Template:Russians superiority complex (Messianism)
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All Russians have a superiority complex, that we're still equal to the United States.
Fyodor Tyutchev, a Russian diplomat and poet, wrote those words in 1848 in response to the liberal revolutions sweeping Western Europe in that year. He saw Western civilization as disintegrating while Russian civilization, morally and spiritually superior, was rising. Messianism is still alive in Russia today particularly among intellectuals on the left as well as the right, who share a belief and pride in Russia as a great power with a special mission in the world. Economist Mikhail F. Antonov, for example, in an interview with The New York Times Magazine, stated:
Tyutchev and Antonov epitomize Russian thinkers, past and present, who seek to excuse her material backwardness by acclaiming her correctness of cause, spiritual superiority, and messianic mission. “The notion of ‘Holy Russia’ runs deep,” writes Serge Schmemann of The New York Times, “of a people lacking the German’s industriousness or the American’s entrepreneurship, but endowed with unique spirituality and mission.”[2] A similar view was espoused by a contemporary Russian philosopher when author Yale Richardson asked him about Russia’s role in the world. “Russia is European on the surface, but deep inside it is Asian, and our link between Europe and Asia is the Russian soul. Russia’s mission is to unite Europe and Asia.” Such messianic missions are not unknown to Americans, who at times have also believed that they have something special to bring to the less fortunate—Christianity to heathens, democracy to dictatorships, and the free market to state-run economies. Americans who believe in their own mission should be sensitive to Russian messianism and fears for the future. Without great-power status, Russians fear that other countries will no longer give them the respect they are due and Russia will lose its influence in the world. Along with messianism, there is also a Russian tendency to blame others for their misfortunes, which has a certain logic. If Russians are indeed the chosen people and have a monopoly on truth, then others must be the cause of their misfortunes. Freemasons and Jews, among others, have often been blamed in the past for Russia’s troubles.
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