I collect here some major Russian story lines – as I am becoming aware of them – which are voiced by the people working for the Russian state controlled media – I am speaking about Simoyan, Solovyov, Mardan, Kisselov, Skabeeva and several others. Russian state TV constitues only one aspect of the propagation of these story lines, but it is sufficient as I do not aim to compilate an exhaustive list.
See an example of how a Russian person affected by these Russian story line voices his personal mix of views on current politics: “Under attack from evil, we will save the world.”
I want to chrystallize the main stories lines. These find their way into the consciousness of ordinary Russians people, becoming widely held “truths” that are not challenged and get baked into a sense of national identity.
To be clear for any reader of this – UNDERSTANDING such statements does not mean AGREEING with these statements.
We try to understand what deep human needs we may attempt to fulfill – such as to be able to accept ourselves as loving and kind beings, who are not harming others for example – when we chose to belief stories, that most onlookers would immediately see as not based on facts.
To see ourselves as somehow being part of the problem, to belong to the “bad guys”, to be a “perpetrator” – that is at best highly uncomfortable and only possible with a lot of inner strength and perhaps support from people who love us enough – no matter what our crimes are.
At the same time most of us are aware that a war is going on for more than a year at this time, in the midst of “civilized” Europe. Democratic and free Ukraine is suffering from rocket attacks in many parts of the country, including places far from the front lines. Each day many Ukrainian soldiers – men and women – die on the front lines, lose their arms or legs, get captured by Russia and put into prisons, without access from international humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross. There is no end in sight for this conflict and many are afraid of a widening conflict with NATO or a worldwide war, involving USA and China along with Russia and Europe.
Self-Compassion
We can look at our story lines – no matter on which side we are. Understanding ourselves deepens if we can separate our stories from the facts and allow ourselves to feel what is there to feel, to connect to our values in the heart and to let go of protection that ultimately harms ourselves and others.
Compassion
Equally important is our attempt to understand another human being, not in the words they say on the surface, but in the deeper meaning they carry. What are their observations and what would they really like?
This is the work of meeting story lines with awareness and compassion.