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Your Survival Guy: What’s Really Changed for Russians?

March 1, 2022 By E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

By Kosmogenez @ Shutterstock.com

“For the last twenty years, at Syracuse University, I’ve been teaching a class in nineteenth century Russian short story translation,” begins George Saunders in A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In which four Russians give a master class on writing, reading, and life. “My students are some of the best young writers in America. They arrive already wonderful. What we try to do over three years is help them achieve what I call ‘iconic space’—the place from which they will write the stories only they could write, using what makes them uniquely themselves—their strengths, weaknesses, obsessions, peculiarities, the whole deal.”

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And so, class begins. You better sit up straight. And, by the way, do you refer to him as professor or Mr. Saunders? That seems too formal for the handful of us seated at the round table. Do you raise your hand and ask what he prefers to be called? “Can I call you George?” you want to ask. Because George makes you feel like it’s just the two of you on this journey and, remember, it’s a book. He’s doing all the talking. Formalities are irrelevant.

The stories—from the likes of Chekhov, Turgenev, Gogol, and Tolstoy—are like Your Survival Guy choosing a favorite stack of survival cash. I like twenty $100 bills as much as I like four $100s. To me, in reading them, it’s the experience of time travel that matters. What was it like to read these stories at that time? This was “resistance literature in a repressive culture, in a time when a writer’s politics, could lead to exile, imprisonment, and execution,” writes Saunders. “The resistance in the stories is quiet, at a slant, and comes from the most radical idea of all: that every human being is worthy of attention and that the origins of every good and evil capability of the universe may be found by observing a single, even very humble, person and the turnings of his or her mind.” And we’ll leave it at that for the moment.

Turning your attention to Russia today. How much has really changed since the individual spirit has been crushed? In The Gulag Archipelago, Vol. 1, which was passed around from house to house for Russians to read in 24-hours and pass along, the truth of the torture and destruction of the individual is written by Aleksander Solzhenitsyn for all to see. Imagine, he laments, if all of this could be captured by the once-in-a-lifetime talent of a Tolstoy, for example. But they’re gone along with the spirit of the individual.

Is Putin a man of the people? Please. Where is the champion for the individual? Not on his super-yacht motoring to the Maldives. Not the Olympic skating coach berating a 15-year-old. Not in the U.S. Capitol surrounded by fencing in preparation for tonight’s State of the Union address. This is America? It’s hard not to think that this administration wants the chaos, wants the stock market dislocation and $150 oil to keep their power over you. Where is the champion for small businesses and the power of the individual? Stay tuned.

Action Line:  Stick with me. Class has only begun. We’re in this together. Sign up here for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter. But only if you’re serious.

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy. 

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy
E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998.

E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention.

E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris.

Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com

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