"The lies are rarely useful"

Political scientist Dmitry Oreshkin - about church dissidents, nagan in his pocket and the search for historical truth

Over the years, my reading has acquired a chain character - in the sense of a chain of comparisons. A lot of fundamental lies, everything has to be double -checked. Everything that I read is associated with the great text that I am writing.

"Uncle Kolya" against ... notebooks of Bishop Barnabas (Belyaeva), 1950–1960. " It looks like the "fallen leaves" of Vladimir Rozanov. A little more modest in the sense of literature, but stronger (and worse) in the sense of documentary. The “feat of an honest person”, more precisely, the chains of honest people - from those who saved the author to those who saved and rewrote the text, edited and published. Heroic scrupulousness reference apparatus. A wonderful example of how the conscientiousness of one involves others in his circle. “Uncle Kolya” and about the modern “dudes” with sympathy (because the protest of a living soul), and about medieval church dissidents-jurisdictions-for the same reason. "Uncle Kolya" very painfully perceives the obscenity of socialist reality, which, among other things, manifests itself in the enthusiastic fluttering of state -owned sweet -maladness/gleaming over a sparkling and exhausted country. With complicity, as he does not forget to indicate, hypocritical and affectionate patriarchate and personally of the then Patriarch Comrade. Alexy I.

About how the NEP was strangled, the first and shortest thaw in Soviet history - “Money Reform 1921–1924. Creation of solid currency. Documents and materials. " Although there is more about why the reform began. If money is cheaper every day, then you can only theoretically lie about the advantages of a planned socialist economy. It is more difficult to understand why in three years they decided to destroy this firm currency again. The book about this does not say: official party documents. But the numbers say even better. Two years after the start of the reform, the growth rate of industrial production reached 57 %. Agriculture responded with growth immediately. Budget revenues have grown significantly. Could the Soviet government come to terms with this? If this would go further, then the Bolshevik party with its leading and guiding role would have remained out of work.

Another book in the chain is how they finished off the thaw No. 2. "Novomirsky Diary" of Alexander Tvardovsky . In fact, almost synchronously with Bishop Barnava. It is a pity that the notes end in 1960. It would be interesting to know his opinion about Solzhenitsyn. You read Twardowski and compare. Little changed: “In the post“ Party Art ” - the refuge of all the most vile, savage, self -serving, universal in its very nature (Wuchetich, Serov, Chakovsky, Sofronov, Gribachev - they also have numbers).” “Dislike” for Twardowski is not a party (as Solzhenitsyn would certainly have been stuck to him), but a professional one. In the sense of grayness and lack of ideas. To cut the TV now is like opening a refrigerator forgotten from the end of the 60s. It will flow and smell right away ...

To check the plot of total propaganda, I re -read “how steel was tempered” by Nikolai Ostrovsky . It is written stupid, but not bad: fast hard text, continuous action. Ready Hollywood scenario about cowboys. It’s just that our leather jackets have a different cut, instead of “Smith-i-Vesson”, Nagan and in the pocket is not a province, but a CHC certificate. And winter as a landscape.

For equilibrium (maybe I don’t understand what?) I also read Patriot Vladimir Medinsky “On Russian Drunk, Leni and Cruelty. Myths about Russia. " She came out the second edition. The book is stupid, but despite this, useless. The lies are generally rarely useful, if only to the author. Yes, and then for a short while. About Ivan the Terrible-links to affectionate and patriotic Soviet work no later than the 60s. “Time of Time” is called the heyday of the oprichnina during the life of Tsar Ivan. Although actually it began after his death ... a book in the calculation of fools. What Putin's Russia is needed.

Photos: Ksenia Zhikharev