Paragraph on words and their usage got me unexpectedly. I believe you do use the Substack to share the important things and pay attention to the details.
As a person from Ukraine who now lives through the war I cannot share the admiration for russian dictionary.
For a long time I wondered why people admired Dostoevsky or Tolstoy because there is nothing there. International interpreters try to frame the translations of the texts as smth meaningful but it’s not.
Because I know from my own experience that when “toska” hits - russians start drinking, and after that they start killing in order to think about what they are “longing for”. Because there is nothing there.
Western intellectuals suppose they understand this “longing for smth that cannot be named”. But living with the russia as a neighbour, I can assure you - they are not looking for the meaning when the emptiness hits. They are looking whose fault it is and then just live blaming everyone around them. Which can be weaponised in order to kill Ukrainians. Or Georgians. Or Moldovans. Or Armenians. Or Chechens. Or Syrians. The list will definitely go on.
So I do ask to think about this word play. As commonly mentioning russians give them validation to be perceived as equals. And they are not. Believe me, they are not.
Ukrainians have the word “sum”. And I’m sure other nations have many more beautiful meaningful words. If we look closer. If we are seeking for something deeper than the surface. I believe you are.
I’m halfway through Almost Reckless and have been reflecting on how you talk about moving towards a direction rather than knowing the exact path and outcome. I feel at the moment like my compass is broken - I’ve had so much change in my life recently and not sure where I’m heading next so it’s kismet that your first category is Compass!
Paragraph on words and their usage got me unexpectedly. I believe you do use the Substack to share the important things and pay attention to the details.
As a person from Ukraine who now lives through the war I cannot share the admiration for russian dictionary.
For a long time I wondered why people admired Dostoevsky or Tolstoy because there is nothing there. International interpreters try to frame the translations of the texts as smth meaningful but it’s not.
Because I know from my own experience that when “toska” hits - russians start drinking, and after that they start killing in order to think about what they are “longing for”. Because there is nothing there.
Western intellectuals suppose they understand this “longing for smth that cannot be named”. But living with the russia as a neighbour, I can assure you - they are not looking for the meaning when the emptiness hits. They are looking whose fault it is and then just live blaming everyone around them. Which can be weaponised in order to kill Ukrainians. Or Georgians. Or Moldovans. Or Armenians. Or Chechens. Or Syrians. The list will definitely go on.
So I do ask to think about this word play. As commonly mentioning russians give them validation to be perceived as equals. And they are not. Believe me, they are not.
Ukrainians have the word “sum”. And I’m sure other nations have many more beautiful meaningful words. If we look closer. If we are seeking for something deeper than the surface. I believe you are.
Thank you!
All the best,
Alina
I’m halfway through Almost Reckless and have been reflecting on how you talk about moving towards a direction rather than knowing the exact path and outcome. I feel at the moment like my compass is broken - I’ve had so much change in my life recently and not sure where I’m heading next so it’s kismet that your first category is Compass!