Share this page!

Kamil Galeev Profile picture
Twitter logo
Aug 10 • 3 tweets • 1 min read
That's very complicated story that neither Russians, nor Poles will really like. The thing is that circa 1600-1700 Russia literally copied everything from Poland. Everything. Language, identity, ideology. Substantial de-Polonization of Russian culture happened only after 1762
By the time Peter I took power, Polish was the court language in Moscow. Russian nobility styled themselves as szlachta. Orthodox religion was reformed according to the Jesuit model. Sarmatism ideology was the commonplace in the official propaganda
"Rejoice Russia, the Sarmatian tribe!". That's from the poem "Russian Eagle" on the capture of Kyiv from Poland-Lithuania, by the main court poet in Moscow, Lithuanian-born Simeon Polotsky. Polish age of Russian culture is a super important, yet completely forgotten nowadays

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Kamil Galeev

Kamil Galeev Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @kamilkazani

Kamil Galeev Profile picture
Aug 12
That's the East-West gatekeeping differential

At St Andrews I discussed my master's thesis with a very good professor:

- Are you planning to make a PhD out of it?
- Let's be honest, would I ever be able to make here a career as a researcher of *British* history?
- No
Another very smart and altruistic professor encouraged me to concentrate on China instead. Indeed, we both knew that if I potentially focused on China, I would probably do well, even in the UK and even coming from Eastern Europe. There's *way* less gatekeeping in this area
I don't really know how it is in Japan/Korea studies but in my experience China Studies have very, very little gatekeeping. You literally can be a noname from the backwoods and do great. And by doing great I don't mean glorifying the Party, I mean actual academic research
Read 8 tweets
Kamil Galeev Profile picture
Aug 11
You are implying that's some kind of exception, while in fact that's typical. You represent yourself as *whatever you think the West wants to see* when there is an incentive for that. And you act the opposite when the system of incentives change. I mean that's kinda obvious
I think every non-Westerner with half a brain knows how to please the Western public opinion. Just identify what they want and try to fit into that role. How to identify what they want? Well, they won't shut up about it. May be you would like them to shut up, but they won't
That's not some high strategy. That's basic functionality. How do you get into a PhD program? Identify what they want to read in application and write it. A scholarship? The same to get *any kind of resources*. Once you get them, make an U-turn and do what you really want
Read 9 tweets
Kamil Galeev Profile picture
Aug 11
No. Putin's regime is not Stalin's and the extent of *bloody* purges is vastly exaggerated. Also they don't really care for your views as long as you don't take active action. Some my social media mutuals were posting critical stuff, while working for the state. Nobody cares
Back in 2015 I worked in a quango. My boss would casually come to the room where I and three other employees were sitting and make speeches like:

"How I turned towards the oppositional views"

In reality this quango was a part of the state's economic apparatus. But nobody cared
I also knew an official who would casually post super critical stuff in social media. He also made critical speeches privately. Later, he would make a yuuuge rise, like to the very top of the political hierarchy. But he didn't even bother to delete his old posts. Nobody cares
Read 15 tweets
Kamil Galeev Profile picture
Aug 11
Most foreigners don't read Russian and are thus unfamiliar with the Russian internal discourse. Let me give you a single but illustrative example

Russian discourse is largely centred around how much our consumption standards have fallen or will fall. And nothing else matters Image
Russia is not an idealistic irrational society as many picture it. It's ultra-pragmatic culture. If you think it can be moved by the killed Ukrainian civilians (or Russian soldiers KIA), you are insane. Decrease in consumption standards, that's the *only* thing that really hurts
Putin's decision to start the war will be judged based on how much our consumption standards will fall. If they don't fall too dramatically, it means Putin made good or okayish decision. Everything's alright, just chill down. If they *do* fall though, oh, it's very painful
Read 9 tweets
Kamil Galeev Profile picture
Aug 10
Yes, of course

Tourism continues = Nobody in the West really cares about what's happening and all the "outrage" about the war is just BS rhetorics

Tourism stopped = They do care after all

Visa policy of the EU has huge political significance for internal Russian politics
Tourism issue is not just tourism issue. Russian public opinion interprets it as the marker of the *real* attitude of Europe. When Macron/Scholz express a deep concern, Russian public either laughs over it or interprets it as the de facto endorsement. Empty words, no action
Visa ban may be a small action, but it is an action. Unlike words visa ban has nonzero value. This can and will be interpreted as Europe being *actually* upset about what's happening in Ukraine and probably even somewhat angry. It's a sign of actual, unironic disapproval
Read 14 tweets
Kamil Galeev Profile picture
Aug 10
Great statistics, awful analysis. The fact that the majority of Russians will support either escalation or peace shows that they *do* have a clue. And the clue is - submission to the supreme power in whatever. The culture of obedience in Russia is unimaginable to a Westerner
That's why discussion about Putin's "rate of approval" figures is so dumb. It just doesn't matter. Yeltsin ruled perfectly with a rate of approval of like 6%. He waged wars, and won elections and commanded a perfect obedience being almost universally hated. Culture of obedience
It's analysts making arguments like "it's all Putin's fault, Russian people would accept whatever decision of the Supreme Ruler" who are clueless. It's not Bad Putin who is the problem here. It is the culture of perfect obedience to the ruler and his *whatever* decisions
Read 8 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(