Re: Further on Greg Yugin and Russian facism
Brian, thanks for your thoughtful text. >Thus the great struggles of the twentieth century are stripped of their meaning and enrolled in the ideological message machine. Or rather another colonization, that being the domination and subjugation imposed by the Soviet Union on a long list of nations, hasn't been stripped of meaning so much as absolutely suppressed and negated. (And previously, the Russian Empire that Putin's been strenuously evoking and attempting to reconstruct, something hard to do with a GDP smaller than Italy's and extended across 11 time zones.) There's a great myopia in certain circles concerning the Soviet empire. Colonization can only and exclusively mean the malfeasance of western powers, something elements of the left seem to adhere to quite religiously, though I take heart in Noam Chomsky bluntly referring to Putin's war as "criminal aggression" in the New Statesman today. (Chomsky who for decades has been a leading representative of a strain of thought in which almost everything that happens in the world is in direct or indirect relation to US and western malfeasance, a kind of inverted white man's burden in which 'our' centrality is retained.) I grew up, in part, in the USSR. I never had any doubt Moscow was the center of an empire and that the nations contained in that empire were subjugated and exploited. But because that empire professed socialist ideals and stood in opposition to a capitalist west led by the USA, the crimes of that empire were largely ignored or explained away by those rightfully opposed to another system with a long string of crimes under its belt, from Iran, Guatemala, and Chile to Vietnam, Cambodia, and the list goes on. (Let's not forget the unprovoked invasion of Iraq based on cooked intelligence, with between 100,000 and 200,000 civilian casualties. More than Putin has caused in Ukraine, at least so far. Etc.) But it's possible to contain both constructs in mind simultaneously. Some of the contortions of the American and European left in attempting to explain away Putin's war (eerily mirrored by neofascist right wing figures in the Republican Party and Fox news in the US, or Marine Le Pen, Viktor Orban and their ilk) put me in mind of bad science. Because we need to examine things empirically. (Richard Feynman's admonishment to NASA following the Challenger accident comes to mind: "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.") The enemy of our enemy isn't necessarily our friend. Those who can't recognize Putin's war on Ukraine as an attempted colonialist conquest may have problems processing empirical data due to polarizing filters. (Glenn Greenwald springs to mind.) Add to that phantom limb syndrome, because what Russia is actually attempting is the recolonization of Ukraine to reestablish a domination dating back almost 500 years, to the Pereiaslav Agreement of 1654. And Sergeytsev's toxic editorial in which such reconquest is termed decolonization (from European influence, as he explains it) puts me in mind of Donald Trump's rhetorical technique of always accusing the other side of the crimes one is about to commit or has already committed. Incidentally all this is why I have no patience for John Mearshimer's assigning blame to the US for the war in Ukraine, though I think he's arguing for it honestly, not duplicitously. >The use of the religious term lustration (ritual cleansing and purification) apparently refers to what they have done in Bucha, etc. But it also points to the centrality of the Orthodox Church, which may be a far more effective pillar of population management than the mythical constructs of the Nazis. Yes and speaking of Orthodoxy, another aspect of this struggle that isn't getting much attention, because such matters are generally considered incomprehensibly wreathed in incense, is a power dynamic in which a spurned Russian Orthodox church is seeking to punish and reestablish control over the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which asserted autocephalous status in 1992, resulting in a complicated process that lasted for decades and was finally completed in 2018. Pissing off Russian Orthodox prelates no end. >Currently all this horror is funded by global energy consumerism. And the lack of action to stop such funding makes it appear that European governments do not see or cannot act on the totalitarian nature of the threat, which demands some sacrifice from citizens. Yes but interestingly, and following revelations from Bucha and other areas the Russian were forced to withdraw from over the last few days, today EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell pointed out pretty remarkably bluntly that while the EU has sent Ukraine about one billion Euros in support since the invasion on February 24, it sends almost that much _per day_ to Russia for oil and gas. Or 35 billion euros since the invasion. And evidently some pretty draconian ideas are being seriously considered con
