War... War in Ukraine, war happening now, in the 21st century... One person fell ill with an obsession with taking a place in history and decided to do it, killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of people and breaking the arranged lives of millions. And most of his compatriots came out with active support for the madman, expressing their "feeling of deep satisfaction." What is this massive obscurantism? Is this some kind of new effect in psychology? We thought that "it's only the flu that gets us sick together, but people go crazy separately." I am sure that there has always been ground for mass obscurantism, the authorities have not allowed the embers of human hatred to go out for a whole century.
I heard on YuoTube from Anna Nemzer the quote "Russia has failed as a nation" - in my opinion this is a very correct diagnosis, even if it is difficult to understand what a nation is in relation to Russia. I have been living for quite a few years, I myself shudder when I say that I was born in the first half of the last century. We were told that we are a nation of Soviet people, not really bothering to explain what the Soviet people are. But we should have been proud of our belonging to them, "read, envy I am the citizen of the USSR...".
This is one episode. November 22, 1963, US President John F. Kennedy is shot dead in Dallas. The next morning, I, a student of the 9th grade, as usual, go to school in a small Ural town, I meet my classmate on the way, who tells me that now our leaders will jump for joy on one leg. I wanted to tell him that it is inhumane to kill people, especially one who stopped a nuclear war. But I did not say anything, I realized that it was useless.
And here is another episode, again from my school life. Tenth grade, there is a history lesson, we are going through a section on scientific communism as part of the History of the CPSU. The teacher talks about the brilliant creators of the communist ideology. She unexpectedly asks me to explain to the whole class why their teaching is "scientific." It would have been better if she hadn't asked me because I said I didn't see any objective evidence for their claims. I remember how she blushed in anger and told everyone to remember that the teachings of Marx-Lenin are scientific because they are correct.
In Anna’s conversation with Gaase about belonging to a nation, she remarkably came to the conclusion about the need for emigration, about the principle of the dissolution of the nation. Now this question becomes the most important, because I constantly hear the hopelessness of the future erupting, even in the absence of Putin. Russian society has forgotten how to see itself as the engine of progress. I mean not so much scientific and technical, but rather human, both the progress of the individual and the progress of social unity (for a start, you can look at Ukrainian unity in the time of war).
For me, such conclusions became obvious back in the early 70s, when my dashing studies at Moscow University ended and my scientific career began at the leading physics institute, the Lebedev Physical Institute, where work in the team of the Nobel laureate who discovered the laser age was considered as a normal routine course of events. Academician N.G.Basov created amazing conditions for young and ambitious juniors, so that we plunged headlong into the problems of laser thermonuclear fusion and the creation of unique lasers. The results of our work, published in renowned scientific journals, immediately attracted international attention and respect to us. For the first time in my life, I met Western scientists who turned out to be people like me, and not “class enemies” at all.
Then everything was simple. The first time I was allowed to visit a Western country for a conference was in 1981. It was Italy, I saw Milan and Venice, I saw people relaxing on the lawns in the city park, where everyone was enjoying the good weather, children and dogs playing around them (nowhere was signs “Do not walk on lawns”). I returned to Moscow, gathered my friends at the dacha, poured the Grappa into glasses and began to say what a wonderful taste of freedom it is. Someone asked me what I liked the most there. I remember that I answered without thinking a second: “Most of all I liked their attitude towards the elderly and the disabled.” I wanted to continue my story, as in the provincial city of Trieste, disabled people in wheelchairs can easily ride buses wherever they want, there are special lifts and wide passages for them. But in my company, no one was interested. Oddly enough, but it was this episode that finally convinced me that my grandchildren should not be born in my homeland.
I brought my family to California in 1992. In my native FIAN, I was dubbed a "defector", for some people simply a "traitor", they probably worried that I used state money to escape.
Anna said that the only reason not to leave Russia can only be “I can’t leave my loved ones” - an absolutely correct answer to a potential emigrant. In my case it was. Back in 1984, while on a National Academy guest trip to the United States, I was offered a job there and assistance in relocating my family. At that time, my father held a high position in the military-industrial ministry, and my father-in-law and mother-in-law were veterans of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I had to look for other options, I expected their retirement, and for myself inclusion in a long-term (more than six months, so I could take my family with me) exchange business trip. My plan came true, although not in the way I wanted - my parents and father-in-law died, and my mother-in-law retired.
For ten years I have been preparing my emigration, a dream that at times seemed impossible. So as a result, what can you conclude about me? Of course, I am a hater of Russia, a traitor, a defector - an enemy of my people. Russia, country and people - I am not their enemy, I wish everyone happiness in their every concrete life. But in a country where the human personality is worth nothing, its fate is in the hands of idiots in power, there can be no individual happiness, and hence the happiness of the whole society as well.
For me, the basic principles written in the US Declaration are extremely important: the inalienable rights of a person to life, liberty and the right to pursue happiness. These are words of genius, there is no mention of democracy, equality and justice - these concepts may or may not stem from basic human rights. Today in Russia none of these three rights is fulfilled. So society will not be able to self-development.
And yet there is a hope for a bright future for Russia - it is its youth, those who are no more than 35 today. Recently I was offered to watch clips of songs by ShortParis and IC3PEAK. I didn’t expect anything even close: professionalism, adherence to principles, relevance and sharpness of presentation. Protest songs - yes, but not just because there is nothing good left for them, but little pay. Protest against the killing of the soul, protest against the war, protest against the killing of people. I like it, but who else - it turned out to be very many: one of the songs has 125 million views!, The other has 43 million views! Millions!!! That's where the hope for the unity of society is, it's a pity I won't see that, but these young people can.