News / Poland - A True Bastion and Defender of Free Speech [250]


It is your right...

However, I can't help but agree with Kania. It's hard to watch.

You come from a unique country. I don't mean Poland, but America. So maybe your attitude can be forgiven, because what you are doing is the essence of the American project. That is, you are a good immigrant. An excellent immigrant - maybe....

But love for Patria is sacred. And there is so much in Poland to fall in love with.

History / Pol-Shorpy Photo Thread [950]


"Peasant worker eagles" - hehehehe!

Life / What do Poles really think about cats? [470]

I asked ChatGPT to answer why Poles love cats so much, and to put it into a historical context. Here is the result:

**The Unlikely Love Affair: Why Poles Adore Cats Despite a Complicated History**

In a nation that has weathered Russian partitions, the Polish-Soviet War, World War II, and the chilling embrace of the Cold War, one might wonder: What's the deal with Polish people and cats? Surprisingly, this feline affection persists, defying the odds of historical tumult.

Could it be a coping mechanism, a silent rebellion against the upheavals of the past? Poles, known for their resilience in the face of adversity, apparently found solace in the purring companionship of these enigmatic creatures. After all, what better way to thumb your nose at geopolitical chaos than by adopting a nonchalant attitude-much like a cat's indifference to human concerns.

Perhaps, in times of hardship, Poles sought refuge in the feline mystique, secretly believing that a cat's proverbial nine lives could be the ultimate insurance policy against historical calamities. Who wouldn't want an ally that can outlast partitions, wars, and geopolitical intrigues?

In an ironic twist, the very creatures that supposedly have nine lives found favor in a country that, despite historical setbacks, continues to stand resilient. It's almost as if Poles are saying, "If we can survive all that, so can a cat."

So, the next time you witness a Pole lavishing attention on their feline companion, remember that it's not just a cat-it's a living embodiment of historical endurance and a symbol of the unwavering spirit that has carried Poland through the trials of time. After all, nothing says, "We've been through a lot, but we're still here," quite like sharing your home with a whiskered confidant. Meow-sive respect, Poland.

Life / History likes to repeat itself in Poland - Where does this famous saying come from? [19]


I would say the key element is the cyclicality of it all.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


Ya you told me about the similarities with чваныки.

It doesn't sound very intelligent... but that's because it has an agrarian origination. Maybe Ukrainian is the true depository of "folk speak".

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


My god...

From my ex and every Ukrainian I ever met I had to listen to how Ukrainian is "the second most melodic language after Italian."

Please do not compare melodicity of the two languages, because you are hurting Ukrainian national ego.

I admit, I sometimes like to listen to it. It's a warm language. Grown men, covered with gunpowder marks and mud, speaking Ukrainian - suddenly sound like teddy bears.

For the same reason it's childish and retarded.

Life / History likes to repeat itself in Poland - Where does this famous saying come from? [19]

@Smietanka

To me it is an obvious statement regarding the tragic history of Poland - in many ways defined by its great pride.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]

@Torq

It definitely sounds Ukrainian to us.

I realize this is because Ukrainian borrows so heavily from Polish.

All the шановный, дякуе, мае рацию, размовляти etc type stuff.

Life / History likes to repeat itself in Poland - Where does this famous saying come from? [19]

@Smietanka

Yes

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]

Somewhere, once, I heard that Dutch sounds like a drunk Englishman trying to speak German.

To Russians, Ukrainian sounds like someone is from the farm, and has had much to drink.

Life / History likes to repeat itself in Poland - Where does this famous saying come from? [19]

What do you think then?

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


Yes, it helps when people speak the Great Russian.

If they use their silly southern or western dialects, like Ukrainian or Belarusian - things become more difficult.

History / Famous Russian Poles [243]


Well, I certainly hope not.

I hope he finally opened the restaurant business he always spoke about, and is simply too busy to write here.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


I have a friend from Saxony, that speaks fluent Russian, and he tells me it is probably easier for a Russian to understand a Belarusian, than it is for a person from Dresden to understand someone from the southern mountains.

History / Famous Russian Poles [243]


I miss Crow.


Kostya was much more worldly in 2008.

Life / History likes to repeat itself in Poland - Where does this famous saying come from? [19]


Some people learn from their mistakes.

Others are doomed to repeat them for eternity.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


You feel as a German felt in the beginning of the 19th century.

However, Germany managed this process - somehow. Bavarian, Swabian, Rhinelander, and Prussian were joined. Mutant Swiss and Austrians managed to skip out - but the majority managed to unite.

