"We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing." ― Konstantin Josef Jireček
In the late 1970's - early 1980's I was a baseball fan who would stay glued to the AM radio for the live play-by-play, marking up my scoresheet.
While tuning in the AM dial I'd sometimes come across the Russian accents of the Radio Moscow programming that came across the straits between Havana and Miami, where I lived.
The year I took Civics I decided to stop and listen to it. This was during 1979-1980. While the Iranian hostage crisis was the lead story not far behind was the upcoming presidential election. Most could sense Carter would be ousted, and the Republican primary was about the future.
Reagan was portrayed as a warmonger, we'd be in a nuclear war with the Soviet Union in no time, they said. I thought it was a good idea to stop and listen to the words of our enemy. And thus began my education in the geopolitical propaganda techniques that have guided my understanding of the practice.
I heard the voices telling me things about my nation from a perspective I wasn't familiar with. Some of it resonated as true, just not spoken of in the US. Other parts were clearly outlandish caricatures and false portrayals of what my own eyes and ears knew better. Propaganda is a weave of truth and deception.
I became a regular listener for awhile, good to know what my "enemy" was saying, then continued to tune in from time to time over the years...until nights out with friends became more interesting.
Fast forward to more recent years I could easily recognize the hate America rhetoric laundry list of all our nation's sins and shortcomings I heard on Radio Moscow coming out of the mouths of the progressive D's and media. Same. Exact. Rhetoric. That I heard on Radio Moscow 40-50 years ago, from our enemy, now the talking points of the Democratic party.
A few years ago I went looking for old Radio Moscow broadcasts as proof of point, but sadly came up empty-handed. Though I felt oddly nostalgic while listening to some old broadcasts when I heard the chimes that began every broadcast, as if listening to an old friend from long ago. Not truly a friend, but a familiarity I had forgotten about.
While searching for a program containing material I could use as proof of point I came across a collection of broadcasts from the fall of the Soviet Union on Archive.org. it's a pretty limited library that's available overall, but it's something.
A few years ago I took the time to transcribe a portion of one for my own edification and to be able to share when an opportunity like your Stack today presented itself. It's long, too long for this comment, but I'll put it in the comment below. I ended up going with a YouTube version of the same broadcast since I was also searching for the Progressive rhetoric=1970's Radio Moscow propaganda there. But know many recordings of are available from the same time frame on Archive and YouTube.
I was a fan. There’s not a single professional sport, or college one for that matter, that I'm a fan of anymore. They’ve all been skin-suited, deliver thinly veiled propaganda and don’t get my attention. I'll play sports. But the fan experience is no longer appealing to me. The pandemic and BLM was the final straw. Done.
I was an Orioles fan - they trained in Miami at the time. The Yankees trained in Ft Lauderdale, which was closer after we moved from Miami. I'd see many Spring Training games between the two.
And learned from my Orioles history trivia that the Yankees began as the Baltimore Orioles before moving to NY. Ha!
I'd play that card on my Yankee friends when the O's had bad seasons. Into the 1980's they were neck-and-neck for best winning percentage in history. O's have sucked so bad so long I can't imagine they're anywhere close now. Which corresponds with when they were bought by a wealthy union lawyer (aka Communist). Proving once again that communism doesn't know how to build, only how to destroy.
The USSR Vice President Gennady Yanayev has taken over presidential powers because Mikhail Gorbachev’s inability to act as President for health reasons.
The Soviet leadership has released a statement saying that a state of emergency has been introduced in some parts of the USSR for six months. The USSR’s constitution and laws take unconditional precedence across the country’s territory.
A State of Emergency Committee has been formed to govern the country and effectively implement the state of emergency. Its decisions are binding for all bodies of power and administration and for citizens all over this country.
The Committee has issued an address for the Soviet people. The message says that the policy of reforms started on Mikhail Gorbachev’s initiative and planned as a means to ensure the dynamic development of the country and democratize life and society has reached a deadlock for a number of reasons.
The initial enthusiasm and hopes of change for the absence of faith, apathy and despair, power at all levels has lost popular trust. Political intriguing has forced concern about the destiny of the homeland and citizens out of public life. The vicious muckery of all institutions of state is being cultivated.
The country has in fact become ungovernable. Having used the granted freedoms and trampling the sprouts of democracy under foot, extremists forces have emerged and have take the course towards liquidating the Soviet Union. Doing away with the state and seizing power at any price. The results of the nationwide referendum on the homeland’s unity have been quashed.
Their cynical speculation on the national feelings is only a smokescreen to achieve ambitions. Political adventurists are not worried either about the present day troubles of their nation or their future. It’s for the people to decide what kind of social system there should be.
However, their attempts deprive them of this right, the statement says. Instead of caring about the safety and well-being of each individual and society as a whole, individuals who have come to power have quite often been using it in the interests alien to the people as an unscrupulous self-assertion means.
