Photo from: The Council of the Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
By: MAJ (RET) Montgomery J. Granger @mjgranger1
The recent interview of Russian President Vladimir Putin by Tucker Carlson should be a shot heard round the world.
The Russian leader was instructive, honest, thoughtful, and, most of all, contained. He presented an image of rationality, conviviality, humor, and serious revelation. He stayed engaged for over two hours and seemed comfortable with continuing. Compare and contrast that with Joe Biden, who, in less than 20 minutes, becomes angry, confused, unintelligible, frustrated, and incoherent.
I believe this interview forced Americans to look at our country from the outside in, something rarely allowed by the controlled and propagandistic American mainstream media.
Of course, you don’t have to believe everything you heard from Putin because you can look it up!
Most Americans know virtually nothing about Russia or Russians other than what they hear from the propagandistic media. But this culture is easily observed through its literature, music, ballet, films, and history.
You must take the Russian people at face value. They don’t suffer fools well. To them, relations between countries are like a game of chess; you move, and then I move; we must both stay at the table in order to play the game, and we must stay engaged to achieve a solution, whether good, bad, or draw.
Listen to the diplomat leader’s words; he chooses them wisely. He is careful not to offend, make unsupported accusations, or insult. He is patient but persistent.
As a young man, I remember hearing and reading the Russian fairy tales of Peter and the Wolf, The Firebird, and Baba Yaga, watching telecasts of Tchaikovsky ballets The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker, and reading Russian literature, specifically War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.
Twenty-five percent of my DNA is from Russia, Poland, and Eastern Europe. My mother knew of our ancestry and flooded our home with Russian books, stories, and music. I was fascinated by Russian history and read all I could about the Tsars, the Bolshevik Revolution, and World War II. I lived through the Cold War, the Space Race, and Glasnost.
I witnessed President Ronald Reagan accuse Russia of becoming what he called the “Evil Empire” while ordering its leaders to “tear down this [Berlin] wall,” and simultaneously befriending Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev to achieve détente.
In high school, I subscribed to an English-language Russian magazine that focused on culture and education. Later, as an undergrad, I studied Russian History. In 1984, I took a solo trip to then-Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in the Soviet Union.
I stayed at the Hotel Leningrad, across the Neva River from the preserved battleship Potemkin, which in February 1917 was Russia’s “shot heard round the world,” the mutiny on board helping to usher in the Russian Revolution. I was met outside my hotel by two Russian girls about my age, who, my Russian history professor later informed me, were most likely my KGB “handlers.”
Every time I left my hotel, they were there waiting for me, a lone American college student who, by wearing a California Angels baseball cap and US college sweatshirt, made no secret of who I was and where I was from.
The girls were innocent enough and became good tour guides to places I would have never seen otherwise.
They never asked for anything in return, but, as souvenirs, I gave them each a Kennedy half-dollar I had brought along at the suggestion of my college Russian history professor. The Russian people are enamored by and respect John F. Kennedy, as he famously stood up to Russia and Kruschev during the Russian Missile Crisis.
This is an instructive point about the Russian people. They respect strength, courage, and grit, even in perceived adversaries. They prefer to see others as adversaries—not necessarily enemies who must be killed, but opponents to be dealt with, again, as in a chess match.
The Russian culture is ordered. The City of Leningrad had been restored after World War II to pristine neatness and cleanliness. Babushkas (Grandmas) swept the streets with brooms made of twigs (“venik”). Russian soldiers marched openly in the streets, in pressed uniforms without weapons. Police carried no visible weapons—in fact, I barely saw any police.
The people were diverse and friendly. I saw Africans, Asians, and others, one of whom corrected me when I called her a “beautiful Russian woman,” by saying abruptly, “I am not Russian, I am Gypsy!” She was my tour guide to Petrodvorets, or the Summer Palace, built by Peter the Great and completely restored from near decimation in World War II, complete with fountains, tapestries, mosaics, and gilding.
As a souvenir, I gave her a paperback copy of “Nicholas and Alexandra,” about the last Russian Tsar and his wife. I brought the book after learning it was forbidden. The border guard who inspected my luggage (and I mean every piece of it) nearly confiscated it and my small copy of the New Testament, which was also forbidden. He looked at both on the train from Helsinki and regarded every photograph in the Nicholas and Alexandra book with sadness. But he ultimately returned both to me, saying, “For your personal use, only.”
I was also told not to bring Playboy magazine, so naturally, I picked one up in Helsinki. It happened to include a story about Ronald Reagan with a caricature of Ronnie as Darth Vader. When the Russian border guard looked through every page of the magazine, he paused at the caricature and then said, “Ah, Ronald Reagan,” nodding in approval. Respect.
Overall, the people were very friendly, helpful, and curious. The ice cream was superb! The food was bland. And the vodka was hard!
I left with a grand impression of the culture. Even in the Soviet system, the beauty of the Russian people shone through. They have amazing spirits.
Vladimir Putin has been the Russian leader for over two decades, and who knows how much longer? Russians like him because they see themselves in him. He is quintessentially Russian: Practical, pragmatic, and frank.
Hopefully, after watching Tucker’s interview, Americans will be inspired to learn more for themselves about these people. Don’t take his word for it or even my word for it. Learn, study, and grow on your own. Use this interview as a starting point.
If you are already familiar with Russian culture, make sure you get it right. Find primary source information when possible. Listen to their music, watch their ballets and films, and read their stories, both history and novels. Walk a mile in a Cossack’s “bashlyks” (boots) before you criticize!
Here are a few offerings from YouTube to get you started:
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Russian operatic baritone: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/22/arts/music/dmitri-hvorostovsky-verdi-tchaikovsky-youtube.html
The Red Army Choir Alexandrov interprets one of the most famous Russian songs: “Kalinka.” Soloist : Vadim Ananiev aka “Mr. Kalinka” https://youtu.be/oCc7ySI9YMw?si=JA-Cj-dgEtnIecYA
Katyusha, sung by Valeria Kurnushkina, choral and orchestral performance by the Red Army Choir: https://youtu.be/6fFLG52_oQI?si=UR6eJSp2Li9g4tWo
Female soldiers at the Victory Parade in Russia https://youtu.be/Ni8H1xIzg6E?si=rm4Q7fbMa0AmeNCi
“Dark-Eyed Cossack Girl” by Leonid Kharitonov & The Alexandrov Red Army Choir (1969) https://youtu.be/3scgW-aghr4?si=gN3kzchw5Dsuh20r
Dance of the Soldiers: https://youtu.be/Hzk5Ir37wjM?si=c6E96VAXeENbeYij
MAJ Granger was the ranking US Army Medical Department officer with the Joint Detainee Operations Group, Joint Task Force 160, from February to June 2002 at Gitmo. He is the author of the memoir, “Saving Grace at Guantanamo Bay,” and narrator of the short documentary YouTube film, “Heroes of GITMO,” based on his book.