Of course, for the world, the results of German unification were a little bit scary. Maybe, the results of Slavic unification will be scary as well - but they'll get over it.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


I thought I was trying to find authors who spoke about the condition of the Russian soul.

For this, I have another book - it's closer to Yerofeev than Tyutchev - and you should enjoy it I would think.

It's «Географ Глобус Пропил», or "The Geographer Drank His Globe Away" by Alexei Ivanov.

It's a book that came out in the early 2000s.

----

Returning to your question... I'm not sure I can think of too many books that talk about Russia's special place in the world. I mean - classics. Of course, you could go and read Dugin all day - and it will probably be nothing but Russia's uniqueness - but I suspect it's not very good reading.

Tyutchev came to mind immediately because of his poem about how Russia could not be understood with the mind. But also, because he was a militant pan-Slavist, who along with his buddies fought tooth and nail against Western influences in Russian literature and art. Him, and others like Aksakov and Khomyakov saw Russia as a bulwark against a "rotting Europe", and thought it had a special role in uniting all the Slavic peoples. Read those guys, and you will get megalomania to your heart's content.

However, it's important to note that even then, Russian panslavists were to a great extent receiving their inspiration from Poles. Poland had a diverse panslavist space, which was closely tracked by Russian thinkers. Split between whether or not Russia would act as the unifier, or a resurgent Poland - it was the epicenter of megalomania ;)

On the pro-Russian side you had Stanisław Staszic and August Cieszkowski, and on the pro-Polish side Adam Mickiewicz and Kazimierz Brodziński.

The bottom line, my friend, is that even when Russian megalomania was peaking, it was drawing inspiration from Poland. So you may have us beat there.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


Yes, making jokes about how Russian cosmonauts always f*ck **** up, and then responsible Americans have to fix it.

We seen it.

Armageddon was one movie. I think in that movie they discovered a drunk and crazy Russian cosmonaut roaming around alone in the MIR station. Very funny.

As*holes.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


I'd much rather have the Polish stereotype of a friendly neighborhood alcoholic. Maybe occasional wife beater. At least as depicted in American film.

Some guy named Krasinski is much better received in America than a guy named Krasinskov.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


The movie is a walking meme. Highly recommend.

Even in your examples, Russians are always military, hacking, or being all suspicious.

How about a movie with chill and funny Russians?

HBO's "Barry" has some of that, but I'm not really a fan of the show in general.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]

@Paulina

You forgot the best one:

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Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


I will not be original, and will recommend the Russian poet and diplomat Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev. The author of these famous lines:

Who would grasp Russia with the mind?
For her no yardstick was created:
Her soul is of a special kind,
By faith alone appreciated.

Though a contemporary of guys like Lermontov and Pushkin, he doesn't seem to be as well known outside the CIS.

He didn't write "books", unfortunately, but he wrote many poems. The years I would recommend are between 1820 and 1840. Before, he is still too young and romantic, and in the period afterwards he doesn't write anymore about the subject at hand. By that point, he's a big deal - and writes about geopolitics - BORING!

All the poems are worth reading, but I might try "Silentium" first.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


Oh my god - spare my ribs!

You are looking at your reflection in the mirror.


And you think I simply hallucinated the facts about the metaphysical nature of Russians? I almost want to say - "Read a book!"

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


I think this is spot on.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


Haha, you son of a b*tch. You know I cannot agree with this.

To be Russian, means to be connected to the Big Bang and to experience the Tao of the Universe. A Russian exists on two planes simultaneously, as one Russian rock artist who died tragically said - the spiritual and the war on Earth.


This is my most secret doubt - I suppose. So many years spent in Ukrainian and Polish spaces has not made me hate them more, as I expected, but to gain a certain appreciation.

Sometimes I watch some Ukrainian explain something about the war, and I think - "Man, why don't we have more guys like this on our side." This is a difficult thing to explain to my fellow compatriots....

Let's put the West aside for a second - there is certainly something in Poland and Ukraine that is very interesting.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


Ughhhhhhhh.....

Would my soul suffer if I was reincarnated as some Marcin in Słupsk?

Very difficult to say.

I think living life as a Pole is filled with much anxiety and uncertainty. It's not that life is much better in Russia, but at least the framework exists to deal with it.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]

@Novichok

I meant it in the same sense that "Russia needs America".

Life would be boring without America.

I think the same applies for Poles - though I'm not sure.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


Poles need Russians - admit it)

Russians are what Poles could be if they went through the other side of the looking glass.

The fascination works in reverse, of course.

Off-Topic / Russian Views On Poland and Vice Versa [404]


What is seriously f*cked up is to have a name like Gregoris Bjececikevus in your national ID card.