Re: Further on Greg Yugin and Russian facism
Happy (and not not) to say I agree with all of this — really well put, Brian. Two thoughts: (1) As you probably know, "lustration" also refers to a more or less formal process of governmental and social transformation — basically, an alternative to more rigorous truth-and-reconciliation processes. There are many people on this list who know much more than I do, but it's my understanding that lustration was the generic term for describing "decommunization" processes in many Eastern Bloc countries after the fall of the wall. Its use now, in addition to the religious connotations you note, is also just trollish revanchism. (2) Much more US-centric: Mark Milley, the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a few days ago: "It's a bit early, still, even though we're a month plus into the war. There is much of the ground war left in Ukraine, but I do think this is a very protracted conflict. And I think it's at least measured in years." I haven't seen the larger context of his comments, so it could be that he clarified exactly what he meant; but it's hard to imagine that high-ups, particularly in the US, see a viable path toward peace and normal relations anytime soon. And the neocons, always thirsty for war, are no doubt back in force telling everyone who'll listen "I told you so." It's hard to speculate further without bumping into the 800-pound gorilla of Russian interventions in US elections. Sanctions will make them more difficult, and being associated with Russians and their wealth will be déclassé for all but the most rightists. But the US has a habit of making things about itself, and this is an especially inappropriate time for that. Having said that, a great deal will hinge on which party wins in the Congressional elections this year and, yes, the presidential ones two years from now. Not all: Putin is older and (I think) much frailer than he looks, so the question of who'll succeed him is surely in the air. The shortest path to peace would be for Putin to be ousted and whatever regime follows to trade on that transition to restore relations. Putin knows that, and will escalate and exacerbate everything he can to make that impossible. Cheers, Ted On 6 Apr 2022, at 13:01, Brian Holmes wrote: > On Mon, Apr 4, 2022, 12:53 Michael Benson wrote: > >> >> Anyone doubting the truth of Yugin's allegation that Putinism is directly >> comparable to the German Nazism or Spanish and Italian fascisms of the >> 1930's ... >> > > Thank you Michael, I don't doubt it but the editorial from RIA Novosti is > particularly brutal and reveals yet another element that has been thrown in > the historical cement mixer, namely decolonization. Thus the great > struggles of the twentieth century are stripped of their meaning and > enrolled in the ideological message machine. > > The use of the religious term lustration (ritual cleansing and > purification) apparently refers to what they have done in Bucha, etc. But > it also points to the centrality of the Orthodox Church, which may be a far > more effective pillar of population management than the mythical constructs > of the Nazis. > > Currently all this horror is funded by global energy consumerism. And the > lack of action to stop such funding makes it appear that European > governments do not see or cannot act on the totalitarian nature of the > threat, which demands some sacrifice from citizens. This fear of economic > disruption is absurd. If the war continues unopposed, the global facts on > the ground will include an unprecedented refugee crisis, significant > starvation among people in poor countries and a gradual hollowing-out and > replacement of the current monetary order, or in other words, disruption of > a degree surpassing anything since WWII. Given the preview, do we really > want to see a world system centered on and governed by Russia and China? > > The serious question is how far can an active totalitarianism go before > world war begins in earnest. I don't think much further. The Russians have > engaged a whole-of-society strategy. To avoid both defeat, and a nuclear > war that would be worse than defeat, democracies would need to mobilize > their citizens in a deliberate project including direct military moves > alongside effective economic ones, definitely involving sacrifice > from individuals and corporations. This is as yet unimaginable, but unless > the Russian offensive halts and a retreat to the Donbas is confirmed, I > think we will begin to see efforts toward such a mobilization very soon. > How it plays out among civil societies will then become a central issue. > > Thoughtfully yours, Brian # distributed via : no commercial use without permission #is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nett...@kein.org # @nettime_bot tweets mail w/
Re: Further on Greg Yugin and Russian facism