Each citizen feels growing uncertainty for tomorrow and these concerns over the future of their children. The power crisis has catastrophically harmed the economy. A chaotic and spontaneous slide down to a market has given rise to an outbreak of regional, departmental, collective and individual egoism.
The war on laws and the fomenting of centrifugal trends have led to the destruction of the single national economy mechanism that has taken decades to create. As a result the living standards of the overwhelming majority of Soviet people have sharply fallen. Improper second-hand dealing and black marketing have been flourishing.
For years there have been incantations about adherence to the interests of an individual, concern about his rights, and social guaranty, the Soviet leadership’s statement says. But, in fact, people have been humiliated. Their real rights and opportunities have been infringed upon and they have been driven to despair.
It’s obvious that all of the democratic institutions created through the expression of the people’s will are losing their prestige and effectiveness. Onslaughts of the rights of people is on the way. The rights to work, education, the health service, housing, and the rest are in jeopardy.
Even the elementary individual safety of people has been more and more under threat. Crime has been quickly growing. It has been getting more organized and politicized. The country is plunging into an abyss of violence and lawlessness.
The growing destabilization of political and economic situation in the Soviet Union is undermining our positions in the world. In some places there have been revanchist calls and demands for revision of our borders. Some speculate about the possibility of partitioning the Soviet Union and putting some of its facilities and areas under international trusteeship.
This is a sad reality. The pride and order of the Soviet citizen must be restored to the full. The State of Emergency Committee in the USSR assumes responsibility for the future of the country and is determined to take the most serious action to put an early end to the crisis in the state and society.
We promise to arrange a nationwide discussion of the new treaty of the union. We are going to immediately restore law and order, put an end to bloodshed, declare an uncompromising war on the criminal world and to eradicate the disgraceful phenomenon discrediting and humiliating the Soviet citizen.
We stand for genuinely democratic processes and a consistent policy of reforms leading to the revival of our country. Its economic and social prosperity which would let it take a worthy place in the world community of nations. As we develop a mixed economy we’ll support private enterprise and give it the necessary opportunities for expanding production and the services.
The statement stresses the Soviet Union is a peace loving nation that will unswervingly observe its international commitments. It demands nothing from anyone. It wants to live in peace and friendship with everyone. But, it insists, no one will be allowed to threaten its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. Any attempts to use the language of dictat in relations with this country, no matter who makes them, will be checked.
The State of Emergency Committee is calling on all Soviet citizens to render all-round support to its efforts to lead this country out of this crisis. The head of the country, Gennady Yanayev, has addressed the heads of other states and governments and United Nations Secretary General. He has informed them that the six month state of emergency was imposed in accordance with the national constitution and…"
Amazing stuff. Basically, it was the announcement of the coup, and it turned out to be the death knell of the USSR.
That must've come out sometime on Sunday. I was oblivious, of course.
I have a lot to say about this, but there isn't enough time. My perspective was from a 23 year old more interested in making friends with Russians my age and hooking up with Russian girls (I ended up in a somewhat serious relationship with one, as it turned out) than in geopolitics. But I did glean many relevant facts during those days—especially late-Monday and Tuesday, which was my main time on the ground in Moscow.
My first misunderstanding was in what my Russian teacher was all exercised about on Monday morning. I misperceived the verb in her sentence, "Gorbachev has been ousted" and thought she just said, "Gorbachev resigned." I might've chosen to stay in Moscow on Monday if I had realized what was happening. I did become aware throughout the day on Monday (in spite of how unbelievably drunk that Russian man had gotten me).
On Tuesday, I learned a lot more. At least 80% of the military was loyal to the state, and that meant the Gang of Eight. But Yeltsin et al, and the much smaller portion of the military that sided with him, won the day.
And I think that was in large measure because of the people on the ground. Technically myself included, even though I was just a chunk of ice being carried down this crazy river. The most active people were on Yeltsin's side, and that did it, I think.
Plus, everyone was trying to keep the peace on both sides. "Brother shouldn't kill brothers" was on everyone's lips.
Someday, I will tell the story of our interaction with soldiers from the "other" side on Prospect Marksa, in front of Red Square. We did something crazy!
When I was listening to the series of broadcasts from those days I could tell there was a struggle inside the narrative. One day one side was in control. The next day the other was in control. A back-and-forth that must've been dizzying for listeners. It truly could've gone either way.
Another surprising connection in our lives. I also was in Moscow in the nineties, but after the fall of the USSR. Married a very attractive Russian woman. I believe our small group is the beginning of something very important and promising. It has the immense advantage of being based on true principles rather than a movement based on lies and tragic misunderstandings. The timing is perfect, the old systems are failing and change is inevitable. This opens a window of opportunity to make that change, one that will resonate with history and lead to a golden age of prosperity, peace and progress towards a more harmonious and natural way of life for many.
