Russia by Carleton Gregory

Russia by Carleton Gregory

Author:Carleton, Gregory [Carleton, Gregory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 2017-04-23T16:00:00+00:00


Brest follows this Western tradition, but it does so while also operating as a model of Russia itself, which is why I highlight it here instead of more famous and strategically significant battles from World War II. An isolated fortress under siege by a foreign invader, able to rely only on itself, never surrendering and thus unconquerable even in death—that is why the story of Brest ranks so high in the must-tell, must-remember category now and for generations to come.

The March to Golgotha

Yet even from the lofty perch of Brest, one cannot escape the harsh reality of the physical sacrifice on which Russia’s myth of exceptionalism is built: the colossal body counts that mark so many of its battles and, almost as a matter of course, so many of its wars. If the ritualized memory of episodes like Brest seeks to cushion these losses by investing them with purpose and distinction, each enactment can push one closer, consciously or not, to consider another exceptionalism, albeit of a grisly kind. If the potential for death by enemy hands is the common denominator that all war stories share, then two modifications are needed to properly russify it. Expectation should replace potential, and enemy causation should be deemed optional. The result is a default story of the Russian soldier where he must die.



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