Translator: Alina Siluyanova Reviewer: Denise RQ
The Russians.
When I say that phrase, what image comes to your minds?
What about if I say "the Soviet Union"?
Do you see red?
Words and images, they're linked in our minds,
but the way that they are linked is far from simple.
I grew up in a small town in the state of Maine.
I remember ducking and cover drills in the halls of my grade school.
I remember watching a TV special called "The Day After"
about a massive nuclear attack launched by the Soviet Union.
I remember picturing in my mind:
a black suitcase with a detonation device and a red launch button.
But even more than my fear of a nuclear war,
I remember my fascination with that huge country called
the Soviet Union.
Who were they, the Soviets?
I wanted to know.
To find out I traveled to the USSR in a student exchange.
More recently, Americans are having a good deal of trouble
understanding the Russians.
Some are even calling the current cultural climate a new cold war.
In the recent effort to break the ice, in March, 2009,
then Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton,
handed the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, a box
with a plastic red button.
The State Department thought
that the Russian writing on the box said "Reset",
as in "Hey, things are getting too tense here, time to press 'Reset'."
Well, it turned out that the writing on the box
actually said "overcharged" or "overload",
as in "Danger! System overload!"
(Laughter)
Words and images.
Fortunately, the Russians like a good laugh,
things turned out all right,
but still,
this episode highlights the important role language plays
in bridging cultures and promoting global understanding.
Language is one of the most important tools
created by human beings.
But it is much more than just a tool for communication,
it's a repository for culture and for values.
Each word-image in the Russian language is like an icon portal
opening up a window into the Russian psyche.
Take kissing, for example.
When Russians kiss, they don't just lock lips,
they are literally making themselves whole,
(Russian) они целуются,
the idea is woven into the fabric of the word "kiss".
Love feels a void inside you, and you become whole.
So go ahead, don't be afraid,
kiss someone like a Russian and make yourself whole.
Russian is filled with word icons like "kiss".
In Russian language words joined together
to form families of words, they breathe and come to life
in the works of writers like Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov.
Words allow us to peer into the Russian soul.
Russian is a Slavic language, over a 1,000 years old.
Slavic languages are spoken by 315 million people today
making the Slavic subgroup the largest in all of Europe.
The ancient Slavs originally identified themselves as "slavonian",
a people linked through "praise", (Russian) "слава",
and the power of the "word", (Russian) "слово".
(Russian) Слава, слово, Slav,
three word roots at the core of Slavic identity.
Orthodox Christianity came to Russia from Byzantium
bringing with it a specially created alphabet
that eventually became Cyrillic, the alphabet used today by Russians.
The Russian grand prince Vladimir converted to Christianity
in the ancient Greek city of Chersonese located in modern day Crimea.
After converting, Vladimir returned to the capital city of Kiev
where he baptized his entire nation in 988 A.D.
Vladimir's conversion, and the written language that came with it
created a powerful sense of shared believes and shared identity
amongst the Slavic peoples.
Elements of Russia's spiritual legacy are woven into the fabric of Russian
like strands of DNA into a human body.
The ancient Greek for "Christ" is "Khristos",
giving us the Russian word "Христос",
but these links are much more than just shared letters in an alphabet,
these are shared beliefs.
In the Christian belief system,
Christ represents the embodied word of God, "logos".
In the Russian language the word for "cross", "крест",
is connected to the biblical Greek for Christ.
Many words in the Russian language have this root:
"to baptize", "крестить", "to resurrect", "воскресить",
"Sunday", "воскресенье",
even the word for "peasant", (Russian) "крестьянин",
contains the "крест" or "cross" root.
Part of the cultural mythology
is viewing peasants as Christ-like cross-bearers
whose suffering makes them holy.
Russian is filled with words and ideas
that are woven into the language, the most simple words.
Take the word for "good", (Russian) "хорошо",
it's connected to the word (Russian) "хор", "chorus".
In the deep layers of Russian
singing together in a group is associated with goodness.
In fact, collectivity as a positive value
is woven in the many words in Russian.
The word for a "cathedral" is (Russian) "собор",
which connects to the word "собирать" which is "to gather together".
So, worship in a cathedral
for Russians is literally a gathering together of the body.
