Very interesting, especially the conclusion where he holds Denikin went above and beyond to prevent pogroms while Petliura encouraged them.
The Ukraine during the civil war was a wild place, there was a point in December 1918 where there were six different Ukrainian governments fighting each other. McMeekin said that Kiev changed hands from 1917-1922 23-24 times.
A recent book I just finished that I imagine would be of interest to you is White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov (of Master and the Margarita fame). It’s a semi-autobiographical novel about a White family in Kiev toward the end of 1918. Offers a unique perspective as the main characters work for Hetman Skoropadsky, a particularly fascinating character imo. Wrangel had some interesting comments about him.
Bulgakov is tied with Solzhenitsyn as my favorite 20th century author, but White Guard is much less well known. Offers great insight into the Ukraine during the civil war and the Whites. Bulgakov wrote it in tangent with a play (Days of the Turbins), which was seen as too sympathetic to the Whites, but Stalin was such a fan he intervened to keep it playing. The White Guard is viewed as even more sympathetic, so couldn’t be published during his lifetime, or some time after for that matter. Worth a review!
"The Russian masses were far and away the most easily swayed in all the world, and were strikingly susceptible to the eloquence of the agitator" really stuck out to me.
I had a conversation with some high school friends a few weeks ago, where one asked me what I thought of the Israel-Palestine situation and even said I was right about all the /pol/ talking points I used to regurgitate back in 2016. However, when I expressed apathy on the matter all of a sudden things took a sour turn; accusations of a lack of humanitarian spirit for not being outwardly against the "genocide".
As Trump said, we live in an angry world. A lot of people are looking for outlets for this anger and confusion they feel at the fact that we live in world detached from the mores that kept it in place for the past few centuries. The fact of the matter is the majority of people, as we can see on twitter, don't actually hold any definite positions. They can be rallied and agitated by anyone who gives them carte blanche to act out their sociopathic urges and fulfill this prophecy of "revolution" or "subversion" implanted in most people by the Marxist narrative of history. Just like you talk about in the STALKER 2 episode, we're seeing more and more people make good points or hold "based" positions for frivolous if not outright caustically stupid reasons.
I'd highly recommend reading or listening to some talks by Neil Postman, I would say probably the best student of Marshall McLuhan who arguably even surpassed him by taking his ideas one step further. One of his biggest critiques of education even as far back as the 70's was that children were being denied a greater narrative to give their learning purpose, and that fundamental skills such as abstract reasoning and rhetoric were woefully underdeveloped. While we caught a glimpse of it in the "Summer of Love" back in the 60's/70's, I think we're really seeing the full force of it now. People operating based off of "vibes", the retarded "debate me' videos of equally braindead libtards and ConInc mouthpieces performing the intellectual equivalent of the battle at Hampton Roads; half-baked cannonballs of ideas bouncing off iron skulls too thick to even conceive of letting them through. People's whose views can be changed on a whim because there's no principle behind it. In a strange way, as we've cast off the "superstition" of God, Family, and Country in the name of rationalism people now more than ever have become irrational. Arguing as an end unto itself, the constant chasing of "dunks" and clippable moments, the severe lack of self awareness.
It's all so tiresome. Trump will fix it, thankfully.
It’s interesting that nearly every rejection of God or religion ends up also throwing out hierarchy, natural order and evidence-based reasoning along with it. Like there is some larger delusion under the surface that is being fed
These historical blood feuds between rival ethnicities risk real genocide once one party finds itself in power. Jews raised on hating their alleged Russian Christians oppressors for centuries getting their revenge through early Communist control and then Russian Christians leading crushing pogroms in retaliation against all Jews rather than the ones who carried out the acts. Horrible. You think similar bloodletting would never happen here but then you see the State of the Union live reaction feed in response to the American victims of illegal immigrants and the Dems’ blue line is just completely flat.
The patterns repeat as you say with people just wanting to start with their angle and then wrap around back to it, truth be damned. Hence why I don’t engage in those discussions with Free Subscriber types. I think the Russian fatalistic culture also has a starring role in their inability to mount an effective response. A review of 19th C Russian literature confirms their romantic view of lost causes and throwing themselves into hopeless causes rather than organized systematic approaches.
Russians seem to have a weird flavor of autism that is almost certainly related to being forced to endure the most brutal winters on the planet for thousands of years. All-or-nothing thinking is great to have when you need to prepare for winter, not so much when you need to build up political alliances and win incrementally.
