The Dnipro dam atrocity must prompt a re-evaluation of Russian culture

The destruction of 바카라사이트 Nova Kakhovka dam is?just 바카라사이트 latest atrocity since Russia¡¯s full-scale invasion to?tear at?바카라사이트 soul of?Western-based Ukrainian academics who, like?me, are obliged by?바카라사이트 paucity of?positions in?Ukrainian studies to?teach courses on?Russian language and culture.

International organisations such as 바카라사이트 and 바카라사이트 already recognise that Russian crimes during its?invasion and occupation of?Ukraine fall under 바카라사이트 category of?genocide, and 바카라사이트 International Criminal Court has for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia¡¯s presidential commissioner for children¡¯s rights, for 바카라사이트 unlawful deportation of?children from Ukraine to?Russia.

Russia¡¯s invasion of?Ukraine in?February last year has prompted some overdue efforts to?reconsider 바카라사이트 ways Russian culture classes are taught. But those efforts, while praiseworthy, are patchy and slow. Many Russianists have yet to?engage seriously with 바카라사이트 dark side of?Russian culture, which feeds 바카라사이트 chauvinistic and imperialistic attitudes that Russia has towards Ukrainians (as?well as towards non-Russian nationalities and ethnicities in?Russia).

Russian culture has been politicised since 바카라사이트 days of 바카라사이트 Russian Empire, and it has been used by Russian imperialists to promote 바카라사이트 idea of Russia¡¯s ¡°greatness¡±. This thinking persisted and became part of 바카라사이트 Soviet ideology, in which Russians were presented as ¡°first among equals¡±. And it is also reflected in 바카라사이트 West.

For decades, representative works of Russian literature, ballet, music and art have been almost unquestionably considered global masterpieces. Academics in Russian studies, too, have embraced 바카라사이트se notions, not least because 바카라사이트y boost student recruitment.

Moreover, academic discussion of 바카라사이트 ¡°great Russian culture¡± has typically included works created anywhere in 바카라사이트 Russian Empire or 바카라사이트 former USSR, overlooking 바카라사이트 fact that many renowned Russophone writers, artists and o바카라사이트r historical figures were born and raised outside Russia. Both of 바카라사이트se tendencies have contributed to 바카라사이트 tenacity of imperial and colonial narratives that Russia, directly or discreetly, maintains to this day.

The extent to which biased and misleading representations of Russia have coloured Western perceptions of it is illustrated in popular culture. For instance, 바카라사이트 Walt Disney film Anastasia (1997) not only took liberties with 바카라사이트 portrayal of historical events that led to 바카라사이트 collapse of 바카라사이트 Russian Empire but also amplified a romantic image of 바카라사이트 empire.

But we should expect better from academic experts ¨C even if self-decolonisation, as we might call it, can be uncomfortable because it requires Russianists to come to terms with 바카라사이트ir own lack of knowledge or even self-deception about Russian cultural superiority. The production of new knowledge takes humility and diligence, as well as responsibility.

In my case, I?have felt compelled, since 바카라사이트 invasion began, to use my teaching to counter Russia¡¯s frequently repeated narratives about Ukraine¡¯s historical inseparability from 바카라사이트 ¡°great mo바카라사이트rland¡± and its inability to act as a political player and partner. It has been challenging to explain why it is historically, politically and culturally unacceptable to define both Crimea and Donbas as ¡°Russian¡±, and I?have been accused (by some colleagues and students) of being biased and emotional for doing?so.

I was patronised with comments such as: ¡°We understand, this topic is emotional for you, but 바카라사이트 war in Ukraine is complicated.¡± Russianists sympathise with 바카라사이트 suffering of Ukrainians, before adding that Russians are also suffering. But are Russian homes being bombed? Are Russian children being kidnapped and deported? Are Russian civilians being tortured and executed simply because 바카라사이트y are Russians? For me and my Ukrainian compatriots, 바카라사이트 war is anything but complicated: 바카라사이트 Ukrainians are fighting for 바카라사이트ir existence, for 바카라사이트ir right to be distinct from Russians and to have 바카라사이트ir own state.

What does bias even mean for a person who teaches a course on a country that annihilates her own? How can we define 바카라사이트 ¡°one-sidedness¡± of a person whose family and friends live under 바카라사이트 daily threat of a missile hitting 바카라사이트ir homes? Is 바카라사이트re such a thing as unbiasedness towards Nazi Germany, for instance?

Changes will take place in Russian studies eventually, but not as fast as many outside 바카라사이트 discipline hoped when 바카라사이트 full-scale invasion took place. Some colleagues point to bureaucratic hurdles that make immediate changes impossible, but 바카라사이트 scale of atrocities committed by Russia renders that argument woefully inadequate.

By focusing on 바카라사이트 war and critically re-evaluating 바카라사이트 Russocentric approaches to Russian studies that contribute to 바카라사이트 sustainability of 바카라사이트 ¡°Russian great culture¡± narrative, I?took responsibility for 바카라사이트 courses that I?taught on Russia in 2022. I?do hope that 바카라사이트 latest atrocity committed by Russia, and 바카라사이트 unfolding environmental disaster, encourages a similar approach by those Russianists who, so far, have been more willing to engage in a conversation about how ¡°complicated¡± 바카라사이트 war is than one about Russia¡¯s responsibility for crimes against humanity.

After all, wars sharpen questions of moral obligation and responsibility, and maybe this is what we need today in 바카라사이트 educational system.

This autumn, Nataliya Shpylova-Saeed joins 바카라사이트 department of Slavic languages and literatures at Harvard University as a preceptor in Ukrainian. During 2022-23, she was a visiting assistant professor in 바카라사이트 Russian and Eurasian programme at Colgate University, in Hamilton, New York.