Comments on: «Пилорама 2009» [Pilorama 2009]

By: Gerry Grable

Gerry Grable — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:13:58 +0000

I enjoy this blog immensely. Josefina has done a wonderful job in keeping up my interest in the Russian language and literature, and Russia in general. Without her, I would have put away my Russia grammars and dictionaries long ago.
However, I never got the slightest idea that she was purporting to be a political critic or analyst.
I always thought that she (a Swede) and I (an American, Pole) simply shared a common love of Russian literature. I admire and envy her experiences and the perseverance of studies. Please keep up your linguistic journey, Josefina.

By: Colin

Colin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:46:33 +0000

Ivan, I am sure that we, in fact, agree completely. We all have to be careful in checking the sources of our knowledge of our country’s history, and there is no doubt that the present regime in Russia is trying to revise the past in a way that reminds many of us of Soviet times. However, Josefina is a guest in Russia and perhaps her ‘who knows?’ is an elegant way to avoid sounding too prescriptive in the context of an apolitical blog. She does not know who is going to read her words and does have to choose them carefully. Freedom of speech does not free one from the constraints of politeness and respect towards one’s hosts, so she cannot criticise as openly and freely as a citizen of Russia can. That is your prerogative, and I for one am glad that you can still exercise this right freely and in a non-polemical way. Свобода – драгоценное дело!

By: Ivan Kharlamov

Ivan Kharlamov — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:12:13 +0000

But that is as a matter of fact the right approach if you want to raise awereness about this kind of things among young people in Russia today.

This must have been a quote.

By: Ivan Kharlamov

Ivan Kharlamov — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:37:36 +0000

Colin, I'm very grateful to Josephina and her above mentioned efforts. But, as I consider, her post deserves some healthy critisism. Irrespective of where your homeland is, I believe that you won't agree with a point of view that drinking alcohol and selfishly-motivated attending of historical forums (however good they may be) are laying the foundation of your countrymen civic feelings. What is so different about Russia? Misterious russian soul? Josefina's concluding remark is starting with «who knows?». This «who knows?» has nothing to do with an effort to seriously examine the problem. If one's only motive in attending Pilorama is to drink beer and attend free entertainment, if one's only educational baggage is gained from Pilorama, there is a good guarantee that another organizationally similar forum with an opposite orientation can easilly change one's historical approach. Radically change it. But that is as a matter of fact the right approach if you want to raise awereness about this kind of things among young people in Russia today. The perfect illustration of the wrongness of the above statement is the fact that Joseph Stalin was the real winner of Name of Russia public opinion poll (real results were forged).

By: Colin

Colin — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:49:54 +0000

Should have written’grateful to Josefina’ above, obviously;))