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Nearly everybody in the ushas met – or is aware of of – a minimum of one so-called “Russian-American.” Because the fall of the Soviet Union, scores of those hyphenated residents have appeared in each huge cities and small cities. What’s rather a lot much less recognized is the phenomenon of the “American-Russian.”
This time period refers to a U.S. citizen who has willingly left his or her nation to reside long-term in Russia. That time period applies to the hybrid creature writing this text.
Due to circumstances known as “life,” I selected to reside and work in Moscow for 25 years and simply not too long ago returned house to my nation of origin. I’m consultant of a brand new breed for certain; one that can develop in quantity as time goes on.
Disillusioned with their lives in America or just interested by life in Russia, this new breed may play a helpful function in bridging the hole between Russia and America throughout these extremely contentious and harmful occasions, if the events concerned determine to make the most of the insights obtained by these hybrid creatures. That is a giant “if” after all.
Completely socialized in America after which re-socialized in Russia, this hybrid citizen has assimilated opposing values that do sometimes overlap and intersect, however which however come from totally different states of consciousness. Dwelling long-term in Russia has given us the flexibility to perceive how and why People and Russians see issues in another way. We’re capable of entertain two opposing ideas on the identical time with out going insane… I feel.
To quote a hybrid “Canadian-American” we “have a look at life from either side now.” It’s each a reward and a punishment — a beautiful blessing and a horrible curse.
It’s a reward and blessing as a result of our understanding of human conduct has been enhanced by perceiving actuality in stereo. In our consciousness, you would possibly say “the twain have met.”
It’s each a punishment and a curse as a result of we all know Russians and People won’t ever see eye-to-eye. To borrow terminology from the famend anthropologist Ruth Benedict, Russians are “Dionysian” for probably the most half and People are primarily “Apollonian.”
We all know that the American spirit and Russian soul won’t ever co-exist simply as a result of we ourselves reside a bi-cultural schizoid life full of inner-contradictions and epistemological pressure.
I’m certain Russian-People share this situation as nicely.
Maybe this dialectic of consciousness will produce a synthesis that heralds the next state of consciousness. Time will inform. However we could also be operating out of that valuable commodity as each the Russian and American governments interact in a geopolitical cat-and-mouse sport that threatens the survival of each the cat and the mouse.
This put up first appeared on Russia Insider
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