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VASSILY AKSYONOV
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mankind would be left in peace), the proletarian-internationalist has
something in common with the grand bourgeois-cosmopolitan. Ask
any educated Westerner, and he'll tell you that internationalism and
cosmopolitanism are pretty much the same thing. Of the four groups
designated by Losoto, I find by far the most comprehensible is On
the Contrary, as it has nothing to do with any form of Bolshevism.
In my opinion, this element On the Contrary is deeply rooted
in the Russian people (against all odds), while national Bolshevism
may have even more difficulties getting a foothold in our "miracu–
lous homeland" than did its precursor in Germany. The German na–
tion was more receptive to the ideals of national socialism, if only on
the basis of its exclusive homogeneity. Although tinged around the
edges by macaroni-eaters and frog-munchers, Germany was mono–
lithic in her love of sauerkraut and the blonde, blue-eyed ideal . It's
common knowledge, however, that if you scratch a Russian you'll
find a Tatar.
And maybe not just a Tatar, either. In fact, the Russian people
are one of the most cosmopolitan nationalities in the world if for no
other reason than their location between Europe and Asia.
Dwelling on the road "from the Varangians to the Greeks,"
Russians intermingled with both over the centuries. In the south,
Rus was open to the waves of the Mediterranean, the source of
Greek and Byzantine culture. In the north she was exposed to the
rigorous, seafaring Vikings, the "blue-eyed princes." This constitutes
a major difference between Russia and Germany as Germany was,
for the most part, open only to the north.
The Pechenegs, Khazars, and Tatars came from the East; the
Persians travelled north up the Volga. The Armenians and Geor–
gians traversed the Caucasian Mountains. The latter two groups
forged strong ties with the Russian aristocracy by virtue of their
common religion. A lot of intermingling took place in the north, too,
with the Chud' and the Zhmud', ruso known as Finns and Balts. To
the west, Russians mixed with Poles. The French invasion of 1812
left its own mark by liberally peppering the Russian language with
Gallic words.
Like the Germans, the French weren't always at war with
Russia. Thousands of them lived side by side with Russians,
teaching our children good manners, soldering faucets onto our
samovars - in short, making a considerable contribution to the cos–
mopolitanism of the Russian people. And yet Jews are such a focus
of hatred for Pamyat. After untold torment and humiliation brought
