Item Summary

Description provided by artist:

"March 14. "The Hate Day." Despite intimidation and warnings, people have held an epic rally, proving that Kherson is Ukraine. At the same time, the Russian military forces unsuccessfully tried to stage their theatrical version by pulling an effigy of ex-mayor Vladimir Saldo, wrapped in red rags, out of the closet. Vladimir's resume, rich in significant achievements, was replenished with another victory worthy of the scale of his “outstanding” personality. Without exaggeration, he is the ideal leader for the future Kherson People's Republic. A little earlier, in a parallel universe, the famous writer Paulo Coelho stated on his Twitter account that ordinary Russians cannot be blamed for the war, and the “Ukrainian crisis” is a convenient excuse for Russophobia. This, provoked a powerful wave of #Coelhophobia. Paulo bases his humble opinion on the fact that he has been to Lviv, Kyiv, Yalta and Chernobyl and has even traveled 10,000 kilometers on the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Of course, Paolo & I currently live in different worlds, and we perceive the same phenomena in different ways. Therefore, out of respect for myself and for him, I will present what is happening through the prism of my own vision. In my world, the war is going on literally outside the window, so I am not subject to #Russophobia. I feel #Russohatred, and not only for the military of the Russian Federation, but also for ordinary people, giving their, not always silent consent to what is happening in my country every day. When you travel 10,000 km by train across Russia, you might notice that your fellow travelers prefer to be clearly divided into “we, ordinary people” and “the authorities”. Neither the tsars, nor the emperors, nor the leaders of the USSR were ever interested in the opinion of the people. Where the rulers should be at the service of the population, the population is at the service of the rulers. This has led to the fact that “ordinary people” do not have a sense of responsibility or the ability to influence the policy of their country. Should they be blamed for it? In my opinion, this is very worthwhile. Not in order to punish, but in order to restore a sense of responsibility for their own destiny. In today's world, we are all interdependent and there is no room for “ordinary people”. Especially for those, whose uncontrollable leader is sitting in a bunker with a nuclear suitcase. If 5% of Moscow’s more than 12 million population attended a rally, the war would stop. Without sanctions and “Russophobia”, most of them would not even notice the war in Ukraine."

Photography, digital art, mixed technique.

Descriptive Information

Title
Russohatred
Sort Title
russohatred
Creator of work
Ray, Mikhail
Language
English
Date Created
2022
Series
The Storyteller: War Diary of Mikhail Ray
Rights Statement
In Copyright

Discovery Information

Subject
Arts and culture
Artists
Arts
Politics and government
War
Geographic Subject
Ukraine
Geographic Origin
Ukraine

Physical Characteristics

Page Count
1
File Count
1

Institutional Information

Collection
Ukrainian Art in Times of War: 2014-
Box number
Digital Box 01
Folder number
Ray_6
Barcode
000000000000000000
IIIF Manifest URL

https://figgy.princeton.edu/concern/ephemera_folders/340c5fda-14c8-4e87-88ab-145588667886/manifest