"I believe our small group is the beginning of something very important and promising. It has the immense advantage of being based on true principles rather than a movement based on lies and tragic misunderstandings. The timing is perfect, the old systems are failing and change is inevitable. This opens a window of opportunity to make that change, one that will resonate with history and lead to a golden age of prosperity, peace and progress towards a more harmonious and natural way of life for many."
yes, i agree that it is an opportunity full of possibilities. there is an element of real hope now that hasn't been present for some time.
the real driver of those important events mentioned was the willingness to lose everything. to give one's life even, if need be, to be true to what was believed and held dear.
most know things are wrong and then say that's just how it has always been. all while spitting, berating you for trying to do something, even just asking questions.
So many have given up hope and believed in the disempowering propaganda and mind control manipulation used to keep people thinking they must accept a life of slavery. Now there is the dawning of a new awareness of the power of individuals to make a difference. We are seeing men and women of courage and willingness to challenge the old ways that keep us down, blowing the whistle on wrong doing despite personal risk. We now tend to disregard those weak ones who have given over their personal authority to others from ignorance grasping at illusions of safety and herd thinking.
" We now tend to disregard those weak ones who have given over their personal authority to others from ignorance grasping at illusions of safety and herd thinking."
interesting statement and place to stop.
i find myself thinking the question...is that wise? should we disregard...ignorance, illusions and herd thinking?
there is a time and season for everything. to gather and part.
Well I do tend to disregard the opinions of those who don't think for themselves but rely on what "authority figures" tell them and act out of their emotions unbalanced by rational thought or higher ethics. However I do try to acknowledge it when they get it right, much as I would do with children. Oh, I may reprove when inspired to do so, but not in a way that makes them think I don't value them, making a clear distinction between the incorrect idea and who they are. And afterwards show by kindness and noticing what is right, so they don't esteem me to be their enemy, only the enemy of what is actually hurting them.
Where is she now? Was she named Natasha, Elena, Katerina, Oksana, Yulia, or Alexandra? (There are so few Russian first names that the odds are good it was one of those :-)
Seriously, that is truly amazing. How long were you there?
She's in Bakersfield, a violinist with the Bakersfield Philharmonic. We are still friends, although our goals in life were not going in the same direction. Yes, I noticed that regarding Russian names, I corresponded for awhile with an Elena and met ladies with all the names you mentioned. My ex-wife's daughter is Katya, and her son's name is Nikita, but her name is Elvira. I was only there about two weeks staying at the Ismailova Hotel. I did study Russian for quite awhile, have forgotten most of it, it is a very difficult language. I have a great deal of respect for the Russian people. Those I met were friendly, helpful, strong people, survivors.
Mine was Elena, and we too are still friends. We considered ourselves together for about 8 months after I returned to the States before we finally accepted that I was not going back and she was not coming over.
Yes, Russians were very welcoming to me, and warm.
And yeah, I too have forgotten most of my Russian. Language is definitely a diminishing skill.
My first trip to Russia was as part of a Citizen Ambassador group in '89. I almost got to Chernobyl via hydroplane but...
Later I spent quite a few very enjoyable months, 2-3 weeks at a time, in Russia's Wild Wild East, Yakutsk, Vladivostok, etc.
Next time you're up here in North Pole, AK. Christoper, we'll have to sit down with a few mugs of my homebrewed White Nights Stout share Russia rants. There's a lot therein that lends itself to anarcho-capitalistic endeavors. ;-)
Your trips sound amazing! I would love to hear more. And the Wild East does sound really cool.
It was actually something home-brewed that got me so drunk on that train. But it wasn't White Nights Stout. In fact, I think it was distilled rather than brewed—a nameless brown liquor in an unmarked bottle…
"There's a lot therein that lends itself to anarcho-capitalistic endeavors"
—Please give me a hint now, in case I don't make it to North Pole, AK soon enough…
OK, in Yakutka my friend Rosa's husband, Vitale is going hunting. Gasoline's expensive but his friend Volodo works on the natural gas pipeline, the liquid that separates from the gas is a problem (Picture turning on your gas stove and getting a slug of liquid instead of gas.) so his job is to siphon it off. This distillate is around 90 octane, i.e. fairly good gasoline. A trade's made, X share of the meat for the gas.
Guns in the house in Russia, a no no! So! Sergi's wife works for the third department (Third department ( III отделение )was tsarist's Russia's secret police, Communist Russia's Academy of Science University folk often, as each and every university had a KGB department/office, of the the KGB & referred to such using the same term.) & he/they store their rifles in the KGB's safe at the university. So Sergi gets to go along on the hunt and get a share.
These and other trades, exchanges made beyond government's purview (Even though the guns stored in a government safe.), everybody's happy and Anarcho-capitalism worked well in the USSR, -at least in the Wild Wild East.