On Mon, Apr 4, 2022, 12:53 Michael Benson wrote: > > Anyone doubting the truth of Yugin's allegation that Putinism is directly > comparable to the German Nazism or Spanish and Italian fascisms of the > 1930's ... > Thank you Michael, I don't doubt it but the editorial from RIA Novosti is particularly brutal and reveals yet another element that has been thrown in the historical cement mixer, namely decolonization. Thus the great struggles of the twentieth century are stripped of their meaning and enrolled in the ideological message machine. The use of the religious term lustration (ritual cleansing and purification) apparently refers to what they have done in Bucha, etc. But it also points to the centrality of the Orthodox Church, which may be a far more effective pillar of population management than the mythical constructs of the Nazis. Currently all this horror is funded by global energy consumerism. And the lack of action to stop such funding makes it appear that European governments do not see or cannot act on the totalitarian nature of the threat, which demands some sacrifice from citizens. This fear of economic disruption is absurd. If the war continues unopposed, the global facts on the ground will include an unprecedented refugee crisis, significant starvation among people in poor countries and a gradual hollowing-out and replacement of the current monetary order, or in other words, disruption of a degree surpassing anything since WWII. Given the preview, do we really want to see a world system centered on and governed by Russia and China? The serious question is how far can an active totalitarianism go before world war begins in earnest. I don't think much further. The Russians have engaged a whole-of-society strategy. To avoid both defeat, and a nuclear war that would be worse than defeat, democracies would need to mobilize their citizens in a deliberate project including direct military moves alongside effective economic ones, definitely involving sacrifice from individuals and corporations. This is as yet unimaginable, but unless the Russian offensive halts and a retreat to the Donbas is confirmed, I think we will begin to see efforts toward such a mobilization very soon. How it plays out among civil societies will then become a central issue. Thoughtfully yours, Brian might want to look at the bloodcurdling editorial "What Should Russia do > with Ukraine" by Timofey Sergeytsev published today by RIA Novosti: > > https://cryptodrftng.substack.com/p/day-40-what-russia-should-do-with > > The above link is to a translation with commentary at the top; the > original is here: > > https://ria.ru/20220403/ukraina-1781469605.html > > But fasten your seatbelts. (RIA Novosti of course being the Russian state > media service that also inadvertently published that triumphant "mission > accomplished" piece by Petr Akopov on February 28th, the one clearly > written before the invasion of Ukraine and anticipating a swift victory. > https://mil.in.ua/en/news/brave-new-world-of-putin-an-article-by-the-propaganda-publication-ria-novosti-which-was-to-be-published-after-the-occupation-of-ukraine/. > ) > > A couple things regarding the Sergeytsev piece, which I couldn't simply > cut-and-paste into Nettime as it calls to mind certain ultranationalist > texts published in the ex-Yugoslav space in the 1990's. But some key points: > > 1) "Most likely" the majority of Ukrainians have been "Nazified." > "Technically" they can't be "directly punished as war criminals," but they > require "reeducation" and their state must be destroyed. A "total > lustration" must be carried out. > 2) After the government and military are "liquidated," this > "reeducation... achieved by ideological supression" will take no less than > a generation to complete. > 3) The name "Ukraine" cannot be retained to signify a successfully > "denazified" state entity on the territory that we now call Ukraine. > "Denazification" is synonymous with "de-Ukrainization." Ukraine as such is > an "artificial, anti-Russian construction, which has no civilizational > content of its own." Accordingly it must be erased. > 4) The "Banderite element" [read Ukrainian right-wing nationalists] is a > "disguise for the European project of a Nazi Ukraine, so the deNazification > of Ukraine is also its inevitable deEuropeanization." > 5) An astonishing conclusion is offered concerning this new deracinated > entity now under the complete control of Moscow and with its name and > identity erased: the "deNazification of Ukraine is at the same time its > decolonization." > > As I said, bloodcurdling — but published not by some fringe publication, > but one of Russia's largest and most prestigious news sites, and certainly > underlining the truth of some of Yugin's assertions. > > Best, > Michael > > > > > On Mon, 4 Apr 2022 at 02:57, wrote: > >> Send nettime-l mailing list submissions to >> nettime-l@mail.kein.org >> >> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the
