An American tourist in Russia
(Part 5 of 6) “Quit goofing around up there, you little hellion! You want to break your idiot neck?” “Yes. I mean, no. I . . . ” “Yeah, I know what you mean, but knock it off!” Elmer is barking at the boys through a malodorous cloud. The boys—Larry, Curly, and Moe (Elmer keeps … Read more
In the 2018 English edition of her book The Unwomanly Face of War, Svetlana Alexievich expressed a commonly held fear in the former Soviet Union, and it absolutely came true. The Nazis would go down in history as brave heroes fighting for a lost cause, and the Soviets would be condemned as grotesque villains.
If you had to compare war to a sport, which one would you choose? Football? Soccer? Tennis? No. Imagine a game of dodgeball, except with ten balls for every player, no breaks whatsoever, and both sides are toddlers. That’s war. If you make it five seconds into the game without your team disintegrating into chaos, be grateful. You got farther than most.
