Alexander Etkind - Does Russia Know where its Borders Lie? Will the Imperial Obsession Destroy it?

GUEST: Alexander Etkind - Historian and cultural scientist.
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Much of Russian history was shaped by the “imperial experience”. Alexander Etkind suggests the process was a simultaneous of internal colonization as well as the more obvious external one. The characteristic phenomena of colonialism, such as missionary work, exotic journeys, and ethnographic scholarship, were directed inwards toward the interior provinces of the Russian empire - villages and timeless peasant lifestyles, as well as outwards and overseas. To an extent Russia is still an ‘undiscovered country’ from the perspective of its urban elites, and we see this starkly in the current war - with the burden of fighting and dying falling on minorities and the impoverished. We also see a radical lack of empathy for other people within the empire experiencing violence, whether that be Belgorod or Buryatia. It even leads us to ask, can Russia even be compared to the modern nation states of Europe?
#alexanderetkind #colonisation #ukraine #ukrainewar #russia #zelensky #putin #propaganda
#war #disinformation #hybridwarfare #foreignpolicy #communism #sovietunion #postsoviet
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SPEAKER:
Alexander Etkind is a historian and cultural scientist. Alexander Etkind was born in 1955 in St. Petersburg, Russia, and is a professor at CEU Vienna. He was formerly a professor of history and the Chair of Russia-Europe relations at the European University Institute in Florence. He is fellow of the European Institute for International Law and International Relations. Etkind's research focuses on European and Russian intellectual history, memory studies, natural resources and the history of political economy, empire and colonies in Europe, and Russian politics, novels, and film in the 21st century. His has written many compelling books, including Russia Against Modernity, Rethinking the Gulag and Nature's Evil: A Cultural History of Natural Resources. Links will be added to the video description.
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LINKS:
Alexander Etkind on Twitter: / sasha_etkind
Alexander Etkind on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexand...
Alexander Etkind at the Moscow Times: www.themoscowtimes.com/author...
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BOOKS:
Russia Against Modernity (2023)
Rethinking the Gulag: Identities, Sources, Legacies (2022)
Nature's Evil: A Cultural History of Natural Resources (2021)
Eros Of the Impossible: The History of Psychoanalysis In Russia (2019)
Development and Dystopia: Studies in Post-Soviet Ukraine and Eastern Europe (2018)
War and Memory in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus (2017)
Cultural Forms of Protest in Russia (2017)
Warped Mourning: Stories of the Undead in the Land of the Unburied (2013)
Internal Colonization: Russia's Imperial Experience (2011)
Remembering Katyn (2013)
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
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PLATFORMS:
Twitter: / curtainsilicon
Instagram: / siliconcurtain
Podcast: open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6...
Linkedin: / finkjonathan
Patreon: / siliconcurtain
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[@badysparta]

"I think that there has been a kind of Russian problem for many centuries - that Russia doesn't exactly know where it begins and where it ends." former Czech president Václav Havel, 2008

[@thinker646]

I'm not done listening yet, but "pathological lack of empathy" i think is the key thing. As we in America gain an increasing awareness in the general population of narcissistic and sociopathic tendencies in our leaders, both political and religious, spouses , parents, etc, we are also increasingly aware of the consequences of these behavioral patterns, all of which have pathological lacks of empathy, resulting in financial, spiritual, spousal, domestic and other abuses, AND a developing understanding of small-t trauma in the victims. This should be a huge warning to those of us who still have empathy, and also a thought i was having for guests, if you wanted to interview someone who can talk about the various aspects of trauma and maybe epigenetics, and why the overall differences in the populations on both sides of this conflict.

[@rursus8354]

Right, you've had a fair lecture and properly learned the lesson. Not all people are that lucky.

[@18_rabbit]

right on all items! Btw i'm also an american. The entire method of dealing w/ narc's and sociopaths, let alone psychopaths is that all have to be contained with distinct boundaries. In Ru's case they will need partial demilitarizing as soon as possible, in order to secure the basic safety of major vital and dangerous facilities in Ukr and possibly in Ru, if Ru is falling apart. Always remember to contain the narc/sociopath and do not let up on the boundaries EVER! Works w/ ppl works with hyper-homicidal countries like Ru

[@monsoonmadness3743]

Yes, a guest with expertise in trauma and epigenetic and their impact on culture.

