Doellman Blogger Interview

Blogger Dmitri Minaev is trying to help the world understand the rich history of Russia.  In that regard, he is able to help simple graduate students like me understand the current atmosphere of Russia and what is in store for its future.  Articles range from a short daily history lesson to more in depth pieces about significant moments in Russian history.  Minaev works as the moderator for an online history forum and resides in Samara, Russia.  Below is a list of questions I emailed him with and his responses.

What is the biggest misconception Americans have about Russia?

  There's  a   trap  here.   My   answer  will  tell  more   about  my
  misconceptions about Americans  than the other way round  :).  So, I
  will proceed  from my own  prejudices.  Besides, my views  on modern
  Russia may be not shared by  many other Russians, who may have other
  opinions on what is a  misconception. So, one of my Russian friends,
  who lives in  the USA, to whom I referred  the same question, really
  went mad and said: "Let  them [the Americans] keep away from Russia!
  None of their  business!". Anyway, he doesn't plan  to return to his
  home  country,   which  renders  his   warlike  intolerance  somehow
  untrustworthy :)

  I know  few Americans  in person,  and most of  them came  to Russia
  because they were interested in  learning more about the country, so
  they are hardly average Americans  (if we assume such average people
  exist at  all).  I have many  more online acquaintances  in USA, but
  most of them  are history fans who visit  my favorite history forum,
  Sima Qian Studio (www.simaqianstudio.com). So, they are just another
  group with very distinct opinion formed by historical studies rather
  than mass media and they are much more open to alternative points of
  view.

  If I make my conclusions from what I know about these people, I have
  to  say that our  views on  the current  situation in  Russia rarely
  disagree. One example of such disagreements is their underestimation
  of Russian/Soviet science. My  ultimate argument in such discussions
  is that Russia (or, rather, the  ghost of the Soviet Union) is still
  the only country able to keep  the ISS running on its orbit. I don't
  know for how much longer, but the argument is still valid.

  More often we  argue about Russia's past. Some  of my correspondents
  seem to think that the  19th century Russia was 90% serfs terrorized
  by  10%  of nobles,  that  Ivan the  Terrible  was  a terrible  mass
  murderer, that the Brezhnev's Soviet Union was more or less the same
  as  the  Soviet  Union  of  Stalin  and Lenin,  and  so  on.   These
  stereotypes  finally made  me start  blogging.  In  my blog  I don't
  question  these opinions directly,  but try  to find  some scattered
  facts that would  give a better insight into the  life of old Russia
  and Soviet  Union.  Some  of them are  really frightening,  some are
  emotionally  touching and  inspiring  and some  are  just dry  basic
  facts.

  The worldview  of other Americans  is more influenced by  mass media
  than by history  books, so I assume that the  news presented by CNN,
  NY Times and  other major news sources reflect the  view and bias of
  an average  American. If  so, one thing  is obvious: in  all dubious
  situations  Americans tend to  think that  the role  of the  bad guy
  belongs to Russia.  Take the recent events in  Georgia. It took more
  than six  weeks for the Western  countries to recognize  the role of
  Georgia who initiated the conflict. During these six weeks the media
  accused Russia  of invading  a small but  brave democracy,  not even
  mentioning  the  international  obligations  of Russia  in  Georgian
  break-away  republics, the  treaties  signed by  Georgia and  giving
  Russia the  right and duty to  interfere, the roots  of these ethnic
  conflicts, where Georgia played an active role, etc.

  This  bias,  in my  opinion,  originates  from  too much  trust  the
  Americans put into  their media. I have to  admit, though, that this
  non-critical  approach  is  also  typical  for  Russians  and  other
  countries.  Of course,  nobody is  going  to run  a little  personal
  investigation  on every bit  of news  reported on  TV, but  a little
  healthy skepticism is always necessary.

  The  only way  to  solve the  problem  is to  know  more about  each
  other. That's what I try to do in my blog. Oh, and a little bit more
  respect to the choices of each  other. There are nine and sixty ways
  of constructing tribal lays. And every single one of them is right.

* What do you see as the biggest public affairs issues in Russia?

  I'm sorry to say it, but  neither of them is in acceptable state. It
  depends,  though, on  what we  compare them  with.  So,  the medical
  equipment the doctors use is significantly better than what they had
  in the USSR,  but it seems that they care more  about getting rid of
  difficult patients  and selling useless, but expensive  drugs to the
  others.    In  the   Soviet   times  the   health  system   provided
  all-encompassing  and  consistent  ways  to monitor  the  health  of
  individuals and prevent possible  problems. Now, it's gone. And yet,
  my Russian friends who moved to  other countries of Europe or to the
  USA, still  prefer to  come to Russia  when they have  problems with
  their health.

  The  education system  is  degrading. Modern  students really  scare
  me. The  young people  who come  to work don't  know the  most basic
  things. But then I recall the words of Olin Shivers, a teacher in an
  American college: "I  couldn't get through the day  as it is without
  the Prozac and  Jack Daniels I keep on the  shelf, behind my Tops-20
  JSYS manuals. I start getting the shakes real bad around 10am, right
  before  my advisor  meetings. A  10  oz. Jack  'n Zac  helps me  get
  through the meetings without one  of my students winding up with his
  severed head  in a  bowling-ball bag.  They  look at me  funny; they
  think I twitch a lot.  I'm not twitching. I'm controlling my impulse
  to snag my 9mm Sig-Sauer out  from my day-pack and make a few strong
  points about the quality of undergraduate education in Amerika."

  Government? Those of  them who are literate enough  to perform their
  duties, care more about their bank  accounts, so we just pay them to
  leave  us  alone.  Fortunately,   as  a  Russian  saying  goes,  the
  strictness  of  our  laws  is compensated  by  their  non-obligatory
  nature. So, even our FSB doesn't  try to compete with DHS or NSA and
  doesn't spy on average citizens, preferring the most influential and
  rich persons and organizations.

  Another  dangerous thing  is the  growth of  the religion.  It's not
  nearly half  as bad  as in  many other countries,  but the  trend is
  worrying.

* What do you see in the future for relations between the U.S. and Russia?

  Both  countries need  each other.  The most  important international
  issues,  like the nuclear  program of  Iran, unrest  in Afghanistan,
  North  Korean   nuclear  rockets  can   only  be  solved   by  joint
  efforts. At  the same time, in  the course of  this cooperation both
  countries   will  compete   for  the   influence   in  international
  affairs.   Europe  will  participate   in  this   competition,  too,
  like France is  doing now. USA have a lead in  this race, but Russia
  is catching  up. In  spite of this,  the necessity to  work together
  will cool down the temper of the two.

* How do you feel about President Dmitri Medvedev joining the blogging
community?

  Indifferent.   That is,  absolutely. He's  just a  president,  so he
  hardly has  anything interesting to  say. Moreover, it won't  be his
  blog, it's his speechwriters' blog.

  I've heard about  his blog before, but didn't see  it till you asked
  this question. I've checked it  right now and there's just one video
  clip. It doesn't seem that the blog will last long.