Comments on Hidden Europe

Discuss Francis Tapon's upcoming book, "The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us."
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human
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Comments on Hidden Europe

Post by human » Sun Mar 10, 2013 10:44 am

Dear Francis:
I have read Hidden Europe and enjoyed reading it a lot, and I laughed a lot in the process. It's a wonderful thick book. I've read a lot during my life and I can not say the same about many thick books I've read. But don't patch yourself on your shoulder yet. Now I live in the USA but I come from Eastern Europe (the real Eastern Europe, not Finland), I was (well) educated in Eastern Europe, and I have still learned from your book a lot about Eastern Europe I did not know before. During my time in Eastern Europe I traveled a lot around it (to travel elsewhere was a big NO-NO for me) and I must say you got it almost all right. What you did not get quite right was when you romanticize about Russia. I feel sorry for Russia because it had to put up with some 70 years of communism, which screwed the country up. Nevertheless, that does not justify what happened when the USSR ceased to exist. Yes, communism raised the country from feudalism almost to the level of the rest of the world, but so would do would - or raise standard of living of the Russians to much higher level, and much more - any other system. When you romanticize about Russia you are falling into the usual trap a tourist who had good time in the country he/she is visiting falls into. When you describe other East European countries you give a little history of every one of them, the most salient points. As far as Russia you are forgetting some important things about the country, things I am sure you know but you forgot to mention. I hope I am right when I say that you forgot to mention these facts. I hope I would be wrong if I said that you did not mention them deliberately because you did not want to be an ungrateful and impolite guest. What you forgot to mention is the unjust/lenient treatment Russia got from the rest of the world with respect to what the Soviet regime did to it's own people and Eastern Europe when it ruled. Let me refresh your memory. You must have known all this, you are young but old enough to have heard all what follows here: When Nazi Germany lost the war, every perpetrator of crimes against humanity who did not commit suicide, stayed in Germany and was caught was put on trial and held responsible. Even some, unfortunately not all, who escaped and found temporary refuge elsewhere were caught, put on trial and had to pay for their crimes. Germany as the country that was responsible for the death of many millions of people and for destroying many countries was also put on trial, so to speak, and had to pay for what it did by reparations to countries they enslaved, destroyed or harmed in any way. Germany had to pay and still pays compensation to those who survived Nazi concentration camps. By the way, is there any amount they can pay to revive all those who died because of their brutality? Germany realized that what they did was wrong and apologized for what they did. There were many movies made word-wide condemning German atrocities during WWII and museums have been established to pay respect to the victims. I hope Steven Spielberg realizes that he owes the world as good movie about Soviet atrocities as he produced about Nazi atrocities. Now let's get back to Russia. Starting with the post-revolution time in 1917 until the communist Soviet Union's demise, the Soviet regime killed many more people than Nazi Germany. The communists had extermination camps without gas chambers - but these were still extermination camps - and non extermination camps where, nevertheless, large number of people died. The regime in Soviet Russia enslaved and drained economically half Europe, and some countries outside of Europe. In countries where they did not establish concentration camps they indirectly, through their local lackeys, destroyed millions of lives. And what happened when the communist system collapsed? Nothing of the sort what happened to Germany when the Nazi regime collapsed. Did the Russians apologize? Did they have to pay one kopeck for the damages they caused to their own people and half Europe? Nope. Everybody seems to have forgotten everything and wants to be friends with them, including Francis Tapon. Russians suffer form the same syndrome brainwashed into their minds by the communist regime, namely that they are better than people from countries that were enslaved by the previous generation of Russians, the feeling of uebermensch invented by Hitler about the Germans. And present Russia is ruled largely by the same communists who were part of the previous establishment. Is this fair?
I congratulate you and respect you for writing a very good book about Eastern Europe but, please, leave romanticizing about Russia to those who were victims of Russian brutality and were forced to be Soviet slaves and/or prisoners from 1917-1989.
Your sincerely,
Human (this is what I write in the line "other" when I am asked in a government questionnaire whether I am Caucasian, Black, Native American, Hispanic etc.)

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FrancisTapon
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Re: Comments on Hidden Europe

Post by FrancisTapon » Fri Aug 23, 2013 3:59 am

Dear Human,

You wrote this on my birthday, but I'm only responding to it now. Sorry for the delay.

Thanks for your intelligent and thoughtful post. I agree with all the facts you cite. In fact, I agree with everything you say except the idea that I romanticized Russia.

On my website you should read a review of my book by a Russian professor. She said she was laughing until she got to the Russia chapter. It was hard for her to read because I was critical about her country. Perhaps you should re-read the chapter.

Moreover, you should see the mention of the Soviet mass executions that I mention in the Belarus chapter and Ukraine's Holdomor. I do not let Russia (or any country) get off easy.

You can argue that perhaps I should have been more critical. Perhaps. However, it's hard to argue that I "romanticized" Russia.

Thank you for your feedback and I hope you can tell others to read the book.
- Francis Tapon
http://FrancisTapon.com

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