[@dankelly2147]

Vlad Vexler is superb. Another interview with him would be most welcome.

[@dankelly2147]

Very well put, BTW.

[@davidelliott5843]

The radical lack of empathy also applies to Russia’s environmental destruction, including the nuclear naval bases, Chernobyl and if we are not very careful Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

[@18_rabbit]

and many locations in Ru which were left unmanaged & in various stages of near-catastrophic contamination/risk by the early 1990's. I took a class on just that topic! Ru needs to be at least partly demilitarized and a management system with observers AFTER Pootin, Lavrov, Peskov and the generals & Prigohzin are exported to the Hague (literally) for trials. Russians will do this when they realize they will live in abject poverty for the next 30 yrs if they do not.

[@peterhumphrys]

@@18_rabbit I would hope so also, but really am quite doubtful as many Russians are quite deeply rooted in their soviet hometicus mindset, that is that they feel that they can not make a difference against "the system".

[@Gargoiling]

I'm English but spent some time living in Scotland. I noticed how it's much easier to understand people in Inverness, in the central Highlands, than Aberdeen, in the north east. Aberdeen has been English speaking for much longer than Inverness. The usual understanding is that Aberdeen dialect is descended from the dialect spoken in the ancient kingdom of Northumbria whereas standard English comes from the Mercian (London) dialect. Inverness was Gaelic speaking until relatively recently. I guess English was taught at school there and no local dialect developed If you have a mixture of a lot of migration plus people being taught Russian for the first time at school, it's not surprising there are no local dialects

[@CaroAbebe]

I find it rather hard to listen to this Slexander Etkind. Most of your guests I find a real pleasure to listen to.

[@pixielove2000]

Would you please enable closed captions for those of us who are hard of hearing? Thank you.

[@jezalb2710]

Available

[@evelyncraig7243]

If you on phone press on screen of picture will see either cc if this not white press should give captions. If not do same again next cc will see cog symbol press then press captions then auto translate then English hope this helps .but if laptop or compulsory don't know how on these

[@DaveDowns1]

CC not gonna help. This guest is torturerous with his mumbled, slurred and jumbled answers.

[@Jemawin]

The CC helps me a lot. He is hard to understand.

[@gusr6]

The CC doesn’t help. At all.

[@grahamelliott9506]

"Does Russia Know where its Borders Lie? " lol , called out!

[@piushalg8175]

It would be a nice offer from the West to Russia to guarantee Russia's borders of 2014 against Chinas ambitions to take back Outer Manchuria. This offer could be directed openly to any Russian oppsition who is willing to give up the conquered territories of Ukraine.

[@gerryhouska2859]

The West rather needs to guarantee the borders of Russian Empire's neighbours. Manchuria is Chinese, the Kurils Japanese, Karelia Finnish. And all the subjugated nation of the so-called Federation should have referenda on whether they should regain their liberty from Russian boot - not one of them joined by choice but by brute force.

[@piushalg8175]

@@gerryhouska2859 It is never favourable to put into question borders which haven established 7 ore even more decades ago becausethat usually has war as consequence.,

[@ennediend2865]

​​@@gerryhouska2859 Excellent 👍👍👍 Soviet boot is always Russian boot in fact. By no means a " Federation ". Just a huge colonial Empire.

[@MsJakobsen]

It is a very interesting subject. Unfortunately I have a very hard time understanding what is said

[@andrewmossop6241]

That was very educational for me, it explains many historical events regarding Russian ...politics. Thankyou Jonathon and Mr Etkind.

[@sumiland6445]

I'm here early 😄 Listening sooner rather than later. What a treat!! 💛💙💜💙💛 (I was just reading about a term, "F your feelings", for the people in the USA who are bashing their way through our government and society from all directions. Like a plague 😖 )

[@draganjagodic4056]

Confidence built dear Jonathan. Again first like, than listen. The result of Your respect for the intelligence of Your listeners. And intelligence is what we all need to defeat this offshoot of maniac Napoleon and maniac Adolf.

[@johanswede8200]

From squirrels to oil...some progress😂

[@jezalb2710]

Thanks.

