The Russian Spirit and Kashchei the Deathless

 

Alik Bakshi

 

The Russian Spirit and Kashchei the Deathless

 

The terrible but expected disaster (1) facing the people of Ukraine is not without reason, and Russia and the Russian people are to blame. For information, I will first cite two of my articles:

 

A Fairy Tale Will Come True

 

 

There, King Kashchei pines over his gold;

There, the Russian spirit... there, the scent of Russia!

 

                                                                                                  A.S. Pushkin

 

 

In Russia, they have long sought to make fairy tales come true, and somehow it never worked out. But it seems this will finally happen soon: on July 1, 2020, the Russian people will unanimously confirm President Putin as Kashchei the Deathless in a nationwide vote on constitutional amendments. This is precisely the case when, in the words of Fazil Iskander, "people mistake a collective stench for unity of spirit." It's not hard to imagine how Russian propaganda will spread this scent throughout the world. In the meantime, the Russian spirit is concentrated in the bunker, ready to spread throughout the country on July 1st, filling everyone's hearts with reverent awe before the Reset One, whose image, now eternal, will emerge from the bunker like a genie from a bottle to lead the Russian people into eternity, scattering spiritual bonds across neighbouring countries.

 

June 8, 2020

 

A Nobel Prize for Tereshkova!

 

 

The pertinent and eternal question for Russia, "What is to be done?", was first voiced by Nikolai Chernyshevsky back in 1862. Since then, many minds, including Lenin, have sought to find a definitive or more or less reasonable answer, but all their attempts have been unsuccessful. This question was all-encompassing in Russia, touching on literally every aspect of any activity, and, most tragically, as reality shows, it ultimately remained without a correct answer. The question of "What is to be done?" has recently become especially pressing in relation to the president. Russia's finest minds, gathered in the State Duma, agonized over this difficult and extremely important issue for their well-being, and perhaps even their very lives, which they had to resolve quickly. Otherwise, they all risked losing their parliamentary mandates, with the well-known consequences.

Historically, it's not uncommon for someone to emerge at the height of tension capable of resolving a dangerous situation. Such a person was found among the deputies—the first woman cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova. She proposed a solution, brilliant in its naive simplicity, described by the well-known mathematical equation:

 

              P / 0 = 

   

 

Where P is the person, in this case, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

Naturally, given the fact that every individual, including the president, dies, P also includes their descendants. Incidentally, Putin may have divorced in order to have a son and heir with his new wife, because in a country like Russia, daughters do not possess the authority befitting a monarch. Tereshkova, taking the podium, modestly, head down, calmly and firmly proposed "resetting" the presidential term. A moment later, the Duma erupted in thunderous applause. Thus, Tereshkova is not only the first woman in cosmonaut, but also the first woman who, like Chernyshevsky's heroine Vera Pavlovna, asked the question "What is to be done?" and found a solution—a solution worthy of a Nobel Prize.

13.03.20

 

From now on, by resetting his term limit every time before elections, Putin has essentially gained eternity—in other words, become immortal, like Koshchei the Deathless. The fact that this Russian folk tale has become reality is undoubtedly a credit to the Russian people. It's worth noting one characteristic of the Russian people: their reverent respect for villains who inspire fear. So, in the center of the capital, they erected a mausoleum, inside which they laid a corpse, the embodiment of a beautiful, but later sinister, tale of some alien would-be philosopher. A round‑the‑clock guard was posted at the mausoleum so that no one would disturb the dead man, following the time‑tested proverb: “Let sleeping dogs lie.” Most importantly, the mausoleum was deliberately located outside the Kremlin walls, so to speak, to serve as a popular intimidation. However, today, the mausoleum's contents evoke only smirks in the younger generation, for they neither remember nor know the evil that belonged to the corpse. In short, Putin's appearance in the country as Koshchei the Deathless is no accident, but, as already stated, was demanded by the people. (1) Oddly enough, the acquisition of a new fear in the form of Koshchei the Deathless left its mark. Many, unable to bear it, fled abroad. But then again, oddly enough, far beyond their homeland, they continue to admire the people's chosen one. Yes, the people's mentality is a great power! (2)

 

It only took two years after the famous "zeroing" of the presidential term for the Russian spirit to become so entrenched under Koshchei's watchful eye that it spilled beyond the borders of Koshchei's kingdom into the neighbouring state of Ukraine, killing Ukrainians who, after 30 years of freedom, had lost their immunity to the Russian spirit.

 

Now the Ukrainian people have no choice but to take advantage of the same fairy tale, which states that Koshchei's death is at the end of a needle, and to bring down the Ostankino Tower. Without it, the unity of Koshchei the Immortal and the Russian people will be lost, as, in the absence of fear, they will turn into a flock without a shepherd. Consequently, Koshchei's kingdom will fade into history along with him.

 

Let me digress a bit, because the Russian spirit has reached me too. I receive the following in the mail:

"We hereby notify you that, in violation of Article 15.3 of Federal Law No. 149-FZ of July 27, 2006, on Information, Information Technology, and Information Protection, illegal information has been posted on the information resource specified in the table." This is followed by an instruction to remove the information and report it to Roskomnadzor. It's unclear why I'm obligated to comply with the demands of some Roskomnadzor when posting on Facebook, which wasn't created in Russia. To use Putin's oft-used phrase, "that's complete nonsense." I'm not a Russian citizen and don't obey Russian law, especially since it itself violates generally accepted international democratic laws. Incidentally, Putin himself is a criminal and has long awaited a stint in the Hague Tribunal.

 

1. Whose Crimea is it? https://alikbahshi.livejournal.com/4030.html

2. Russia and Putin are identical twins. https://alikbahshi.livejournal.com/115185.html

3. The People's Destiny, or Every Cricket in Its Own Place. https://alikbahshi.livejournal.com/28564.html

 

03.09.2025