I wasn't aware of Russian gun laws. I am asking my Russian friends for more details, to see if it varies. (One is in Belarus, so I am asking about there too, just out of curiosity.)
Sign in the Kokomo Bar in Forsyth, MT, "He who shall, so shall he who!" There is nothing free individuals cannot do. The task of individuals is to get themselves free on their own responsibility. Have you heard of the Society of Ethical Sovereigns or Immortalis or the capitalist Trade Party all working for individual liberty? I founded the Trade Party in about 2000 and my ideas are expressed on Substack as Westley's Newsletter and in my Amazon book, "Fascism, Man's Past versus Capitalism, Man's Glorious Future." Immortaslis can be reached on the internet at joinimmortalis.com. SOES can be reached on Substack by Ameraturis Solar. In it, she shows how to be free of the jurisdiction of the State legally.
I was born in Forsyth and in 1993, I was working as scaffold Foreman on the construction and maintenance of 5 coal fired power plants in Colstrip, MT, was the stepfather of 4 kids of Karen McMordiie, and was part-owner , subsidizer and partner with my brother, Jeff, and Karen in KJ Printing. Karen ran the shop, Jeff was the accountant, and i and the 4 kids helped out as we could. I had earlier spent 3 years in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, the first year teaching school in the middle of a war between Muslim rebels from the Eritrean Liberation Front and the Coptic Christian dictatorship of Emperor Haile Selassie. The Muslims won.
Wow—a wild time in Africa! And a cool life in a great place.
I love Montana. In my middle 20s, I wanted to buy land, and I picked Montana out of the whole world. In 1993 I bought a piece in the Bull Mountains, and then proceeded to drive almost every major road in the state for the rest of the summer. I remember driving east between Roundup and Forsyth on 12, looking at the map, and discovering that towns like Ingomar and Vananda basically didn't exist. My friend and I were wondering if we could buy a whole abandoned town and name it "Thunderdome."
As far as I know, you can. Water is a problem. A railroad used to run through those towns and a train would drop off a water car or two to supply the town. Then a pipeline was laid in but I don't know if it is still available. I have a granddaughter who is a Certified Nursing Assistant in Forsyth and who lives with her husband on a farm outside Rosebud where I went to high school and was valedictorian and 4 sport letterman. We have an all-class reunion every 5 years and the next one is in the summer of 2027. At the last one, I was the oldest attending living athlete and I hope to make it to the next one when I'll be 85.
I've tried to make it to every reunion but sometimes I was out of town or working. I now live in Aurora, CO so I don't know if I can make it to the next one or even if I'll live that long. I have had Parkinson's disease and atrial fibrillation for 18 years.
My graduating class was of 8 so it was easy to get to be valedictorian. My high school population when I was a senior was 46. Since then it has dwindled and almost disappeared. It resorted to importing students from overseas to keep from having to close.
I think there is water underground in the area but it is very deep and perhaps saline or alkaline or artesian. We had an artesian well, not very deep but pure, on our farm in Rosebud but the water had a bad odor which went away with settling in our kitchen.
A very interesting story Christopher, great analogies and an excellent point!
I look forward to eventually learning about more stories about your time in Russia.
After the USSR "fell" I was fortunate to do a lot of business supplying vehicles and auto parts to Russia for luxury cars like American SUV's and US made foreign luxury brands they could not get in Europe working with the Wild Russian Brooklyn Brighton Beach boys. Lucrative and fun. Led to other deals from Russia to Italy. It was the Wild West!
"We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing." ― Konstantin Josef Jireček
So it shall be!
YES! YES! YES!
ty ive been trying to remember this quote and it's source. ty!!!!!
In the late 1970's - early 1980's I was a baseball fan who would stay glued to the AM radio for the live play-by-play, marking up my scoresheet.
While tuning in the AM dial I'd sometimes come across the Russian accents of the Radio Moscow programming that came across the straits between Havana and Miami, where I lived.
The year I took Civics I decided to stop and listen to it. This was during 1979-1980. While the Iranian hostage crisis was the lead story not far behind was the upcoming presidential election. Most could sense Carter would be ousted, and the Republican primary was about the future.
Reagan was portrayed as a warmonger, we'd be in a nuclear war with the Soviet Union in no time, they said. I thought it was a good idea to stop and listen to the words of our enemy. And thus began my education in the geopolitical propaganda techniques that have guided my understanding of the practice.
I heard the voices telling me things about my nation from a perspective I wasn't familiar with. Some of it resonated as true, just not spoken of in the US. Other parts were clearly outlandish caricatures and false portrayals of what my own eyes and ears knew better. Propaganda is a weave of truth and deception.
I became a regular listener for awhile, good to know what my "enemy" was saying, then continued to tune in from time to time over the years...until nights out with friends became more interesting.
