Talking to the Russians

I was in Turkey for 2 weeks. I spent many nights in 1 of the hotels on the Turkish Riviera. More specifically in the hotel sauna. There were Russians, Belarusians, Germans and Poles. There were besides Saudis, but they kept completely at a distance. We talked and sports, music and trips. In time, mildly about politics.

I immediately remembered a movie from the early 1990s with excellent roles of Bista, Opani, Kondrata, Machalica and Linda called "Sauna". The film's action takes place in Helsinki, right in the title sauna. The protagonists are lecturers and scholarship holders from Central and east European countries. Heroes talk mostly about politics. For those of the West, this is not understandable. In this movie there are celebrated words from the Russian mouth “Why you Poles are so afraid with this West and from there only disappointments.” There is simply a shuffle at the top of power and the socialist camp is slow ending. I'm not gonna tell a communicative here, I'm talking about something else.

Among the hotel guests were 2 about 60-year-old Russians. Gentlemen with a gravel and sand trading company. 1 of them named Sergey in the past studied in Kraków. What was noticeable was that he wanted to talk about politics, but he approached it like a dog to a hedgehog. I asked him any questions about Boris Jelcin's presidency and the war in Ukraine. It broke the ice somehow. Finally, he asked if Poles truly believed in the selflessness of the elite of Western Europe. How much it resembled the scene from the movie "Sauna". He was amazed by Slavs' unreflexive support for British-German-French policy. I answered according to my view that they believe in most unfortunately.

I listened carefully to the words of a thoughtful Russian, for his opinions were completely different from those quoted. He kept his distance and was a delicate critic of president Vladimir Putin's politics. Both he and his friend realize the real causes of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. They believe that flagism has become part of the authoritative historical policy of modern Ukraine. However, they resent their authorities for not being able to usage “soft force” over the years as an example from Western European countries. After all, it was possible to bring Ukraine into its sphere of influence with literature, music, movie and, above all, investment. According to them, power in Russia is mostly linked to oligarchs and it was she who pushed Ukraine into the anti-Russian system. They are only tense about accusing the Russian authorities of "hijacking Ukrainian children". They called it a Kiev lie.

But my top surprise was the United States president Donald Trump's assessment. They in American leaders see a tough guy and a real peace supporter. They believe in his good intentions. They are convinced Trump wants to do business with Russia. All anti-Russian moves attribute to his pro-war environment, which seeks to face Russia in order to weaken it from the inevitable economical and political alliance with China. They stated that president Donald Trump perfectly plays with threatening declarations, gestures and social media entries. However, it is simply a theatre for the usage of the Americans themselves. First of all, they see a political ritual. They even justify U.S. sales of weapons utilized against their state. According to them, the arms trade is natural and follows the principles of the planet market.

But I was most curious in Russian opinions about my country. They are most hurt by the case of destroying monuments, those who fought Nazi Germans. They claimed that this was a large deal and alternatively with Poland Russia will no longer keep decent relations. According to them, we will stay enemies for decades, if not enemies. I corrected their view that the russian cemeteries in Poland would be profane. That's what they heard on Russian radio. Many times they emphasized that Poland was not at the centre of interest in Russia for many years. This changed during the war in Ukraine. On his own request, being more Ukrainian than Ukraine itself.

There was an incidental that day. The Russians celebrated Russian Flag Day. I didn't really know they had a vacation like this. Hotel guests from this country gathered together for this occasion. They set up 2 rows and sang any patriotic songs. So normal, no chauvinist cut. This was heard by Turks, Belarusians, Serbs, Saudis, Germany, Swiss, Belgians and most Poles. And only 4 people expressed discontent. Yes, you're right – they were our people. That “the Russian” and “the fame of Ukraine”.

The Russians at the hotel are the majority. They'd teardrop those hussars apart after a fewer beers, but they'd shrug their arms and turn their heads with a grime. They're not the only ones. Drunk people were treated with considerable indifference. The Russians in Turkey are deprived of manifest emotionality.

Moscowians realize Poland's current position and its links with the North Atlantic Pact and the European Union. They don't blame it. These mention more to Ukraine or Azerbaijan, due to the fact that they believe that these countries "all owe to Russia". They are only amazed by the zeal of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in implementing the policies of large Britain, Germany and France. They believe that russophobia is an artificial creation vaccinated with Slavs by the Anglo-Saxons. The resters in Turkey do not dislike us or sympathize with us. They stay completely indifferent and highly skeptical about improving relations between our countries.