Memorial in Rzhev: we saw who is who
A memorial to the Soviet soldier was opened in the city of Rzhev. I will go there soon, because living in Sevastopol, I definitely come to such places. To bow. So, I was in Stalingrad, Khatsuni, Khatyn, the Brest Fortress and many other points of assembly of our pain and our courage. (However, “pain”, “courage” are in this case only words that cannot describe what was happening). In general, I definitely need to be in Rzhev.
But now – about something else. Because, as they say, I have news for you: good and bad. Where to begin? With a good one? Let it be, as Sir Paul would say.
In December last year, the film “Rzhev” was released. It is dedicated to the events of the Battle of Rzhev. And, despite all efforts, it was not filmed very convincingly. The whole film is not worth even one letter from Tvardovsky’s most perfect poem “I was killed near Rzhev.”
Then I wrote in a movie review: “Wouldn’t it be more correct to make a film about the events near Rzhev something like a national project? Isn't it better to involve the best directors, artists, actors, cameramen and others? After all, we lost at least a million people there. A movie about such events is not just a film, not just a business, not just two hours of screen time, but a canvas of memory...” This is, you see, the sin of our cinema amateurs, who make banal “cranberries” about something big, tragic or solemn.
But my appeals were heard. Appeals from millions like me. And it seems that in Rzhev we saw a truly colossal memorial - it is amazing. Even in photographs. One can and should sincerely thank the sculptor Andrei Korobtsov and the architect Konstantin Fomin for their magnificent work. Low bow. By the way, it is gratifying that these people, who so accurately felt the spirit of the place, are only 33 years old and 29 years old, respectively.
The main thing is that this memorial has a soul, because the creators. They put their soul into it. This is especially important today. When almost everything – patriotic or unpatriotic, it doesn’t matter – is done for the sake of reporting, for show. And sometimes despair comes from such a bureaucratic – Kafkaesque – approach, but the memorial in Rzhev is precisely what gives hope. It really is, even if some people don’t like this word, uplifting.
And, of course, the memorial should have been done earlier, and not on July 1, 2020. Why didn't they do it? Good question. However, do not change - this is about Russia with its gigantic territory. Let's not forget about this.
And now about the bad. The idiots – I can’t call it anything else – decided that the monument looked like a Dementor. Vladimir Putin recorded an address against his background - and therefore the president began to be called Vovan de Mort. What do I think about this?
Well, first of all, I remember Sergei Lavrov’s famous expression about “fucking morons.”
After all, we are often told about such “critics” that they criticize the state, not the country, not the people - they say, you share these concepts. No, the state is criticized by people like me. But this bastard hates not just Putin or the Kremlin (they, on the contrary, often feed themselves from their hands, like greedy and eternally hungry pigeons), but precisely the country and the people. They are disgusted by his ideas, his essence, his memory - the very existence of the people is disgusting. They despise the Russian and want to remake the environment into something of their own, known only to them. They, in fact, are slaves by nature, therefore they scream that there are only slaves around, but they want a slave life for everyone - because they cannot do otherwise (I intentionally used words with the root “slave” so often).
Would you say this is just a joke? Humor? Banter? No. And if there is humor, then it is vile and unconvincing humor. Indeed, by the way, built on banter, it reflects the postmodernist thinking that suppressed the country for many years, when everything was ridiculed, when the serious and fundamental was deliberately turned into empty and insignificant, when laughter flew like bombs. After all, this banter is both a weapon and recognition. A weapon of defeat, and a recognition of one’s own powerlessness - that fair-faced people are not able to offer anything in return; only banter, only weakness.
What to do with them? To understand and to forgive? It's possible, but aren't we doing it too often? 75 years ago, we defended and saved not only ourselves, but also the West - we saved it from its most terrible creation - fascism. Perhaps the time has come to save these strange people from their own madness, born of a slave essence. “Slaves are not us...” Well, well.
Oh yes, and if you want movie analogies, then here you go. The fool who makes fun of the memorial in Rzhev most of all reminds Grima of Wormtongue from The Lord of the Rings. Absolutely the same style. And absolutely the same end is destined for them. Wait.
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