Fast forward to more recent years I could easily recognize the hate America rhetoric laundry list of all our nation's sins and shortcomings I heard on Radio Moscow coming out of the mouths of the progressive D's and media. Same. Exact. Rhetoric. That I heard on Radio Moscow 40-50 years ago, from our enemy, now the talking points of the Democratic party.
A few years ago I went looking for old Radio Moscow broadcasts as proof of point, but sadly came up empty-handed. Though I felt oddly nostalgic while listening to some old broadcasts when I heard the chimes that began every broadcast, as if listening to an old friend from long ago. Not truly a friend, but a familiarity I had forgotten about.
While searching for a program containing material I could use as proof of point I came across a collection of broadcasts from the fall of the Soviet Union on Archive.org. it's a pretty limited library that's available overall, but it's something.
A few years ago I took the time to transcribe a portion of one for my own edification and to be able to share when an opportunity like your Stack today presented itself. It's long, too long for this comment, but I'll put it in the comment below. I ended up going with a YouTube version of the same broadcast since I was also searching for the Progressive rhetoric=1970's Radio Moscow propaganda there. But know many recordings of are available from the same time frame on Archive and YouTube.
Very cool story!
(Did I know you are a baseball fan?)
I’ve not mentioned before.
I was a fan. There’s not a single professional sport, or college one for that matter, that I'm a fan of anymore. They’ve all been skin-suited, deliver thinly veiled propaganda and don’t get my attention. I'll play sports. But the fan experience is no longer appealing to me. The pandemic and BLM was the final straw. Done.
I hear ya. I became addicted to the Yankees when I was eight years old. It's a hard habit to break.
I was an Orioles fan - they trained in Miami at the time. The Yankees trained in Ft Lauderdale, which was closer after we moved from Miami. I'd see many Spring Training games between the two.
And learned from my Orioles history trivia that the Yankees began as the Baltimore Orioles before moving to NY. Ha!
Nice!
We're going to be in Tampa next month, so I will go to a spring game.
Hey, check out the first two comments on this Reddit thread about the Yankees once being the Orioles: https://www.reddit.com/r/orioles/comments/1hw2f5/til_the_ny_yankees_were_originally_the_baltimore/
"My God. All this time, we've been fighting a dark mirror of ourselves!"
"So technically speaking, the Orioles have 30 world series rings."
LOL
I'd play that card on my Yankee friends when the O's had bad seasons. Into the 1980's they were neck-and-neck for best winning percentage in history. O's have sucked so bad so long I can't imagine they're anywhere close now. Which corresponds with when they were bought by a wealthy union lawyer (aka Communist). Proving once again that communism doesn't know how to build, only how to destroy.
Radio Moscow, August 18, 1991
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT5irXzGHdo
(start 37:58)
"Radio Moscow World Service
The USSR Vice President Gennady Yanayev has taken over presidential powers because Mikhail Gorbachev’s inability to act as President for health reasons.
The Soviet leadership has released a statement saying that a state of emergency has been introduced in some parts of the USSR for six months. The USSR’s constitution and laws take unconditional precedence across the country’s territory.
A State of Emergency Committee has been formed to govern the country and effectively implement the state of emergency. Its decisions are binding for all bodies of power and administration and for citizens all over this country.
The Committee has issued an address for the Soviet people. The message says that the policy of reforms started on Mikhail Gorbachev’s initiative and planned as a means to ensure the dynamic development of the country and democratize life and society has reached a deadlock for a number of reasons.
The initial enthusiasm and hopes of change for the absence of faith, apathy and despair, power at all levels has lost popular trust. Political intriguing has forced concern about the destiny of the homeland and citizens out of public life. The vicious muckery of all institutions of state is being cultivated.
The country has in fact become ungovernable. Having used the granted freedoms and trampling the sprouts of democracy under foot, extremists forces have emerged and have take the course towards liquidating the Soviet Union. Doing away with the state and seizing power at any price. The results of the nationwide referendum on the homeland’s unity have been quashed.
Their cynical speculation on the national feelings is only a smokescreen to achieve ambitions. Political adventurists are not worried either about the present day troubles of their nation or their future. It’s for the people to decide what kind of social system there should be.
However, their attempts deprive them of this right, the statement says. Instead of caring about the safety and well-being of each individual and society as a whole, individuals who have come to power have quite often been using it in the interests alien to the people as an unscrupulous self-assertion means.
Each citizen feels growing uncertainty for tomorrow and these concerns over the future of their children. The power crisis has catastrophically harmed the economy. A chaotic and spontaneous slide down to a market has given rise to an outbreak of regional, departmental, collective and individual egoism.
The war on laws and the fomenting of centrifugal trends have led to the destruction of the single national economy mechanism that has taken decades to create. As a result the living standards of the overwhelming majority of Soviet people have sharply fallen. Improper second-hand dealing and black marketing have been flourishing.
