YAKOV KROTOV

West and East: Russian fundamentalist view

Valentine Nepomnyaschiy, b. 1934, specialist in Pushkin's poetry, part of Soviet intellectual establishment, now anti-Westerner. He expresses the Russian Orthodox fundamentalist view, criticize America as the kingdom of consumption with the will to the world rule, "American pragmatism," "lack of spirituality, and very aggressive one." He briefly express his ideas from the book "Pushkin: Russian worldview" (Moscow, 1999):

"East and West oppose each other ... [t]wo wolfs ... one in turban with the inscription: "Everything is prohibited." Another one in sheeps clothing with inscription: "Everything which is not forbidden is permitted." ... Western Christianity (Roman Catholicism, Protestantism) is Christianity of Nativity, Eastern Christianity (mostly Russia) is Christianity of Easter. ... Western human ... is building on his interest ... Russian on his ideal. "Nativity Christianity" thinks Jesus was born for me to live better. "Christianity of Easter" thinks Jesus died (and was born for this also!) for me to be better. ... West is interested in the quality of life, ... Russia on the sense of life ... Russian senselessness and drunkenness are the result of the presence of ideal, and unattainable ideal, in the Russian soul."

It is easy to point out that this conception is only usual, typically Western humanistic criticism of the West (Erik Fromm et al.), only rebaptized into Russian Orthodoxy.