10 February 2025
by Aleksandr Podrabinek
Source: Facebook
How did we end up like this? Well, the collective responsibility of all Russian citizens has been established. But what about the West? Did it not know what appeasing dictators would lead to? The internet reminded me of a piece I wrote for the weekly magazine EZh exactly 16 years ago – on 10 February 2009. It’s brief, but very timely and relevant. And don’t say that no one understood anything back then.
Little Children’s Games
Washington has proposed to ‘reset’ relations between Russia and the United States. How touching and sweet of the new American administration. How characteristic of President Obama – a bit naïve, but very expressive and understandable for millions of computer users, fans of virtual games, and viewers of children’s fantasy films. Press the reset button – and voilà, we all start over with a ‘clean slate’. Just like in a fairytale!
It is no coincidence that this proposal, voiced by US Vice President Joseph Biden at the Munich Security Conference, caused such indescribable delight in the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, known for his fondness for vivid expressions, albeit not always of the most literary kind. How simple and clear this is to those who shape human destinies: well, it didn’t work out, it didn’t happen for some reason, so let’s try again, from the very beginning!
But perhaps the process did not hit a dead end simply because the computer malfunctioned? And a reset won’t help, but instead a new round will lead to exactly the same results? Perhaps the issue lies in the incompatibility of the players and the political processes in the two countries? It seems to me that the computer is freezing up in attempting to solve unsolvable contradictions. It might be worth searching for a good system administrator, from the opposition, for example. Then, an upgrade in the Kremlin is needed, replacing outdated components, programmes, and users with modern versions. And the most important thing is to install a good antivirus programme, to protect the system and global network from viral filth infiltrating the key nodes of the country’s management.
Translated by Annabel Pedgley