[@lizoliver4942]

Congratulations on 40k subscribers.

[@SiliconCurtain]

👍👍👍

[@bigman23DOTS]

Can anyone really expect empathy in the board room of the world’s largest energy company?Its only about maximising returns on investments at any cost and if you don’t tow the line …..don’t stand next to windows

[@DavoidJohnson]

The knowing your borders question was very close to home. Westminster being in a complete mess on this issue.

[@WalterBurton]

I suggest that the distinction between "sympathy" and "empathy" is particularly important in this context. I assure you, a lot of Russians have a great deal of empathy for the Ukrainians. They understand very well what their neighbors are going through. What they lack is the moral strength to express sympathy.

[@1speakeasy]

As he cradled his fabled sable cable labelled 'Mable', beneath the gable on the stable's table, Able disabled the sable

[@gloriahoulihan8717]

I am English but see Scotland as a separate country with a culture of its own. I would like to continue to be linked with such a beautiful place as Scotland and my family are there now.

[@donotmislead]

Q: Does Russia Know where its Borders Lie? A: Muscovy is not Russia, historically. And the historical border of Muscovy is the Oka river one hundred miles from Moscow. Everything southwest from this line is historically and ethnically Ukrainian, Severian territory occupied by Muscovy at some time in between 1502 and 1926, including Bělgorodъ, Starodubъ, Bręneskъ etc.

[@milekrizman]

Full independence to Northern Caucasus from Dagestan to Adyghe Republic. Establishment of Northern Caucasus Mountainous Republic that existed from 1917 to 1922. Also, annexation of Karelia to Finland in borders before Winter war in 1944. Other republics can be also independent but without physical borders and customs, similar to EU in the late 90's. For example independent Yakutia or Tatarstan, but without physical borders and customs.

[@gusr6]

I like this guy. He’s like a mildly intoxicated Russian Harrison Ford.

[@peterruane9220]

ie Harrison all day, every day LOL

[@davidg4026]

Brad Pitt's character in "Snatch" was comparatively easy to understand!

[@WalterBurton]

👍👍👍

[@rursus8354]

1. yes, but they don't care, 2. yes, because they don't care.

[@plinkfuture2557]

Accent alert - I get when he says ‘sable’ but what the hell is ‘squittle’ ?

[@piushalg8175]

France is also an exemple of a highly centralized inflexible state since the 17th century. And this fact may have contributed to the lack of stability of France since 1789. Already during the french revolution there were huge uprisings in the periphery which hatd to be vanquished by force at the cost at least tens of thousends of people. An what were the results f the revolution: the tyranny of Napoleon, the restauration of the bourbon monarchy, the revolution of 1830, the revolution of 1848, the establishing of the republic in 1871, and the establishing of a quasii-monarchical constitution in 1958 followed by a coup attempt against De Gaulle. And France also ackomplished the factual vanishing of linguistic minorities like the Catalans in the South-west, the Bretons, the Flamish and the Alsatians.

[@bigman23DOTS]

Please let’s not start on the French I had a boyhood crush on my French teacher…..that said the French have been at the centre of every major stink that I can remember Vietnam,the rainbow warrior,Wuhan’s lab and most recently breaking eu sanctions by selling night vision equipment to and initially supporting Russia

[@TheRealSteveEllis]

Have the popcorn ready for the disintegration of the 5th republic😂

[@paulpettinger8858]

Possibly the weakness interviewer yet. I at least enjoyed and appreciated your questions Jonathan!

[@gloriahoulihan8717]

Surely improving the conditions which have existed in Russia for years would have been a better aim than invading another country. There are places in Russia which are contaminated by tests and industry.Alcoholism is rife.

[@war-painter]

Can you imagine if Putin had spent his money on philosophy, artists, painters, musicians, poets, writers, and child development specialists? Or maybe fetal alcohol syndrome as part of Russian future, but no.

