Repentance
What must I, as a Russian, do so that the Ukraine war might end soon, and never be repeated?
St Augustine gave the following protocol for redemption:
- Admit you are wrong
- Say you are sorry
- Return that which you have stolen
- Bear fruit that show signs of repentance
… or so I was told once by Randy Zank, resident philosopher of UW Madison’s student unions. In all my life I have not come across a better recipe.
First, the wrongness. It is unjust, cynical and brutal. It is unjust that so many Russians, like me, long viewed Ukraine as a pseudo — nation, something having no identity of its own. It is unjust because it is not true, it is a view held by people who claim to know Ukraine but in reality had never even been there. This war is cynical, and brutal, because so many Russians are cynical and brutal. The ends justify the means, like Raskolnikov’s famous ax. And the brutality… for thirty years Russians worshiped toughness, strength, in everything from their leaders to fashion. Now we see the sort of actions such thoughts lead to.
Second, I am truly sorry. I am ashamed of this war. It should not have happened. Many Russians now say they are sorry for mobilized Russians, because they have almost no choice in the matter. But I am infinitely more sorry for the Ukrainians, for their children, for their suffering, because they have absolutely no choice in the matter. War came, uninvited, to their doorstep.
Return that which you have stolen! We, Russians, have held lands which are not ours, for generations. Sometimes, when you steal something and hold it long enough, you forget that it did not belong to you. Russia conquered Crimea under tzar Catherine. Yet many of us regard it as something fundamentally Russian. This possessiveness weighs us down. We must let go of Crimea, Chechnya, Tatarstan, and all the conquered lands we cling to, and stop tying these possessions to our idea of happiness. We must also support, with money and advocacy, the rights of those people we once dominated, so that they may take what is rightfully and naturally theirs — freedom and right to set their own path.
And finally, bear fruit that show signs of repentance. Allow nations which want to be independent to be independent. After the fall of USSR, Chechnya and Tatarstan did not sign the federation treaty. Let them go. Allow referendums, whatever it takes to let them be free. If regions want to stay, let them elect their own governors. Allow independent media. Fix the broken roads and buildings. Show, for once, that Russians care about each other more than about abstract ideas. Live for life’s sake, not for the sake of old fears and ambitions.
It’s easy for me to say all this, I know. I live in another country. I have a job, a family; I was able to put my feet firmly on the ground. And yet, no purpose would be served by me keeping Randy’s secret recipe to myself. May God breathe courage into our hearts so we may do what is difficult and right. May peace prevail.