For years there have been incantations about adherence to the interests of an individual, concern about his rights, and social guaranty, the Soviet leadership’s statement says. But, in fact, people have been humiliated. Their real rights and opportunities have been infringed upon and they have been driven to despair.
It’s obvious that all of the democratic institutions created through the expression of the people’s will are losing their prestige and effectiveness. Onslaughts of the rights of people is on the way. The rights to work, education, the health service, housing, and the rest are in jeopardy.
Even the elementary individual safety of people has been more and more under threat. Crime has been quickly growing. It has been getting more organized and politicized. The country is plunging into an abyss of violence and lawlessness.
The growing destabilization of political and economic situation in the Soviet Union is undermining our positions in the world. In some places there have been revanchist calls and demands for revision of our borders. Some speculate about the possibility of partitioning the Soviet Union and putting some of its facilities and areas under international trusteeship.
This is a sad reality. The pride and order of the Soviet citizen must be restored to the full. The State of Emergency Committee in the USSR assumes responsibility for the future of the country and is determined to take the most serious action to put an early end to the crisis in the state and society.
We promise to arrange a nationwide discussion of the new treaty of the union. We are going to immediately restore law and order, put an end to bloodshed, declare an uncompromising war on the criminal world and to eradicate the disgraceful phenomenon discrediting and humiliating the Soviet citizen.
We stand for genuinely democratic processes and a consistent policy of reforms leading to the revival of our country. Its economic and social prosperity which would let it take a worthy place in the world community of nations. As we develop a mixed economy we’ll support private enterprise and give it the necessary opportunities for expanding production and the services.
The statement stresses the Soviet Union is a peace loving nation that will unswervingly observe its international commitments. It demands nothing from anyone. It wants to live in peace and friendship with everyone. But, it insists, no one will be allowed to threaten its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. Any attempts to use the language of dictat in relations with this country, no matter who makes them, will be checked.
The State of Emergency Committee is calling on all Soviet citizens to render all-round support to its efforts to lead this country out of this crisis. The head of the country, Gennady Yanayev, has addressed the heads of other states and governments and United Nations Secretary General. He has informed them that the six month state of emergency was imposed in accordance with the national constitution and…"
(end 45:33)
Amazing stuff. Basically, it was the announcement of the coup, and it turned out to be the death knell of the USSR.
That must've come out sometime on Sunday. I was oblivious, of course.
I have a lot to say about this, but there isn't enough time. My perspective was from a 23 year old more interested in making friends with Russians my age and hooking up with Russian girls (I ended up in a somewhat serious relationship with one, as it turned out) than in geopolitics. But I did glean many relevant facts during those days—especially late-Monday and Tuesday, which was my main time on the ground in Moscow.
My first misunderstanding was in what my Russian teacher was all exercised about on Monday morning. I misperceived the verb in her sentence, "Gorbachev has been ousted" and thought she just said, "Gorbachev resigned." I might've chosen to stay in Moscow on Monday if I had realized what was happening. I did become aware throughout the day on Monday (in spite of how unbelievably drunk that Russian man had gotten me).
On Tuesday, I learned a lot more. At least 80% of the military was loyal to the state, and that meant the Gang of Eight. But Yeltsin et al, and the much smaller portion of the military that sided with him, won the day.
And I think that was in large measure because of the people on the ground. Technically myself included, even though I was just a chunk of ice being carried down this crazy river. The most active people were on Yeltsin's side, and that did it, I think.
Plus, everyone was trying to keep the peace on both sides. "Brother shouldn't kill brothers" was on everyone's lips.
Someday, I will tell the story of our interaction with soldiers from the "other" side on Prospect Marksa, in front of Red Square. We did something crazy!
Again, what a fascinating life experience! I look forward to reading more!
When I was listening to the series of broadcasts from those days I could tell there was a struggle inside the narrative. One day one side was in control. The next day the other was in control. A back-and-forth that must've been dizzying for listeners. It truly could've gone either way.
And I am sure there are many things we'll never know!
Hmm...US/UK/Globalist meddling???
I have heard such allegations.
Notice the warnings about unchecked individualism, democracy. Same script out of progressive quarters today, as well.
I have tried to explain for many years that all of leftism is one thing, separated only by degree of application and stylistic differences.
Years ago a friend often said inside every leftist is a totalitarian waiting to come out.
My answer is the title of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpxA_ZxGX_M
Another surprising connection in our lives. I also was in Moscow in the nineties, but after the fall of the USSR. Married a very attractive Russian woman. I believe our small group is the beginning of something very important and promising. It has the immense advantage of being based on true principles rather than a movement based on lies and tragic misunderstandings. The timing is perfect, the old systems are failing and change is inevitable. This opens a window of opportunity to make that change, one that will resonate with history and lead to a golden age of prosperity, peace and progress towards a more harmonious and natural way of life for many.