[@mikemccarthy1638]

He had so much to say… Too bad no one was close enough to him to explain that there’s a difference between accents & diction. He hardly moves his lips most of the time & varies speed & volume, slurrring or whispering key words so much that the listener feels dragged past skipped info. 😮

[@mikenine1962]

Yes I think some guests of Jonathon also get a little intimidated by his clear English, I am sure I would myself, but not the clearest speaker, but very knowledgeable, making associations that describe where Russia came from. To me its size makes it inherently unstable, resulting in the many wars if not continuous wars post millennium. It does appear to be losing land now, approaching bankruptcy so will at some point pull out of Ukraine. It appears to be moving back to its Soviet era, isolated and relatively backward economy. Humanity is not liked, eBook series 'Religion Separates Man From God.'

[@ptonpc]

Russia as it is, needs to be just a bad memory. Not many good russians there.

[@grahamstrouse1165]

Jonathon, you do realize that this “lack of empathy” for people who aren’t part of your immediate experience isn’t unique to Russia, right? The City People hate The Hill People EVERYWHERE and vice-versa. It’s a human problem & unfortunately I think it’s one that technology is exacerbating. It’s a problem that’s gotten a lot worse in recent years but it isn’t unique to Russia-It’s just exaggerated because the country is so damn big. Britain has always had this problem, which seems insane to me because your country is so physically tiny. How can Edinburgh and Glasgow be so different. Or London and Hull? Hell, I can drive an ninety minutes out of the Philadelphia suburbs into Lancaster and people are literally driving horse-drawn buggies & wary of The English-meaning people like me. We do basically have the same accent, though. So there is that. Tribalism is a goddamn pox and social media is sending us back into the middle-ages.

[@coopoylozenge5964]

Graham, the issue here is the EXTENT of this lack of empathy. Having experienced a good amount of this world through work travel, I can tell you that this issue is much more acute in Russia than it is in the civilized world. Let’s please not trivialize the Russian situation by saying that signs of it exist everywhere. I can assure you that it is not the same - fortunately. Russian society is sick. Barbarity and criminality have become normalized.

[@mariadekelver2240]

And One Tin Soldier Rides Away.

[@TKMcClone]

@@mariadekelver2240 I don't think that one was ever translated to Russian. Perhaps Shaman can cover it.

[@davidg4026]

"Tribalism is a goddamn pox and social media is sending us back to the middle-ages." Well put... Just wait until AI gets ahold of us!

[@coopoylozenge5964]

@@mariadekelver2240 something got lost in translation here. Perhaps you could clarify your point?

[@elysianfields6350]

If you’re going to interview someone, make sure that their speech is intelligible.

[@jankragjacobsen6342]

Subtexts needed

[@luckyluckydog123]

get a new brain

[@divumque]

I'm not wasting my time listening to hongover kind of speaking.

[@aliciaquinn5278]

Almost impossible to understand.

[@luckyluckydog123]

... for you.

[@nigelmorley5414]

actually it`s fairly straightforward IMO

[@retromograph3893]

I’m afraid he’s not a born communicator…..

[@Gargoiling]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnolfini_Portrait The lining of the lady's cloak in this painting (the Marriage of the Arnolfini) is made from miniver, the pale belly skin of a squirrels., quite possibly from Russia or the Baltic. When you look at renaissance paintings, it's amazing how many Persian/Turkish rugs you see. But from Russia, it's the fur.

[@gerryhouska2859]

World's largest supplier of merkins.

[@SiliconCurtain]

👍 great link, thanks!

[@cosmiceye9357]

It’s not what you’d call an inspiring speaker. He’s simply regurgitating every question and then he’s rambling on…

[@ptonpc]

Tell me vat, what books have your written? Where is your body of research? How many languages can you speak?

[@sherrillwhately7586]

It took me a full minute to realize he was speaking English. I was waiting for the translation.

[@ericconnor8419]

@@sherrillwhately7586 If you struggle to understand accents put the subtitles on

[@sherrillwhately7586]

@@ericconnor8419 Someone in the threads explained how to do that. To read the subtitles, I need the time to sit down and read.

[@mikenine1962]

@KremlinRussia_E Kneel down and pray with me Vladimir: Founder of the Worlds largest - Zero GDP, 'Wildlife' Centre, National Park, Climate Control Sink. eBook series, 'Religion Separates Man From God.'

[@war-painter]

Except for the massive amounts of fossil fuels Russia extracts out of Mother Earth, bad karma. Sick Greta on Dobby for the rest of his natural life in a small room, please.