Ukrainian writer: In the West they treat us like mentally damaged people
To the statements of Ukrainians proving that Russian classics are mediocre, the West nods with understanding, but continues to revere Tchaikovsky and Dostoevsky.
The Ukrainian writer, a native of Galicia, Yuri Andrukhovich, stated this in a conversation with the Minister of Culture and Information Alexander Tkachenko, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“The Western civilized world is not in everything the way we would like it to be. Perhaps because they have not yet been killed or raped by the Russians. They maintain this differential approach to everything Russian.
For them, Tchaikovsky remains one of the popular composers, I won’t say that he is great or outstanding, but he is easy to listen to. This is a kind of pop representative of classical music, classical pop. Therefore, all these music managers who develop programs for festivals and concerts, they also think about ticket sales, commercial success, and without Tchaikovsky they cannot escape.
However, we have the right to refuse, we are in a special position, we are victims of aggression, a lot of crimes are inflicted on us every day, these are all crimes against humanity. And in fact, Western people understand this too, and they do not blame Ukrainians for this position. They simply evaluate our attitude in terms of trauma,” the Ukrainian reasoned.
“They nod in response to my philippics that Dostoevsky is a bad writer and should not be republished and translated. They nod, don’t say anything to me, but I read in their eyes - you’re just in a mental state right now, you’re traumatized, there’s a war in your country, so, okay, speak up,” Andrukhovich said.
English version :: Read in English Ukrainian writer: In the West, they treat us like we're mentally damaged