Even every day expressions, the most basic ones, like "Thank you",
(Russian) "Спасибо", can tell us about values in the language.
"Спасибо" is a truncated shortened form
for (Russian) "Спаси тебя Бог"; "May God save you".
The first part of "Спасибо", "Spas", can be seen on many orthodox icons,
it's the reference to the Savior, (Russian) "Spas", "Christ".
The verb "to save", (Russian) "спасти",
can internally be connected to the verb (Russian) "пасти",
"to shepherd a flock".
So, the phonetic link between these two words
emphasizes Christ's dual role as shepherd and Savior.
I've only described a few core values woven into Russian.
These would include a deep spirituality,
value of collectivity and song,
belief in the holiness of those who suffer,
and a deep hunger for salvation from a good shepherd.
So, given these core values, how did they fair in more modern times?
The 18th and the 19th centuries saw increased contact
between Russia and Western Europe
leading to the importation of ideas and theories
that often came in conflict with Russia's religious heritage.
This shifting thinking culminated in a revolution, Marxist one,
that labeled religion "the opium of the people".
Many Russians came to see the tzar not as a shepherd
but as the head of the repressive political system.
This culminated in two Russian revolutions in 1917
that overthrew the tsarist power
and replaced it with a Soviet government led by Lenin.
♪ They say you want a revolution ♪
No, no, sorry, wrong one.
That's John Lennon.
I don't mean the Beatle, I mean the Bolshevik.
(Russian) Spasibo. (Laughter)
Under Bolshevik rule,
Communist party teachings replaced the teachings of the church
and the state assumed the role
of bringing about paradise on Earth, Communism.
When it became apparent that the Soviet experiment
was actually not going to bring about paradise on Earth,
Russians turned to the language for comfort.
In the Brezhnev era, Soviets loved to tell
highly politicized jokes called (Russian) "анекдоты".
"Anekdoty" allowed citizens who felt trapped
inside the dysfunctional Soviet system
to laugh at themselves and their misplaced faith.
A popular "anekdot" about the garden of Eden asked:
"What was nationality of Adam and Eve?
Mmm? They were Russians. Of course.
Only Russians could be forced to run around naked,
have no roof over their heads,
have only one apple to share,
and be told by higher power that they are in the paradise."
(Laughter) (Applause)
Even the most sacred symbols of the Soviet power
became the target of anecdotes.
(Reads with Russian accent) "Patent for a new Soviet bed for three".
You like, comrade?
(Laughter)
Ho, Lenin! He is always with us!
Eventually, a 70+ year experiment in an atheistic state ideology collapsed,
the Soviet Union ceased to exist.
Today Russians again stand at the crossroads,
because they struggle to discover who they are as a people.
A little over 1,000 years Russia has gone from the reign
of Prince Vladimir The Red Sun to the reign of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin,
to the present reign of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.
With each passing year, President Putin has aligned himself
more closely with the Orthodox Church.
Putin has called the break-up of the Soviet Union
"the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century".
Given the failure of Communism, as a national idea,
what is the ideological glue that Vladimir Putin sees
as bonding Russians today?
The answer, at least in part, is the Russian language.
According to Vladimir Putin,
Russia annexed the beautiful peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine
in the interests of protecting
the violated rights of Russian speakers who populate the peninsula,
which is actually 60% Russian.
Putin has gone on to vow
that he will protect the rights of Russian speakers around the globe
causing discomfort in countries with a large Russian speaking population.
For Vladimir Putin,
geopolitics has found a soul mate in language politics.
Putin is reclaiming the Russian language as a kind of national glue
to bond Russians and reawaken their cultural pride.
The Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi
prominently featured the Russian language
by pairing achievements of famous Russians
with specific letters of the Cyrillic alphabet.
For Russians language matters, it's part of who they are,
but in the light of recent events, perhaps it's time to recall
some very old words from one of Russia's most sacred texts,
Primary Chronicler which calls upon all the Slavic peoples
to live together in love, brotherhood and sisterhood,
and peace, (Russian) "мир".
To quote an old Soviet phrase: (Russian) "Миру Мир", "Peace to the World".
Long live the language of peace,
laughter and kisses that make us whole,
long live the beautiful Russian language!
(Blows a kiss) (Russian) Spasibo.
(Applause)