Chapter 307: To destroy a country, first destroy its history
"Huh?" Xiao Peng asked in confusion after hearing Kashin's words, "Is there a war in Belarus, or is there a dispute with someone?"
In Xiao Peng's opinion, there were two things that led to the disintegration of the former Soviet Union. One was the space military race with the United States, and the other was the failure of the expedition to the "graveyard of empires".
Kashin shook his head and said, "If we really want to trace the collapse of the Soviet Union, we have to start with Khrushchev's anti-Stalinist movement. Now Russia is reflecting on its history and revising its textbooks to rehabilitate Stalin. A nation without heroes is a pathetic nation, and a nation with heroes but doesn't know how to love and support them is even more tragic!"
Xiao Peng was a little confused: "Fuck, this is what our Chinese Yu Dafu said."
Kashin said, "No matter who said it, it's absolutely correct. Russia is constantly reflecting on its history. Some say the Soviet Union collapsed because of its defeat in the war, others say it neglected ethnic relations... These claims all have some truth to them, but the most fundamental reason is the collapse of cultural ideology."
"Cultural ideology collapse?" Xiao Peng didn't understand what this term meant.
Kashin explained, "At the time, US Secretary of State Dulles was carrying out a 'peaceful evolution' campaign against the former Soviet Union. After Khrushchev came to power, he began to oppose Stalin in order to establish his position. This led to people questioning the state system. The US seized the opportunity to manipulate the situation, establishing over 60 radio stations around the Soviet Union that broadcast 24/7 propaganda about so-called Western democracy. This made every Soviet citizen want that kind of life, and public opinion was completely swayed by the West. Later, during the Gorbachev era, he appointed Yakovlev, who had been recruited by the CIA, as Minister of Propaganda. He further criticized Stalin and allowed private media to operate. How could the Soviet Union have private media with its poor economic situation? It was all Western funding! Every media outlet was promoting Western democracy, and the people thought it was better. It was a miracle the former Soviet Union didn't collapse!"
Xiao Peng was silent for a moment, then smiled. "This kind of thing happens in our country, too. Many so-called 'public intellectuals' online are also doing this. We've faced the same problem in history. For a long time, some people slandered our leaders. It's like our ancestors said, 'To destroy a country, first destroy its history.' The chaos in all countries around the world today shares a common pattern: first, some people take to the streets to create public opinion to discredit the authorities; then, they use all kinds of propaganda to confuse the people and make them lose their judgment on the truth; then, they cause ethnic divisions and chaos."
After he finished speaking, he repeated Kasim's words to Tang Xinsen: "Look, this is what the Russians think."
As soon as Tang Xinsen heard that Kashin was Russian, he started talking to him in Russian. Xiao Peng then realized that although Belarusian was spoken, Russian was still the main language of communication. How could Tang Xinsen not be fluent in Russian after more than ten years in Belarus?
After they finished talking for a while, Tang Xinsen said, "I was just talking to your friend about something else and he kept thinking about 'color revolutions'. Although the Americans have a bad reputation these days, when they mess up other countries, everyone's first reaction is that they're the Americans... Hey, you can't blame them for this. They've done so many bad things, and everyone's first reaction is that they're the ones who did anything bad! But my wife and her friends think this has nothing to do with the Americans. Old Lu has offended too many people."
"Has he offended many people?" Xiao Peng asked in confusion, "Isn't he doing a good job?"
Tang Xinsen nodded and said, "The West wants to win over Belarus, but they don't like Lukashenko. Every time the economy is bad, Lukashenko calls for privatization reforms, but as soon as he gets a break, he stops the privatization process. This repetitive process has tormented small and medium-sized enterprises to death. How can the West not hate him? Russia wants to merge with Belarus, but Lukashenko disagrees, so they don't like him either. As for the Belarusian people, they are already fed up with him. He has been in power for 26 years! They are tired of seeing him! He did well in the beginning, but who doesn't want better? In recent years, the Belarusian economy has stagnated, and Lukashenko came up with a 'deadbeat tax', which means that if you are able to work but don't work a certain number of days a year, you have to pay a tax, which has caused widespread complaints."
"Why do I feel like this tax is good?" Xiao Peng said with a smile, "Everyone is hardworking and dedicated, just like us Chinese people."
Tang Xinsen laughed and said, "Dude, you don't know Belarus. People here enjoy life more than you think. Victory Square is just up ahead... Oh my gosh! Here we go again?"
After hearing Tang Xinsen's sigh, Xiao Peng glanced out the car window and sucked in a breath of cold air.
They were now at Minsk's Victory Square: almost all capitals of former Soviet countries had a 'Victory Square'.
Minsk Victory Square is located in the center of Minsk. It is a very tall square column monument with various reliefs of people from the era underneath. The general content is "Workers and Peasants Unite to Make Revolution". On the top is a huge gold-plated medal with "CCCP" (the abbreviation of the former Soviet Union) written on it.
Traces of the former Soviet Union can be seen everywhere in Minsk.
Victory Square is now packed with people, mostly young people, shouting slogans and protesting. So many people are blocking the way that cars can't move forward.
There is an "eternal flame" in front of the Victory Square Monument, which is a "sacred fire" that burns 24 hours a day to commemorate the Belarusian soldiers who died in the war. Now this "sacred fire" has become the source of fire for burning Lao Lu's photos.
A group of military police were confronting the protesters there.
Tang Xinsen took a deep breath. "Oh my god, the White Russian police are really ruthless. Can we take a detour? But the fare will probably be two rubles more."
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "Of course."
Two rubles is one euro. It's over 40 kilometers from the airport to here. Xiao Peng looked at the meter and asked, "We only got over 30 euros for such a long distance?"
This price is really cheap! What a good price!
Tang Xinsen laughed and said, "Dude, this is Belarus, and this refers to the Belarusian ruble!"
Xiao Peng was dumbfounded. "Taxis are so cheap here! How much can you make in a month?"
"Two thousand five hundred rubles is no problem." Tang Xinsen said.
Xiao Peng did some mental calculations and figured it was about a thousand euros: "Is this all I can earn after working so hard for a month?"
Tang Xinsen explained, "Hey, this is my part-time job! Incomes in Belarus aren't high, but many people live well because of their part-time jobs. The thing about this place is that regular jobs are very easy. After all, most people work in state-owned enterprises, and that's a common problem in state-owned enterprises. So, many people treat their part-time jobs like their main jobs, and their main jobs like their part-time jobs."
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