"Elegance is inborn among the men of pure Sclavonic blood. Their character unites a mixture of simplicity, gentleness, and sensibility, which seduces all hearts: it is often combined with a good deal of irony and some little deceitfulness; but, when the heart is naturally amiable, these faults are transformed into a kind of grace. The people further possess the advantage of a countenance, the delicacy in the expression of which is inimitable; it influences, by an unknown charm, by the exhibition of a tender melancholy, a suffering gentleness, which almost always springs from a secret sense of evil, hid by the sufferer from himself, in order the better to disguise it from others. The Russians are, in short, a resigned nation, — this simple description explains everything. The man who is deprived of liberty, — and here the definition of that word extends to natural rights and real wants, — though he may have all other advantages, is like a plant excluded from the air: in vain do you water its roots, the languishing stem produces a few leaves, but will never send forth flowers. The true Russians have something peculiar to themselves, both in their character, their countenance, and their whole bearing. Their carriage is light, and all their movements denote a natural superiority."
The Rus were elite craftsmen, warriors and merchants. Their lands merged the east and west for trade.They had the wealth, power projection, cultural optimism and individual freedoms to inherit the world. They were the best of the Europeans.
Then, the handsome young prince that they were had his bright little head abruptly dashed against the pavement by the Mongols. Any glory they achieved afterwards was done only in spite of their cultural soul being horrifically raped in its childhood. They've been slogging on for centuries now, half asleep to stomach the trauma and darkness imprinted upon them by violence of a scale and totality never experienced by any other European people.
That is the evil they uniquely feel. Perhaps the tragedy is that there's no way to reverse the disfigurement they suffered. Or maybe it can be, I don't know. I'm surprised that they didn't enact a complete genocide against the Mongolian/steppe peoples in retaliation when they finally had the chance as I think that would be a warranted retribution and maybe even a step towards healing, but I suppose the same good naturedness that predisposed them to become the next great Empire (a future they were robbed of) prevented that.
"Elegance is inborn among the men of pure Sclavonic blood. Their character unites a mixture of simplicity, gentleness, and sensibility, which seduces all hearts: it is often combined with a good deal of irony and some little deceitfulness; but, when the heart is naturally amiable, these faults are transformed into a kind of grace. The people further possess the advantage of a countenance, the delicacy in the expression of which is inimitable; it influences, by an unknown charm, by the exhibition of a tender melancholy, a suffering gentleness, which almost always springs from a secret sense of evil, hid by the sufferer from himself, in order the better to disguise it from others. The Russians are, in short, a resigned nation, — this simple description explains everything. The man who is deprived of liberty, — and here the definition of that word extends to natural rights and real wants, — though he may have all other advantages, is like a plant excluded from the air: in vain do you water its roots, the languishing stem produces a few leaves, but will never send forth flowers. The true Russians have something peculiar to themselves, both in their character, their countenance, and their whole bearing. Their carriage is light, and all their movements denote a natural superiority."
— Marquis de Custine, Russia in 1839
Very well said.
The Rus were elite craftsmen, warriors and merchants. Their lands merged the east and west for trade.They had the wealth, power projection, cultural optimism and individual freedoms to inherit the world. They were the best of the Europeans.
Then, the handsome young prince that they were had his bright little head abruptly dashed against the pavement by the Mongols. Any glory they achieved afterwards was done only in spite of their cultural soul being horrifically raped in its childhood. They've been slogging on for centuries now, half asleep to stomach the trauma and darkness imprinted upon them by violence of a scale and totality never experienced by any other European people.
That is the evil they uniquely feel. Perhaps the tragedy is that there's no way to reverse the disfigurement they suffered. Or maybe it can be, I don't know. I'm surprised that they didn't enact a complete genocide against the Mongolian/steppe peoples in retaliation when they finally had the chance as I think that would be a warranted retribution and maybe even a step towards healing, but I suppose the same good naturedness that predisposed them to become the next great Empire (a future they were robbed of) prevented that.