Máme se bát Ruska? - Dramata a osudy největší země světa – Salminen Veronika (2019)

The writer Maxim Gorky, after whom the city of Nizhny Novgorod was named during the Soviet Union, is said to have once remarked: "Russia has two faces. One is kind, the Slavic one; the other is Tatar – cruel and evil." It still sounds interesting today, but it is quite black and white, and the world around us is not black and white. Not even in Mother Russia. However, it is a fact that today few people truly understand Russia, and almost everyone wants to see it solely as an aggressive power that has oppressed freedom-loving Chechens with its weapons, defeated tiny Georgia, seized Crimea, and embarked on a war in Syria. From time to time, it is true, people remember the traditional Russian hospitality with a full table, full glasses, and debates about everything possible, but others see everything in their own way and label Russia as some sort of empire of evil. Yes, great Russia almost passionately wishes to be a superpower, gripped by the fear that if the world begins to perceive it differently, the Russian Federation may face problems and perhaps even catastrophe. In Moscow, they have often – and almost traditionally – feared some troubles... If anyone understands the current Russian situation and can decipher its riddles with all historical contexts, it is the author of this book, Veronika Salminen. She lives in Finland, from where she is close to Russia. She has been there many times and has experienced...