Another Russia
Building Blocks for Peace in Europe after Putin
Is Russia so unique that we can’t understand its people? Putin would like us to think so, and it’s why he has to defend against the ‘decadent West’. Meanwhile, our own stubborn myths about the enigmatic ‘Russian Soul’ only confirm his narrative. If we ever hope to see peace in Europe, renowned Russia-expert Sjeng Scheijen argues, we had better look at what we share. After all, one can’t win a war of ideas with bombs alone.
In this concise work, Scheijen demonstrates that Russian history is just as complex, varied and dynamic as French or German history, and equally as difficult to sum up in vacuous stereotypes. The Russian people have never been homogenous – far from it – and the country we see today was once very different. The Russian Empire, for example, was a leader in women’s rights. In fact, for much of the country’s history, it has been far closer to Europe – in cultural, economic, legislative, scientific and religious matters – than either side is willing to admit.
Shining a light on Russia’s history also demonstrates something else: today’s Russia, with its authoritarian political oppression and belligerent foreign policy, was far from inevitable. With Putin’s reign likely to end within the next ten years, Scheijen reminds us that another Russia was and still is possible. Russia will have to come to terms with its Soviet history, particularly under Stalin, but it is up to us to move beyond simplistic framings of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ and recognise a rich kindred culture.
A powerful argument against mystification, written with a dry humour. In the end, the Russian soul is ‘the American Dream in a fur cap’
Just after the Bolshevik Revolution, Russia brought in antidiscrimination laws and legalised abortion. It was only with Stalin that rights were limited again
“Sjeng Scheijen calls for breaking out of this self-reinforcing negative spiral – because it makes rapprochement well-nigh impossible.”
“168 pages in which prejudices and myths are exploded with a sovereign brilliance, humour, feel for self-mockery, and rock-solid erudition.”
