Thread by @ZeroZhvk

🧵Interesting, just how much #Russia's imperialism and genocidal policies are enabled in the west by stuff like "Czech Republic? It's kinda Russia or something, right?". Ofc for centuries so called #Russians (marginal, easternmost Slavs) tried to replace "Slavs" with "Russians"

And to the west it was apparently rather convenient with the realities of the #soviet union. Even after it collapsed, there's still to much of this "#Ukraine is part of #Russia that is not Russia now" spirit. And globally, even in memes, they replace "Slav" with "#Russian gopnik"

Among all the Slavic nations, most of the Slavs are integral part of #Europe, most of Slavic nations are either #EU members or strive to be #EU members and rather oppose #Russia. But, in pop culture - they're all basically #Russians. Very convenient.

Rich and diverse cultures (even while stemming from the same root) are replaced with #Russian criminal culture of gopniki and, at best, is presented as "Russian folkore" which isn't even Russian to begin with.

On the internet, aggressive #Russians will simply bully anyone, a commenter, an artist, who speaks of distinct Slavic cultures, they make fools of themselves embracing cirminal culture and want to cover us all with the same dirt.

And, I'm kinda not sure while GENERALLY westerners should care. Of course there are those who are really into Slavic languages and cultures, who know about Slavs more than most Russians do, but in mass culture - there's shitton of soviet BS.

I'd even go as far as to say that genocide begins where soviet trinkets and other BS sells in Prague. In Prague, for centuries center of Europe is ridden with Russian an barbaric communist memorabilia and it sells, because it's easy for ppl to maintain the 50 yo old myths

Can't speak for Czechs really, maybe "greedy souvenir store owners" are to blame, maybe Czechs are okay with that but I have little of hope for ppl even realizing the scale of #Russian genocide in #Ukraine when even Czechia is smeared with "part of Russian World" label.

I'm afraid of western experts who grew up during cold war and had convenient abstraction of Soviet Russia, whose minds still have hard time readjusting from the iron curtain myths. There were no brotherly nations to begin with. It's narcissistic abuser and rape victim relation.

Ppl see #Russian atrocities in #Ukraine now, but don't realize WHY do #Russians do this. Some may not even believe it's real, as it makes no sense. to them And in reality it's not even the first genocide against #Ukrainains in last 100 years. Why this:

https://twitter.com/ZeroZhvk/status/1514933640433700869

And "brotherly nations myth" surely makes no sense with this

https://twitter.com/ZeroZhvk/status/1514950158315888647

But what's easier - to cling to familiar and convenient abstraction or suffer from empathy dealing with the reality?