Party history

Dear editors!

There are such naive people among us scientists who imagine that history can be some kind of objective discipline that impartially studies, describes and analyzes a series of past events. For such botanists, it is extremely important to find out who Rurik was - a Scandinavian leader or a Slav, to establish whether Ramses II defeated the Hittites at Kadesh or not, or to find out some other thing of the same degree of relevance.

Let us imagine that a person approaches history with such an objectivist view, and what then will the history of his native land appear to him? The cause of the war, rich in exploits and heroism, worthy of chanting for centuries, will be the passion for the young foreign princess that suddenly flared up in the elderly monarch. The reason for the brutal enemy invasion will be fratricidal feuds in the ruling house of the country, in which a brother does not hesitate to call on foreign troops in the fight against his brother. And this is true in relation to any country: not only Russian princes brought the Polovtsians to Rus', but also some Englishmen called on the Vikings in order to take away royal power from their brother. It's the same everywhere. And what should a simple person experience when looking at this continuous series of murders, meanness, abominations, betrayals, crimes, lies, violence, debauchery and stupidity? Will he, seeing all this, be able to become a patriot who loves his country and a positive thinker, or will he turn into a cynical misanthrope?

History cannot and should not be some objective discipline that presents events “as they were” - it is a powerful tool for cultivating patriotic civic consciousness or, conversely, for undermining the spiritual strength of the people. A classic writer wrote long ago: “He who controls the past controls the future; He who controls the present controls the past.” In other words, history did not happen - it needs to be created and created anew all the time.

It is no coincidence that the electronic publication close to United Russia, the United Russian Portal, recently turned to the work of the famous mathematical reformer of Russian and world history, Academician A. T. Fomenko, which undoubtedly carries a powerful patriotic charge. And he expressed a sensible thought: “First of all, the political elite needs to realize the very existence of the problem of chronology. When planning the development of your state, it is useful to know how it developed in the past. Otherwise, today people watch movies, the same “Andrei Rublev”, and see in this past a poor Rus' trampled into the mud, a dull and dirty way of life. This view is not safe. It shapes the authorities’ understanding of the people and, accordingly, decisions about how to act today.”

Fomenko’s new chronology makes it possible to give the growing citizen much more uplifting baggage. This is what, according to the academician, the schoolchild of the future will learn: “He will learn that the Battle of Kulikovo took place not in the vicinity of Tula, but on the territory of Moscow, not far from the Kremlin. Finally, he learns that all of Europe from the 13th to the 16th centuries was united into one Empire, conventionally called Mongolian from the Greek word Megalion and the Slavic “can”, “power”. It is also known as the Great Roman Empire, the Empire of Charles V and the Great Arab Caliphate. That since the 15th century, the center of this empire was Rus'-Horde, and Western Europe was in vassal dependence in relation to it and paid tribute. That in the 16th century there was a turmoil, as a result of which the Empire split. The former governors of the Center gained independence and created their own kingdoms. And to justify their power, they created a false history by distorting true chronicles and introducing new dates into them.”

Is it true? I don’t know, but this doesn’t matter, the main thing is a politically competent and patriotic view of history, which means historians need to stop spitting about Fomenko’s chronology and roll up their sleeves and take part in its revision. And I think we cannot limit ourselves only to monographs and textbooks; it is necessary to employ masters of art to solve this important problem. I, for example, imagine an epic state-budget film by the famous Nikita Mikhalkov, in which the valiant troops of Rus'-Horde crush the vile Teutons and Livonians, behind whom the Englishwoman who is always spoiling Russia is clearly visible.

So let's win!

Yours Ivan Ekonomov