tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post43856458356238614..comments2023-11-05T09:55:13.077+02:00Comments on Itching for Eestimaa: in the land of the soviets, 2. osaGiustinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-34715197420435608032011-05-19T14:30:21.283+02:002011-05-19T14:30:21.283+02:00Happy reading! You couldn't possibly find a bi...Happy reading! You couldn't possibly find a bigger contrast than between Chekhov's cut and dry prose (perhaps in agreement with this job as a physician), and Bulgakov's flowery prose; Chekhov's attention to detail and Bulgakov's love for the dramatic big picture; Chekhov's vision of contradictions at every turn, and Bulgakov's almost Dostoyevskyan clash of titanic powers, good versus evil, Satan versus Jesus, and the drama in Pontius Pilate's life...<br /><br />They're similar in their abandonment of traditional heroic values, though. Chekhov didn't believe in heroes. Bulgakov has the 'hero' of his story introduced as such -- in Chapter 13, 'The Appearance of the Hero' -- at a point in which he had basically already done everything he was going to do (write his book), and remains pretty much a passive character till the end of the book.<br /><br />Anyways, again happy reading!Lingüistahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06327147408198046253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-60314994520308181392011-05-19T09:17:40.276+02:002011-05-19T09:17:40.276+02:00And you're reading Bulgakov? Would it be his m...<i>And you're reading Bulgakov? Would it be his masterpiece, The Master and Margarita?</i><br /><br />Yes, that's it. But I have started the Anton Chekov short stories first. Reminds me a bit of <i>Dubliners</i>, at first glance.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-8044363468489881442011-05-18T21:47:18.651+02:002011-05-18T21:47:18.651+02:00You've learned some Russian? Прекрасно!
And y...You've learned some Russian? <i>Прекрасно</i>!<br /><br />And you're reading Bulgakov? Would it be his masterpiece, <i>The Master and Margarita</i>? It's a wonderful book (made into a wonderful mini-series by <i>Telekanal Rossiya</i>); I loved it when my wife first exposed me to it.<br /><br />A lot still has to change in Russia. What I'm afraid of is that, historically, when they decide to change, they change radically, as per Stalin's industrialization and dekulakization. Yes, that's the funny thing with Russia: today very much pro-past, the USSR was the best. And yet it's not possible that some day, due to big leadership changes, they'll do the exact opposite and demonize everything Soviet as much as possible (just as they demonized anything pre-Soviet after the revolution).Lingüistahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06327147408198046253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-34998956014215746072011-05-18T02:38:38.281+02:002011-05-18T02:38:38.281+02:00This reminds me when I was messing with the police...This reminds me when I was messing with the police in Riga. They had stopped me for "speeding" and when they asked me how I'd like to resolve this I inquired what my options were. I then refused to pay on the spot. They took me into their car and the guy was looking for his pen for few minutes and dramatically sighing deeply the whole time slowly taking down my information from a license which he grumbled was not even legal drivers license. He finally issued me some kinda of warrant after half an hour of wasting my time. They had no idea that I could understand perfectly what they were saying to each other in Russian. I just kept on playing the dumb foreigner. His partner came over to ask what the problem was and he disappointedly told him that I had opted to pay through the bank transfer. There was no dapper american like politeness and professionalism you'd expect from a cop. None of it. It was like they were two random dudes, some slouches who had donned the greasy uniforms to make an extra lat for the evening. Pathetic.<br /><br />I think the fact that I forced them to speak english really did not go down well with them. <br /><br />But they could not let me go either. That was funny.<br /><br />I threw the summons out the window later.<br /><br />Come catch me here in US to collect your so called "shtraff". :-)LPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-15651809826471844142011-05-17T22:11:27.320+02:002011-05-17T22:11:27.320+02:00No, I did not. The guy who was driving the car did...<i> No, I did not. The guy who was driving the car did pay a certain on-the-spot fine so that he could continue to drive without further harassment.</i><br /><br />In Riga it happened with me when I was there in an Estonian car. Do you think Latvia and Russia are more similar in attitudes?Temestahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14614591949410689858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-26335232514559635942011-05-17T13:03:42.414+02:002011-05-17T13:03:42.414+02:00Well, it has happened in the past. I mean the comm...Well, it has happened in the past. I mean the communists replaced the old tsarist. Peter I'st replaced the medieval Byzantine. Ivan IV replaced the tribal nomadic system etc. etc. In Russia it kind of happens in waves, it rarely developes over time. Change is sudden and often over the top fundamental.<br /><br />The day will come when they will de-sovietize aswell, but I think we're not there yet. Altough some signs are starting to appear.<br /><br />But some danger lies in it aswell. As we know from history, when the Russians decide to restructurize their state it often affects huge neighbouring areas too... So I would be careful for what you wish for.Markohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17501324932136870126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-21578287175980531052011-05-17T09:48:47.834+02:002011-05-17T09:48:47.834+02:00No, I did not. The guy who was driving the car did...No, I did not. The guy who was driving the car did pay a certain on-the-spot fine so that he could continue to drive without further harassment.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-25271915588872705092011-05-17T08:43:07.776+02:002011-05-17T08:43:07.776+02:00In Russia, paying bribes to the police is part of ...<i>In Russia, paying bribes to the police is part of life.</i><br /><br />So you payed bribes to the Russian police? :)Temestahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14614591949410689858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-58104801052906422012011-05-17T08:13:03.774+02:002011-05-17T08:13:03.774+02:00I think what surprised me is how different Russia ...I think what surprised me is how different Russia and Estonia are. I expected them to be a little more similar. Going to Moscow, I felt that I was in a really different country, as different as any two countries that neighbor each other can be. <br /><br />When I got back to the Tallinn airport, for instance, it was very obvious to me that Estonia is under Scandinavian influence. For example, the police in Estonia dress like the Finnish, Swedish, or Danish police. Russian police don't dress like that. In Russia, paying bribes to the police is part of life. In Estonia, if you try to bribe a police officer, you will be arrested (as one Latvian motorist recently found out). <br /><br />And this might sound stupid/silly, but I forgot -- with them being the enormous nation that they are -- that Russians are Slavs. So Russians reminded me of Czechs, Poles, even Slovenians in terms of appearance and disposition. <br /><br />What I liked most about Russia, other than the sweets and pretty churches, was the culture I was exposed to. In just a matter of days, I learned about musicians I had never heard of, and left the country with two books, one by Anton Chekov, the other by Mihhail Bulgakov. They are now on my "to read" list.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-6784227974182310362011-05-16T20:22:07.809+02:002011-05-16T20:22:07.809+02:00I have lived 5 years in Moscow and last visited in...I have lived 5 years in Moscow and last visited in 1995. I'd be very interested to learn how much appears to have changed. Probably not much. I feel the same way about Estonia. Sans couple of new glass buildings here and there, the place is stuck in time. Which is a good thing, in a way. People have not changed much and I am more ambivelant abuout the goodness of that.LPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-83975100301264353342011-05-16T19:23:24.542+02:002011-05-16T19:23:24.542+02:00It was an interesting experience and therefore pos...It was an interesting experience and therefore positive. I have a lot more to write about. Not sure if people care about my impressions of Moscow. I finally managed to learn some Russian, too.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-75296089968038982392011-05-16T18:01:21.253+02:002011-05-16T18:01:21.253+02:00So the entire trip was a negative experience?So the entire trip was a negative experience?LPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.com