Not their war. At all

Zinaida Pronchenko - about the fatigue of the French Bomond from news from Ukraine and indifference to war

After the start of the war, the film critic, art critic, publicist Zinaida Pronchenko left Russia. Now she lives in Paris and sees the fatigue of French society from news about the war with Ukraine. Is it bad and why this happens - Ponchenko writes about this specifically for the "cold".

In order not to miss the main materials of the "cold", subscribe to our Instagram and telegram .

Last week, I happened to take part in a survey of “Russian intellectuals in exile” for the respected French publication Figaro. The correspondent with an aristocratic surname all the time clarified: “Are you not discriminated?”, “Did some sanctions or precedents of cultural abolition seemed especially unfair to you?”, “In short, have accidents in exile?” (referring to hypothetical hostility to Russian refugees from the Parisian population). I denied everything. Well, however, no one in Europe in Europe has once been shown hatred for six months of my stay in Europe, learning about my nationality. And if they are film -festivities - the events professional for me - they now answer the request for accreditation: “Wait, our specialist in foreign affairs is additionally checked by journalists from your region in connection with the international situation,” I am awaiting. Sometimes my spiritual state is such that I would have checked myself for additionally - for sanity. The correspondent listened to all my reasoning and said with satisfaction: “I had no doubt in the least, the French love the Russians very much and accept them well, you know, I myself are Orthodox ...” Then we said goodbye, on an enthusiastic note.

Behind the scenes of the described conversation, however, the main thing remains. General fatigue, and completely different in the way. I, like me, moderately fundamental, but rather very impressionable people, left almost immediately after the start of the war on the emotions that the singer Vladimir brought to the header the song “ How the Fuck is possible ”. A little later, fear came. Partly imbalanced: the emigrant, although spends a day on the phone, on news sites and in social networks, still instantly loses its sense of reality. Already many times I have heard from the “remaining”, who looked at the vacation to Europe, which in Moscow is surprisingly dead (as a deceased?) That the “Titanic” has not yet sank that they have not interfered with living. And I willingly believe them. I'm not going to argue. And I'm not going to go back.

Emigration has finally became physical emigration. Even if the Titanic is afloat, sitting in a brave musical orchestra seems to me madness. I emphasize - personally to me, without any complaints about objectivity. From this knowledge - that the pause has become an eternity - fear is growing. And with it, fatigue. Not from the horrors of war - from the hopelessness of being and the disorder of life. It is more than 40 years to start all over 40 years. Each emigrant from the exclamation sign turns into a questioning one. In a stooped creature, ready to make excuses more and more often than to condemn. And this creature is especially insulting to hear what I hear from time to time on gatherings with Parisians - about their fatigue.

Also last week I was called to bohemian guests. A huge apartment in the first district. Postmodernism on the walls. International Crowd (international party. - approx. "Cold") - on sofas. Champagne or Bordeaux? Someone is discussing the needs of documentary, someone-the Museum-Quarter Serge Gensbur, which is about to open the door on the left bank of the Seine.

Closer to the night of my emigrant regiment arrived. A girl from St. Petersburg entered the light, who made a career in LVMH (French Transnational Company, a manufacturer of luxury items under the shopping stamps Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and others.-Note to “Kholoda”) . In contrast, a full -fledged Parisian works and lives here for ten years, says almost without an accent, at least daily communicates with clients from Russia and Belarus on the great and mighty. On top of the noisy conversation about the novelties of the local film distribution, I caught the corner of my ear, as she talked about the complete absence of political tension among the most diverse client of the brand. Only once strange Americans told her in person that Putin should die. Well, Tax Free is still not designed to former compatriots. And so - the paradise of Lux, where all in line for the cash register are equal and only buyers of Haute Joaillerie (exquisite jewelry. - Approx. "Cold") a little more equal.