"I believe our small group is the beginning of something very important and promising. It has the immense advantage of being based on true principles rather than a movement based on lies and tragic misunderstandings. The timing is perfect, the old systems are failing and change is inevitable. This opens a window of opportunity to make that change, one that will resonate with history and lead to a golden age of prosperity, peace and progress towards a more harmonious and natural way of life for many."
🔥🔥🔥🔥
yes, i agree that it is an opportunity full of possibilities. there is an element of real hope now that hasn't been present for some time.
the real driver of those important events mentioned was the willingness to lose everything. to give one's life even, if need be, to be true to what was believed and held dear.
most know things are wrong and then say that's just how it has always been. all while spitting, berating you for trying to do something, even just asking questions.
fascinating dynamics
So many have given up hope and believed in the disempowering propaganda and mind control manipulation used to keep people thinking they must accept a life of slavery. Now there is the dawning of a new awareness of the power of individuals to make a difference. We are seeing men and women of courage and willingness to challenge the old ways that keep us down, blowing the whistle on wrong doing despite personal risk. We now tend to disregard those weak ones who have given over their personal authority to others from ignorance grasping at illusions of safety and herd thinking.
" We now tend to disregard those weak ones who have given over their personal authority to others from ignorance grasping at illusions of safety and herd thinking."
interesting statement and place to stop.
i find myself thinking the question...is that wise? should we disregard...ignorance, illusions and herd thinking?
there is a time and season for everything. to gather and part.
so now i part to go refill a propane tank. lol
Well I do tend to disregard the opinions of those who don't think for themselves but rely on what "authority figures" tell them and act out of their emotions unbalanced by rational thought or higher ethics. However I do try to acknowledge it when they get it right, much as I would do with children. Oh, I may reprove when inspired to do so, but not in a way that makes them think I don't value them, making a clear distinction between the incorrect idea and who they are. And afterwards show by kindness and noticing what is right, so they don't esteem me to be their enemy, only the enemy of what is actually hurting them.
ty for your time in answering. altho we do now tend to disregard those weak ones is interesting phrasing.
Well I guess that means I have an interesting mind, I'll take that as a compliment.
That is a wild connection! I had no idea.
Where is she now? Was she named Natasha, Elena, Katerina, Oksana, Yulia, or Alexandra? (There are so few Russian first names that the odds are good it was one of those :-)
Seriously, that is truly amazing. How long were you there?
She's in Bakersfield, a violinist with the Bakersfield Philharmonic. We are still friends, although our goals in life were not going in the same direction. Yes, I noticed that regarding Russian names, I corresponded for awhile with an Elena and met ladies with all the names you mentioned. My ex-wife's daughter is Katya, and her son's name is Nikita, but her name is Elvira. I was only there about two weeks staying at the Ismailova Hotel. I did study Russian for quite awhile, have forgotten most of it, it is a very difficult language. I have a great deal of respect for the Russian people. Those I met were friendly, helpful, strong people, survivors.
Elvira! Awesome.
Mine was Elena, and we too are still friends. We considered ourselves together for about 8 months after I returned to the States before we finally accepted that I was not going back and she was not coming over.
Yes, Russians were very welcoming to me, and warm.
And yeah, I too have forgotten most of my Russian. Language is definitely a diminishing skill.
My first trip to Russia was as part of a Citizen Ambassador group in '89. I almost got to Chernobyl via hydroplane but...
Later I spent quite a few very enjoyable months, 2-3 weeks at a time, in Russia's Wild Wild East, Yakutsk, Vladivostok, etc.
Next time you're up here in North Pole, AK. Christoper, we'll have to sit down with a few mugs of my homebrewed White Nights Stout share Russia rants. There's a lot therein that lends itself to anarcho-capitalistic endeavors. ;-)
Your trips sound amazing! I would love to hear more. And the Wild East does sound really cool.
It was actually something home-brewed that got me so drunk on that train. But it wasn't White Nights Stout. In fact, I think it was distilled rather than brewed—a nameless brown liquor in an unmarked bottle…
"There's a lot therein that lends itself to anarcho-capitalistic endeavors"
—Please give me a hint now, in case I don't make it to North Pole, AK soon enough…
OK, in Yakutka my friend Rosa's husband, Vitale is going hunting. Gasoline's expensive but his friend Volodo works on the natural gas pipeline, the liquid that separates from the gas is a problem (Picture turning on your gas stove and getting a slug of liquid instead of gas.) so his job is to siphon it off. This distillate is around 90 octane, i.e. fairly good gasoline. A trade's made, X share of the meat for the gas.
