Of all the Western sanctions imposed on Russia for its war on Ukraine, none has bothered Kremlin mouthpieces more than fewer opportunities to travel abroad. They loudly proclaim they are not interested, but even carefully scripted exchanges on state television and in print betray the Achilles heel of Vladimir Putin’s regime. Putin’s propagandists claim to hate the decadent West, but prefer to live, study, shop, retire and send their offspring there. In an interview published this Friday, popular Russian director Yegor Konchalovsky told the pro-Kremlin tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda how much the growing division bothers him: “I am disappointed. The West has deceived us. After the collapse of the USSR, it seemed to us that we were going to become part of Europe, a great free world from Lisbon to Vladivostok, where we would use credit cards in expensive shops in Paris.” Deftly avoiding any kind of acknowledgment that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused the rift, Konchalovsky snapped: “It seemed like a wonderful world was about to open up. But it opened just for a second, when it was convenient for Britain and the United States… Suddenly-poof! And we no longer hear: are you a good Russian or a bad Russian? No. Now all Russians are bad!” He added: “The West disappeared surprisingly quickly. Now we are alone. Looking inwards. And, in my opinion, that’s a very good thing.” The interviewer, journalist Vladimir Vorsobin, asked frankly: “So what’s so good about it? Most of my acquaintances still dream of teaching children in Europe. Every peasant in Russia dreams of a green lawn, a house and a pub. What will you replace this American dream with? Back to the Soviet Union?’ Putin’s cronies threaten ‘hundreds’ of American coffins on live TV Konchalovsky had no good answers: “In today’s world, it would be very difficult, even ‘claustophobic’, to return to the USSR. Let us not be sad that we cannot yet answer the question of where we are going.” To sweeten the pot, the director said that Russia is not completely isolated and may look to China or India instead of the West. He added: “I am convinced that a new community of countries will emerge, in which Russia will play the most important role, if not the main one.” The story continues Admitting that not everyone in his family supports Russia’s war against Ukraine, which is still being called a “special military operation” by the Putin regime, Konchalovsky claimed: “This is a clash of cultures, in which Russia stands on the side of light. The West began the path of Satanism. And now we’re fighting against values that are just the opposite of what we stand for, against absolute evil.” Konchalovsky failed to reconcile the claim that the West represents ultimate evil with his grief at not being able to travel freely or live in this supposedly dark place. Similar contradictions pervade state television, where host Vladimir Solovyov can’t stop bringing up his seized Italian villas and admits he’s waiting “until better times” to renew his expired US visa. RT head Margarita Simonyan has repeatedly acknowledged that she stopped traveling to the United States only out of fear of being arrested for failing to appear according to official announcements regarding federal investigations into election interference. The same talking heads are trying to convince ordinary Russians that they are better off at home. During her appearance on Tuesday on the state television show The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, Simonyan argued that the West has lost its appeal. Recounting her family’s trips during the Soviet years to visit relatives in the Netherlands, Simonyan recounted their surprise when they discovered that the relatives’ kennel was bigger than the Simonyans’ entire shack in the Krasnodar region. Omitting the fact that many in rural Russia still live in poverty and without running water, Simonyan argued that Western luxury no longer inspired the same kind of longing or envy as it did in the 1990s. He accused New York of being filthy and dirty. , criticized London for not being able to operate in certain weather conditions and described Moscow as “the best city in the Western world”. Simonyan exclaimed, “We’ve tried everything. We’ve seen it all. They didn’t even realize that we were overwhelmed when we realized that it is better here!”. In stark contrast to Simonyan’s enthusiastic game, other participants in the studio looked sullen and remained expressionless. Konchalovsky’s interview provided a revealing insight into what may have been going through the minds of dark propagandists and their audiences, whose lives and future opportunities were forever changed by Putin’s imperial ambitions. The director lamented the loss of his “American dream”: “I’m talking about tragedy! We have been living for the American dream for many years. Well, who doesn’t want a house? A jeep? A pool? A university, a good job, to travel to the Maldives?’ Vorsobin shouted, “I’m sure everyone still wants it.” Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast’s biggest scandals and scandals straight to your inbox. Register now. Stay informed and get unlimited access to the Daily Beast’s unparalleled reporting. Register now.