Of course, I wanted to joke about Yana Rudkovskaya, who visited the Fashion Week, and about the hypocrisy of LVMH-here we play, here we don’t return duties, we wrap bags, but, again, fatigue: why resent someone who acts under the legislation, even if he is crooked. The mirror is now the main referee.

However, a moment later, I already came another, slightly more action -packed exchange of remarks. A nice restaurateur from Brittany asked the girl from LVMH: what does she think about the war? And finally, the same answer followed: to us, little people, do not understand what happened, there is not enough information and an excess of conflicting information, it is difficult to form an opinion ...

For the first time in six months, I encountered the carrier of a “ambiguous” ideology face to face, and not on Facebook. A moment later, my scream rang out unconsciously borrowed from another heading - Novaya Gazeta: “We know what happened, Russia began to bomb Ukraine.” It doesn’t matter what a girl from LVMH answered me, as if not noticing that her employer had closed all her boutiques in the Russian Federation, forming an opinion promptly. It seems she just fell silent. But the rest of the guests began to answer.

“But we really don’t know what happened!”
-This is all because of the gas!
- Ours is no better!
- This is a gray zone!

I went to smoke. And then she left. Discouraged by the fact that in France for 11 months for each newspaper or book counter, the President of the Russian Federation is looking at the layman, under his alarming photo one bloody titer replaces the other, and the layman continues to see what is used to: the famous Parisian grisale ( the technique of painting in one, usually chromatic or ahromatic tone.- approx. "Cold") , gray zone and somewhere in the same way-golden-golden-golden-golden-golden-gold Dome of the Russian Cultural Center.

Incredibly, but the fact: Putin interferes with the French not because gas prices rose in the cold winter - the prices are normal, nothing, forgive for a pun, a “military”, and winter without snow. Putin prevents not to trust his own power and, most importantly, to love the mysterious Russian soul. For centuries, enlightened French have expressed their love for Trans -Siberian Express, Anna Karenina, Hermitage, Birch, ballets, icons and Tarkovsky, whose grave near Paris is not that, for example, the last refuge of Jim Morrison. Although the French do not really honor the dead, even their own: living for them is more expensive, and this is normal. It's about something else. Russia, even for French intellectuals, is primarily a cozy myth, a book with a pleasant eye with pictures, whose place on a fireplace shelf or on a coffee table is undeniable. Ah, Holy Rus', no Putin with his war is pushing you out of Pantheon. In these fairy tales about Russia there are even modern pages - about oligarchs and other funny nouveau riche. In the end, you can be a mysterious soul, but think about outfits from Louis Witton. As Russian clients, too, the French have never disappointed. With frosty dust, their personalized bags were silvering ... And now we need to take the saints somewhere. Where? And most importantly, for what - Macron's universalist ambitions? It is known that there is no justice in the world, but Russia was and will be.

The fact that in France historically for Putin is all taxi drivers or small shopkeepers who are tired of yellow vests and other trade unions is understandable. Which European centrist or right did not miss a strong hand? And even representatives of the North African diasporas, repeatedly trying to prove to me that Putin is far from the colonial crimes of the French Empire or that the fifth republic is also poorly with the freedom of the press, they never caused me such indignation as those who today, a year after the start of the war, are ranting about the relativity of evil and the contradictoryness of the incoming information. If this information is contradictory, then what is interesting, do these people value in Putin? In other guests, I heard about the victory of the Red Army in the Second World War, I would have been pleased with Anton and Margarita.

Of course, to me, a confused supper of documents or grants, paralyzed by my own worthlessness, similar, as it were, “hospitable”, discourse only into hand. But somewhere on the periphery of consciousness, when I am distracting from administrative obstacles and various pressing rubbish, a feeling of resentment wakes up-not to my fate, but to life in general. Because, no matter how far you go, around again, nearby people who need a very tiny effort to understand - not you personally, but the state of things, but even they are not capable of it. This is what their fatigue looks like. The crunch of a French roll is drowning out the noise of time, then turning into a white noise on a gray background.

The author’s opinion may not coincide with the opinion of the editorial office.