Guns in the house in Russia, a no no! So! Sergi's wife works for the third department (Third department ( III отделение )was tsarist's Russia's secret police, Communist Russia's Academy of Science University folk often, as each and every university had a KGB department/office, of the the KGB & referred to such using the same term.) & he/they store their rifles in the KGB's safe at the university. So Sergi gets to go along on the hunt and get a share.
These and other trades, exchanges made beyond government's purview (Even though the guns stored in a government safe.), everybody's happy and Anarcho-capitalism worked well in the USSR, -at least in the Wild Wild East.
“These and other trades, exchanges made beyond government's purview, everybody's happy…”
A great description of SEKIII’s Counter Economy, i.e., Agorism!
That is the sort of thing I assumed you meant, but it was nice to hear the details. Yes, most people are decent enough and can make these things work. (Domenic writes a short thing about this here: https://goodneighborbadcitizen.substack.com/p/trust-me-but-pay-attention-too)
I wasn't aware of Russian gun laws. I am asking my Russian friends for more details, to see if it varies. (One is in Belarus, so I am asking about there too, just out of curiosity.)
Sign in the Kokomo Bar in Forsyth, MT, "He who shall, so shall he who!" There is nothing free individuals cannot do. The task of individuals is to get themselves free on their own responsibility. Have you heard of the Society of Ethical Sovereigns or Immortalis or the capitalist Trade Party all working for individual liberty? I founded the Trade Party in about 2000 and my ideas are expressed on Substack as Westley's Newsletter and in my Amazon book, "Fascism, Man's Past versus Capitalism, Man's Glorious Future." Immortaslis can be reached on the internet at joinimmortalis.com. SOES can be reached on Substack by Ameraturis Solar. In it, she shows how to be free of the jurisdiction of the State legally.
You have told me about them, though others may not have heard.
And I've been to Forsyth. But it was 1993! :-)
I was born in Forsyth and in 1993, I was working as scaffold Foreman on the construction and maintenance of 5 coal fired power plants in Colstrip, MT, was the stepfather of 4 kids of Karen McMordiie, and was part-owner , subsidizer and partner with my brother, Jeff, and Karen in KJ Printing. Karen ran the shop, Jeff was the accountant, and i and the 4 kids helped out as we could. I had earlier spent 3 years in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, the first year teaching school in the middle of a war between Muslim rebels from the Eritrean Liberation Front and the Coptic Christian dictatorship of Emperor Haile Selassie. The Muslims won.
Wow—a wild time in Africa! And a cool life in a great place.
I love Montana. In my middle 20s, I wanted to buy land, and I picked Montana out of the whole world. In 1993 I bought a piece in the Bull Mountains, and then proceeded to drive almost every major road in the state for the rest of the summer. I remember driving east between Roundup and Forsyth on 12, looking at the map, and discovering that towns like Ingomar and Vananda basically didn't exist. My friend and I were wondering if we could buy a whole abandoned town and name it "Thunderdome."
As far as I know, you can. Water is a problem. A railroad used to run through those towns and a train would drop off a water car or two to supply the town. Then a pipeline was laid in but I don't know if it is still available. I have a granddaughter who is a Certified Nursing Assistant in Forsyth and who lives with her husband on a farm outside Rosebud where I went to high school and was valedictorian and 4 sport letterman. We have an all-class reunion every 5 years and the next one is in the summer of 2027. At the last one, I was the oldest attending living athlete and I hope to make it to the next one when I'll be 85.
Wow! Have you gone to every reunion? How big was your graduating class?
Is there no water underground in that area? The water under my land in the Bulls is deep (well in the adjacent property is 375 ft.) but it's there…
I've tried to make it to every reunion but sometimes I was out of town or working. I now live in Aurora, CO so I don't know if I can make it to the next one or even if I'll live that long. I have had Parkinson's disease and atrial fibrillation for 18 years.
My graduating class was of 8 so it was easy to get to be valedictorian. My high school population when I was a senior was 46. Since then it has dwindled and almost disappeared. It resorted to importing students from overseas to keep from having to close.
I think there is water underground in the area but it is very deep and perhaps saline or alkaline or artesian. We had an artesian well, not very deep but pure, on our farm in Rosebud but the water had a bad odor which went away with settling in our kitchen.
What an amazing story and experience! Thank you for sharing!
I will try to share the whole thing at some point. It was wild. Life-changing, actually.
A very interesting story Christopher, great analogies and an excellent point!
I look forward to eventually learning about more stories about your time in Russia.
After the USSR "fell" I was fortunate to do a lot of business supplying vehicles and auto parts to Russia for luxury cars like American SUV's and US made foreign luxury brands they could not get in Europe working with the Wild Russian Brooklyn Brighton Beach boys. Lucrative and fun. Led to other deals from Russia to Italy. It was the Wild West!
That sounds like a blast. And it also sounds like you have some stories you should be telling too!
You are very insightful!
I'm in. Where are the liberal anti-woke candlelight meetings?
Classical-liberal, yes.