I did a quick search through some of my databases to see what I could come up with for John Ernest Hodgson. Not much.
But, there was this brief review of With Denikin's Armies from the April 1933 issue of Foreign Affairs:
"A vivid picture of the turmoil of the counter-revolution in South Russia, but adding little to our knowledge."
Well then.
The reviewer was more impressed by R. H. Bruce Lockhart's 1933 book "British Agent."
"Lockhart was in the consular service in Moscow during the war, and in 1918 acted as special agent in negotiations with the Bolsheviks. His book is certainly one of the most valuable studies of the evolution of Russian opinion during the war, of the gradual discrediting of the monarchy, of the revolution and the Kerensky regime. Most important, however, is his narrative of negotiations with Lenin, Trotsky and other Bolshevik leaders, of whom he gives vivid pen pictures. He was in favor of Allied intervention with the consent of the Bolsheviks, but was eventually overruled and placed for a time in danger of his life. Enough has been said to indicate the nature of the book and to point out its considerable value for all students of the Russian overturn."
Payload Movie Review Demand Part #2: Q&A (1990) I find viewing this one in 2024 a profound example of how the Multicultural Utopia of the Progressive Left is a retarded pipe dream. While I’m sure this is not what Sidney Lumet intended when it was made it’s obvious viewing it today. Nick Nolte and Armand Assante are excellent as well.
“He can't be bargained with. He can't be reasoned with. He doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear! And he absolutely will not stop, ever, until you’ve watched ‘Q&A’ (1990)”
Just as Conundrum Cluster hath broken the Free Subscriber,I, Payload will breakth Conundrum Cluster’s will on behalf of thy intentional Right Wing Reactionary Cinema that is Q&A (1990).
Very interesting, especially the conclusion where he holds Denikin went above and beyond to prevent pogroms while Petliura encouraged them.
The Ukraine during the civil war was a wild place, there was a point in December 1918 where there were six different Ukrainian governments fighting each other. McMeekin said that Kiev changed hands from 1917-1922 23-24 times.
A recent book I just finished that I imagine would be of interest to you is White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov (of Master and the Margarita fame). It’s a semi-autobiographical novel about a White family in Kiev toward the end of 1918. Offers a unique perspective as the main characters work for Hetman Skoropadsky, a particularly fascinating character imo. Wrangel had some interesting comments about him.
Bulgakov is tied with Solzhenitsyn as my favorite 20th century author, but White Guard is much less well known. Offers great insight into the Ukraine during the civil war and the Whites. Bulgakov wrote it in tangent with a play (Days of the Turbins), which was seen as too sympathetic to the Whites, but Stalin was such a fan he intervened to keep it playing. The White Guard is viewed as even more sympathetic, so couldn’t be published during his lifetime, or some time after for that matter. Worth a review!
I'm actually reading White Guard right now, fantastic book
Professional yapper 😴 😴
"The Russian masses were far and away the most easily swayed in all the world, and were strikingly susceptible to the eloquence of the agitator" really stuck out to me.
I had a conversation with some high school friends a few weeks ago, where one asked me what I thought of the Israel-Palestine situation and even said I was right about all the /pol/ talking points I used to regurgitate back in 2016. However, when I expressed apathy on the matter all of a sudden things took a sour turn; accusations of a lack of humanitarian spirit for not being outwardly against the "genocide".
As Trump said, we live in an angry world. A lot of people are looking for outlets for this anger and confusion they feel at the fact that we live in world detached from the mores that kept it in place for the past few centuries. The fact of the matter is the majority of people, as we can see on twitter, don't actually hold any definite positions. They can be rallied and agitated by anyone who gives them carte blanche to act out their sociopathic urges and fulfill this prophecy of "revolution" or "subversion" implanted in most people by the Marxist narrative of history. Just like you talk about in the STALKER 2 episode, we're seeing more and more people make good points or hold "based" positions for frivolous if not outright caustically stupid reasons.
