Dimitry Orlov: De Odio

Lately Dmitry Anatolievich Medvedev, elder statesman of Russian politicum, has taken to issuing short encyclicals, a sort of urbi et orbi, that are really quite interesting because they let us look into the mindset currently shared by a large majority of Russians starting at the highest levels. Since this mindset clashes with the dominant narrative perforce endlessly repeated by all public figures in the West, it is deemed unacceptable and is steadfastly ignored. Is that a safe thing to do? Somehow I doubt it! Those who insist on operating with incomplete and faulty information make bad decisions and create bad outcomes for themselves. But it gets worse: while wallowing in the putrid bath of predicaments of their own making, they will discover that they have earned the Russians' hate and that the Russians have been planning to take revenge on them.

Medvedev's words are like a subzero arctic gale blowing toward you from the boundless frozen tundra of Russian thought. While playing tag team with Putin—trading places as president and head of government—Medvedev positioned himself as a liberal pro-Westerner. We will never know how much of that was real (his opinions may have evolved over time as he was presented with new information) and how much of it was feigned (his task was to portray Russia as weak, helpless and dependent all the while it was furiously rebuilding and rearming itself). But this much we know for certain: he is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a pro-Western liberal any more.

His latest encyclical is presented below. The translation is my own.

ON HATRED

In the endless tango of economic sanctions against Russia, an important question has been somehow lost: against whom are they directed? Whom are the authors of these sanctions attempting to punish?

The president and the political and military leadership of the country? Obviously not, and the authors recognize this fact. None of us own foreign property or significant foreign interests. We do not travel abroad to recreate or to work.

Large business in Russia? Yes, they have sustained a certain amount of damage. They have been deprived of foreign property. But, honestly, these confiscations have been far from fatal for them. They will survive. They have plenty left in Russia—enough to last for them and for their descendants.

Who, then, are these sanctions against?

The inevitable conclusion is disgusting: these sanctions are directed against the people of Russia. No matter what platitudes are muttered by American and European [senior executive] grandmothers and grandfathers—that they are punishing our leaders while loving us regular citizens—this is clearly complete bullshit. What purpose is served by arresting the assets of the Russian Central Bank and other government assets? It's simple: the goal is to hurt the economy, crash the ruble, increase inflation, drive up prices in stores, and by so doing to lower the quality of life of the average Russian. What purpose do embargoes against Russian oil and gas serve? Same thing: to drive down Russian government revenues and to force the government to renege on its social obligations, including the indexation of incomes against inflation; to hurt Russian taxpayers, both urban and rural. Against whom are directed the airspace closures and the blocking of payment methods? Again, against regular citizens—to inconvenience them—not their mythical leaders, not the fat cats, but you specifically!

This conclusion is most discouraging, but it is, alas, inevitable. They hate us all! At the root of these decisions is hatred of Russia—of Russians, of all of its inhabitants; of our culture. Hence the attempts to "cancel" Tolstoy, Chekhov, Chaikovsky, Shostakovich. They hate our religion—hence their wish to hurt the Russian Orthodox Church and to sanction its patriarch. This is nothing new; it has been this way almost always. It was this way during the times of Alexander Nevsky (1221-1223), during the Time of Troubles (1598-1613) and during the War of 1812. And, obviously, during the 20th century, when the USSR lived under numerous sanctions. Not to mention the fact that during the 1930s the West wished that the USSR would perish in its battle against Hitler.

This hatred is revolting and irrational. But that doesn't mean that we should put up with it. We just have to draw all of the necessary conclusions for the future, to remember about this attitude toward us. And to never forgive those who hate us. Never!

This concludes this latest missive from our fearless leader. I have just one thing to add to it: the senior executive grandfathers and grandmothers that are so actively imposing sanctions against the Russian people don't just hate the Russians. They hate you too. And they want to see you dead. Draw your own conclusions, but I'd say that you and the average Russian are on the same side