Elements of the situation we are in
The WWII memorial (1960s) and the Cathedral of Mary's Assumption (2010) in Yaroslavl on the Volga, Russia. Shot with a manual lens (7Artisans f1.2). I had published this image before. Russia's extreme suffering during the Second World War is one of the constituent elements of its political outlook today. The other is the post-communist re-integration of the sacred (in the shape of the Russian Orthodox Church) into the nationalist pantheon - Russia as the "Third Rome", the bastion and defender of true Christianity. These two elements combined with a deep anger about the collapse of the USSR and the advance of liberal Western culture (and NATO too) produce a potent mix of nationalist sentiments. Criticising these sentiments I must, but as a UK citizen I can do this only by acknowledging the hypocrisy going on in my own country, for example the fact that London for decades used to be the centre of the world when it comes to money laundering. Our political parties, one in particular, got used to accepting big donations from "oligarchs". In a way, the UK (and others) were quite content to do business with the nationalist monster rising up in the East.
Elements of the situation we are in
The WWII memorial (1960s) and the Cathedral of Mary's Assumption (2010) in Yaroslavl on the Volga, Russia. Shot with a manual lens (7Artisans f1.2). I had published this image before. Russia's extreme suffering during the Second World War is one of the constituent elements of its political outlook today. The other is the post-communist re-integration of the sacred (in the shape of the Russian Orthodox Church) into the nationalist pantheon - Russia as the "Third Rome", the bastion and defender of true Christianity. These two elements combined with a deep anger about the collapse of the USSR and the advance of liberal Western culture (and NATO too) produce a potent mix of nationalist sentiments. Criticising these sentiments I must, but as a UK citizen I can do this only by acknowledging the hypocrisy going on in my own country, for example the fact that London for decades used to be the centre of the world when it comes to money laundering. Our political parties, one in particular, got used to accepting big donations from "oligarchs". In a way, the UK (and others) were quite content to do business with the nationalist monster rising up in the East.