. A VoxEU research paper has been published in January, titled China is the world’s sole manufacturing superpower, by Richard Baldwin, a professor of international economics at the IMD Business School in Lausanne and editor-in-chief of VoxEU, a publication hosted by the Europe-based Centre for Economic Policy Research – a think tank by no means pro-China, but rather representing the EU’s political mainstream. Baldwin describes China’s industrialisation as unprecedented and defying comparison. For the US to surpass the UK as the industrial superpower, it took the better part of the 20^th century; whilst the China-US switch took about 15 or 20 years, the author points out.

In China’s recent Two Sessions, the year’s goal to promote high quality development has been set, which includes new technologies, pursuing and integrating new productive forces, whilst, as President Xi Jinping warns, avoiding economic bubbles.

The Chinese President has also called on the armed forces to forge a stronger sense of mission, deepen reform and promote innovation, so as to comprehensively enhance strategic capabilities – both the diplomacy and the defence budgets increasing this year. That brings us to Mars.

On the Martial front, the acknowledgement of China’s rise comes in an article written by CIA Director William Burns, published on Foreign Affairs (January 2024):

“China remains the only U.S. rival with both the intent to reshape the international order and the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do so. The country’s economic transformation over the past five decades has been extraordinary… The issue is not China’s rise in itself [sure, of course not – sarcasm mine] but the threatening actions that increasingly accompany it.”

The American diplomat and spy chief then goes on to complain about Xi being too powerful, like no Chinese leader since Mao Zedong. He mentions the “no-limits partnership with Putin” and how, under Xi’s leadership, China is not using its power to “reinforce and revitalize” the international system, but is “seeking to rewrite it.” Tsc, tsc, tsc! How dare you, China. How dare you create prosperity and rejuvenate your own nation under a different system, not subjected to Western command. How dare you bring such economic might to the multipolar table where, with your other sovereign friends, you work for a fairer world-system.

The escalation of US provocations to China have not been just unaccompanied, empty words. As if there weren’t enough US forces stationed around China, when Mars conjuncted the US Pluto and headed to conjunct Pluto on China’s AC in February, US military advisors have been deployed to Kinmen, a group of small islands that are controlled by Taiwan but located just off the coast of mainland China, as reported by Taiwan’s TVBS and AntiWar News. These islands are actual Chinese territory. But the American empire not only has no manners, it has no maturity to gracefully respect other countries’ sovereignty and development.

“As the totem of the Chinese nation, dragon is deemed strong, fearless and benevolent”, said President Xi during the recent Spring Festival (Beijing, February 2024).

Xi highlighted that the “dragon not only embodies the spirit of ceaselessly pursuing self-improvement, hard work and enterprise of the Chinese nation for 5,000 years, but also demonstrates the determination and aspiration of hundreds of millions of Chinese people to build China into a strong country and realize national rejuvenation” (Global Times).

NATO’s 75^th anniversary is in April 2024, to be commemorated in its summit taking place in Washington in July. The People’s Republic of China commemorates as well, in October 2024, ahead of the BRICS Summit, its 75^th anniversary.

China’s roots, albeit, are ancient and, as the South Lunar Node (past) conjuncts the Black Moon already in Libra in the second semester of 2024, the viscerally powerful force of ancient civilizations comes into play. This conjunction happens to take place exactly on China’s Sun (ruler and identity).

May the spirits of the Yellow Emperor and the Great Marshal be with us as we navigate another epic year, the two Dragons epic in the change of the world-system.