I'd highly recommend reading or listening to some talks by Neil Postman, I would say probably the best student of Marshall McLuhan who arguably even surpassed him by taking his ideas one step further. One of his biggest critiques of education even as far back as the 70's was that children were being denied a greater narrative to give their learning purpose, and that fundamental skills such as abstract reasoning and rhetoric were woefully underdeveloped. While we caught a glimpse of it in the "Summer of Love" back in the 60's/70's, I think we're really seeing the full force of it now. People operating based off of "vibes", the retarded "debate me' videos of equally braindead libtards and ConInc mouthpieces performing the intellectual equivalent of the battle at Hampton Roads; half-baked cannonballs of ideas bouncing off iron skulls too thick to even conceive of letting them through. People's whose views can be changed on a whim because there's no principle behind it. In a strange way, as we've cast off the "superstition" of God, Family, and Country in the name of rationalism people now more than ever have become irrational. Arguing as an end unto itself, the constant chasing of "dunks" and clippable moments, the severe lack of self awareness.
It's all so tiresome. Trump will fix it, thankfully.
It’s interesting that nearly every rejection of God or religion ends up also throwing out hierarchy, natural order and evidence-based reasoning along with it. Like there is some larger delusion under the surface that is being fed
“The Teacher Question”
The first paragraph reads like an on the nose parody of discoursing with certain types of twitter users, funniest thing I've read in a while.
I know, right? I was genuinely taken aback
Very interesting. It blows my mind how many parallels there are to today and these Marxist revolutionary periods of the 20th century.
Unrelated note: A couple weeks ago, I was able to buy Freedom Betrayed by Nash on Amazon for a cool $11 US. Typically it’s been around $50.
Thanks for the tip, buying it now
Give me a reply about how it is, I want to start that once I finish Catholic Confederates.
It wasn’t the main subject of the article but the part about teachers was so funny. There really is nothing new under the sun
These historical blood feuds between rival ethnicities risk real genocide once one party finds itself in power. Jews raised on hating their alleged Russian Christians oppressors for centuries getting their revenge through early Communist control and then Russian Christians leading crushing pogroms in retaliation against all Jews rather than the ones who carried out the acts. Horrible. You think similar bloodletting would never happen here but then you see the State of the Union live reaction feed in response to the American victims of illegal immigrants and the Dems’ blue line is just completely flat.
The patterns repeat as you say with people just wanting to start with their angle and then wrap around back to it, truth be damned. Hence why I don’t engage in those discussions with Free Subscriber types. I think the Russian fatalistic culture also has a starring role in their inability to mount an effective response. A review of 19th C Russian literature confirms their romantic view of lost causes and throwing themselves into hopeless causes rather than organized systematic approaches.
Russians seem to have a weird flavor of autism that is almost certainly related to being forced to endure the most brutal winters on the planet for thousands of years. All-or-nothing thinking is great to have when you need to prepare for winter, not so much when you need to build up political alliances and win incrementally.
I did a quick search through some of my databases to see what I could come up with for John Ernest Hodgson. Not much.
But, there was this brief review of With Denikin's Armies from the April 1933 issue of Foreign Affairs:
"A vivid picture of the turmoil of the counter-revolution in South Russia, but adding little to our knowledge."
Well then.
The reviewer was more impressed by R. H. Bruce Lockhart's 1933 book "British Agent."
"Lockhart was in the consular service in Moscow during the war, and in 1918 acted as special agent in negotiations with the Bolsheviks. His book is certainly one of the most valuable studies of the evolution of Russian opinion during the war, of the gradual discrediting of the monarchy, of the revolution and the Kerensky regime. Most important, however, is his narrative of negotiations with Lenin, Trotsky and other Bolshevik leaders, of whom he gives vivid pen pictures. He was in favor of Allied intervention with the consent of the Bolsheviks, but was eventually overruled and placed for a time in danger of his life. Enough has been said to indicate the nature of the book and to point out its considerable value for all students of the Russian overturn."
I get a lot more on how to conduct myself in the history that you're sharing.
These pieces humble me. Not only teach me a little of the reoccurrence but bring me back down to Earth when I'm feeling too haughty.
Payload Movie Review Demand Part #2: Q&A (1990) I find viewing this one in 2024 a profound example of how the Multicultural Utopia of the Progressive Left is a retarded pipe dream. While I’m sure this is not what Sidney Lumet intended when it was made it’s obvious viewing it today. Nick Nolte and Armand Assante are excellent as well.
“He can't be bargained with. He can't be reasoned with. He doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear! And he absolutely will not stop, ever, until you’ve watched ‘Q&A’ (1990)”
Just as Conundrum Cluster hath broken the Free Subscriber,I, Payload will breakth Conundrum Cluster’s will on behalf of thy intentional Right Wing Reactionary Cinema that is Q&A (1990).