On History and Memory

Another day, yet another 'facepalm moment' arrives, this time courtesy of Russia and its fans in the West

Just the other day, I saw images that amazed me (and because Twitter doesn’t like Substack anymore, here’s a screenshot):

Source.

What you can see are three state flags relating to, well, Russian history, which are (courtesy of Wikipedia):

• The black-yellow-white flag was used by Tsarist Russia from 1858-96.

• The white-blue-red flag served the same purpose during the Tsarist era from 1896-1917, was kept by the Provisional Government after the February Revolution (1917), and used by the anti-Bolshevik so-called ‘White’ (vs. the ‘Reds’ under Lenin) until at least 1920. Slightly amended in the early 1990s, it is this tricoloured flag that was selected to be (again) the state flag of the Russian Federation in 1993.

• And the red flag with the hammer, sickle, and star used, albeit in slightly varying configurations of its main elements (other than the colour), by the Soviet Union from 1923-91.

Flags and Circumstance

It just so happens that I’m reading what one Andrei Martyanov who, according to information by his publisher Clarity Press, ‘is an expert on Russian military and naval issues. He was born in Baku, USSR in 1963. He graduated from the Kirov Naval Red Banner Academy and served as an officer on the ships and staff position of Soviet Coast Guard through 1990. He took part in the events in the Caucasus which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. In mid-1990s he moved to the United States where he currently works as Laboratory Director in a commercial aerospace group.’ Find his weblog here.

While Mr. Martyanov has many interesting things to say about many things Russian (in particular his consistent harking about Russia’s revolution in military tech vs. the West), when he saw the above picture, he wrote the following (dated 17 June 2023; my emphasis):

I Need To Emphasize.

Three Russian Flags uniting Russia’s history into one have been raised at SPIEF 2023 today. Russia’s history is uninterrupted and always was, despite all attempts to break it apart—it is the history of Russian people in general and it stretches from ancient times to Czars, to Communists to today.

I cannot emphasize enough the significance of that. It marks the final return of historic memory to peoples of Russia.

What Is to Be Done?

Yes, that is a quote by Bolshevik revolutionary, theorist, and unapologetic mass-murderer Vladimir Lenin from 1901/02.

And why would I as someone who, for the purpose of this brief piece, self-identify as ‘anything but socialist’ (in the 19th-century version of the term, i.e., non-left) bring this up?

Well, when I started this Substack, I wrote into the description the referral that I’d engage in ‘occasional thought-experiments’, and this posting will conclude with one such notion.

Experiment #1: the Shining City on the Hill

Imagine, if you will, the flags of pre-1861 United States, the Confederate flag, and the current flag (post entry into the union as full states of Alaska and Hawaii after WW2)—and the following quip (my modifications):

Three American Flags uniting America’s history into one have been raised at [pick your venue, e.g., Independence Day] 2023 today. America’s history is uninterrupted and always was, despite all attempts to break it apart—it is the history of American people in general and it stretches from ancient times to the Antebellum, to Civil War to today.

Did you ‘like’ that thought? I thought you did, esp. as you perhaps imagined that German history would be the more perfect analogue, hence…

Experiment #2: If, at night, of Germany of think…

Imagine, for another round of thought experimentation, the black-red-white tricolour used by Imperial German (1871-1918), the Nazi flag (red with a big black swastika on white ground) used from 1933-45, and the current black-red-gold tricolour, which served as the flag of the pre-Second Empire flag of the German Confederation, Weimar Germany (1921-33, albeit with slight variations, i.e., the addition of the coat of arms; this version is also used by federal authorities since 1950), and the post-1949 West German state(s). And with that imagery in mind, what about this quip (as above, with my modifications):

Three German Flags uniting Germany’s history into one have been raised at [pick your occasion] 2023 today. Germany’s history is uninterrupted and always was, despite all attempts to break it apart—it is the history of German people in general and it stretches from ancient times to Kaisers, to Nazis to today.

How about that ‘thought’? Did you like pondering its implications?

Would you like another one? I know, it’s late, but it’s a short one:

Experiment #3: What about China?

Imagine, for another round of thought experimentation, the flags used by Imperial China before the revolution (1911), the flag of the Republic of China (adopted in 1928 and used also by Taiwan after 1949), and the red flag with a large gold star with four smaller stars to the right used by the People’s Republic of China since 1949. And with that imagery in mind, what about this quip (as above, with my modifications):

Three Chinese Flags uniting China’s history into one have been raised at [pick your occasion] 2023 today. China’s history is uninterrupted and always was, despite all attempts to break it apart—it is the history of Chinese people in general and it stretches from ancient times to Emperors, to Nationalists to today.

Bottom Lines

As this experimentation could go on for quite some time, the main point I’d like to ponder here is this:

The quip by Mr. Martyanov is a supremely idiotic one; it is a-historical, simplistic, and, frankly, a testament to gaslighting at levels that are, frankly, quite seldomly seen.

In German there is this wonderful term Versatzstücke (set piece), which, according to Merriam-Webster, refers, basically, to

a composition (as in literature, art, or music) executed in a fixed or ideal form often with studied artistry and brilliant effect

a scene, depiction, speech, or event that is obviously designed to have an imposing effect

a realistic piece of stage scenery standing by itself

And here we are in 2023. Whatever the merits of Mr. Martyanov’s insights into military technology, this kind of ahistorical mish-mash is highly dangerous, for…

…as a final thought-experiment: what about the history of the Antebellum South? How would we deal with a pro-German patriot (I suppose) espousing such sentiments from abroad?

Finally, this is deplorable for yet another reason: Russia, America, Germany, and China—to be more precise: governments and régimes throughout history, but in particular during the 20th and 21st century—were all responsible for heinous crimes on scales unseen in the annals of mankind.

I’m not pointing fingers here, but this statement is indicative of the decay of what passes for ‘commentary’, it is horrifying to ponder this kind of normalisation of what, in saner times, would pass for a contest of epic proportions only in terms of handing out medals for the sanitising of humanity’s most murderous régimes.

And lest I stand accused of [pick your insult], if I’d have to rank-order the above-mentioned four powers in the 20th and 21st century, here we go:

1. China, as esp. its ‘Communist’ régime is quite possibly the most homicidal and genocidal one in history

2. Soviet Union (Russia, if we’d follow Mr. Martyanov’s reasoning), with the distinction of coming in second ‘only’ because the tens of millions of victims of Bolshevism pale by comparison to Communist China (albeit that ranking might be reversed if relative ‘share of population killed’ is considered)

It’s a bit tricky to rank-order Imperial and Nazi German as well as the US here: German actions might have caused slightly more deaths in the first half of the 20th century, but the US keeps on going. Let’s be generous, though, and have ‘Germany’ come in third and the US in 3.5, shall we?

I’m almost tempted to conclude, paraphrasing Leon Trotsky (who reportedly declared), that, of course, ‘every man has a right to be stupid, but Mr. Martyanov abuses the privilege.’

Also: I cannot believe what I just wrote, but, then again, here we are in 2023.

*shudder*