The Law of Blood by Johann Chapoutot

Author:Johann Chapoutot
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Harvard University Press

The justification for these orders was clear. In addition to the extreme danger and the radical and total nature of combat, it was necessary to understand a bit of the history and psychology of a people, and to function at the same level as the Eastern populations. They were already so accustomed to such violence that it was absurd to try to respect the usages of the West, which would not be comprehensible to them. Knowing how to handle a firearm was necessary to communicate with the Russians, just as Russian lords had once cracked the whip to exact obedience from this servile population. They had never been accustomed to any kind of consideration. Taking into account the extremely recent abolition of serfdom—in name alone, since Bolshevism had in fact perpetuated it—it was easy to see that the hides of the Russian people had been tanned so often that the only option was to strike again, and harder: “The Russian has for all time been used to energetic, brutal, and implacable treatment by authority.”45 Accustomed to bowing to blows, the muzhik of the steppe would merely look away slyly if not confronted with pitiless violence: “Any indulgence or softness is a weakness and represents a danger,” because it encouraged Russians to stand tall and did not teach them to respect and fear their new masters.46

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