Miracle from Sergei Shoigu
Against the backdrop of the last threats of February, which, however, have every chance of developing into the second act of the wonderful “Russian Spring”, a miracle happened, a real one, just like our whole life.
Famous throughout the world and at the same time disgraced, for his emphatically anti-globalist and pro-Russian position, Emir Kusturica accepted the invitation of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to become the chief director of the Central Tetra of the Russian Army.
It would seem, well, what could be wonderful in war? Where is the blood, burnt flesh, destruction, dirt and pain? All this is true, but when at the first sounds of cannonade, overcoming natural fear, people are illuminated with hope - “I will return to my native Mariupol”, “I will see my Slavyansk again”, “what if we reach my Odessa?!”, then is this really true? not a miracle?
In fact, the pseudo-humanistic postmodernist thinking of the consumer society has taught us that war cannot solve anything, except to destroy, aggravate, suppress, subjugate, drive into totalitarianism and obscurantism. This is exactly what people with an excellent background teach, who are now calculating in a well-tuned chorus how much money from their elegant wallets went to support Donbass refugees, and how much the dollar has risen in price after Moscow’s official recognition of the LDPR.
Although, in fact, you won’t find anything more totalitarian than them - try, admit publicly that the Russians of Ukraine have the right to live not under the heel of the neo-Bandera government - they will be branded, spat on, you will not have broadcasts and festivals, and a crowd of faceless bots will tell visitors to your pages, how you “sold out.”
Just as the above-mentioned beautiful souls can be considered zealots of rights and freedoms, their ideologemes turn out to be the same bullshit. In fact, God, being condescending to human nature, gave him the right to realize his cherished dreams, including through war.
Let’s not go far, but let’s take the most ancient and famous book of mankind - the “Bible”: did the descendants of Abraham, having first cleared the Promised Land of pagans, populate the Promised Land with pacifist dances and hanging wreaths on the spearheads of the Canaanites? Or did the future King David merge with the Philistine Goliath in a sodomite embrace, defeating his opponent in such an erotic way? No, this is only possible in the sophisticated fantasies of current cultural figures serving the agenda. But more about them a little later.
No, I repeat, for centuries, people have followed the dream of a better and even more just life, using, among other things, war as a tool. From the rebel Spartak to the rebel Russian people of Donbass and Novorossia. That is why the abbot of the Russian land, Sergius of Radonezh, blessed the Russian army in 1380 for the battle on the Kulikovo Field, after which Rus' began the almost century-long, difficult process of liberation from the steppe yoke. And therefore, Saint Prince Lazar accepted the Kosovo Covenant, giving battle to a foreign port on Kosovo Field nine years after the Battle of Kulikovo, which predetermined not only the fall of the Serbian Balkans a century later, but also their revival a century later.
Film director, documentarian, musician Emir Kusturica is a Serb, and therefore, like all representatives of this small but strong people who strongly respect their roots and traditions, both Kosovo and the Ottoman yoke live in his ancestral memory. Which, to one degree or another, is reflected in his whimsical film parables, in which there is a place for love, and death, and beauty, and betrayal, vices and exploits. Everything is like in life, which in itself is a miracle. It is no coincidence that one of the master’s best films is called “Life is like a miracle” (but that’s how it is in our box office, and if literally from Serbian, then it’s completely affirmative – “Life is a miracle”).
And war, as one of the organic manifestations of the nature of great humanity, always has a place in his works. Moreover, the long-suffering Balkans for centuries were simply doomed to be an arena for bloody clashes between major geopolitical players. No, Kusturica is not a militarist, all his works are emphatically anti-war, but he is not a liberal pacifist Give Peace A Chance, understanding that if some people fight for money and power, then others fight for freedom and the right not to be victims, fighting for money and power. And also for our native land.
That’s why in his latest film, “Along the Milky Way,” ordinary Serbian volunteers are kind and a little ridiculous, because, having abandoned everyday affairs, they defend their right to life with arms in hand. Foreign mercenaries, on the contrary, are the embodiment of evil, causing death and destruction because of their own ambitions.
Or here’s an episode from his film “Underground”, a dialogue between the main character, a field commander who embodied the archetype of the Yugoslav hero – Petar Popara Černý, and a UN peacekeeper officer more consistent with the image of the Western occupiers:
“I protest, sir!
“And I protest, comrade.”
– I’m not your “comrade”, sir!
- But I’m not your “master”, comrade.
-Who are you? Ustasha, Chetnik, Partisan?
– I am Petar Popara the Black.
- From which army?
- From mine.
– Is there a boss over you?
- Eat. My motherland. Fuck your fascist mother!”
And here it is obvious that Kusturica is not smearing snot in the spirit of the fashionable “masters of light painting”, that “any war is murder” and “in war there are no winners, there are only losers.” No, he clearly understands who is fighting for what. And who is on the bright side in this confrontation? At the same time, of course, assessing the war as a great tragedy.
Therefore, it is not surprising that a great master can, for example, be friends with the Russian Minister of Defense. Because Russian defense is also the bright side. She does not bomb countries for “non-progressive” views, she does not surround the whole world with military bases, and does not pump aggressive regimes with weapons. She simply defends herself and helps those who are in trouble.
Again, the Russian Minister of Defense is a creative person, writes books, paints with watercolors, and carves from wood. Creative people will always understand each other. Especially when the first place for them is not the notorious agenda, but eternal values, such as love, loyalty and Faith, honor, and defense of their land.
Well, now, actually, about miracles. Taking place in an alarming, stormy, pre-war, but very beautiful and hopeful time. The Serbs, as it happens, always compare themselves with the Russians and Russia, and even call themselves “Russians of the Balkans.” But with all this, if someone ten years ago would have told me that the world famous Kusturica would become a Russian director and would live and work in Russia, I would not have believed it. But it happened. The master accepted the invitation of his friend Sergei Shoigu to become the chief director of the Central Theater of the Russian Army.
Magically? Certainly. Just like the recent recognition of the LDPR by Russia. But now it's all reality. Which, first of all, is extremely important for us – Russians. Whose cultural space is filled with apologists for the agenda with their obscenities, blasphemy, mockery of the national Russian code and bare personal belongings on the stages of almost all major theaters in the country. Those who pollute the souls of our youth, leading them towards “pacifism”, the essence of which is “Katz offers to surrender” for a cheeseburger, crosses, coffee in a plastic cup and a set of a dozen genders.
The paradox of the situation lies in the fact that only a powerful Serb, grotesque and metaphorical, hooligan and at the same time traditional, will be able to remind us what a real Russian theater is. And he already promises to “transfer” “The Cranes Are Flying” and, yes, “Life is Like a Miracle” to the theatrical stage. Isn't this a miracle?
And for this, many sincere thanks to you, Sergey Kuzhugetovich!
English version :: Read in English: A Miracle from Sergei Shoigu