Travel Tips

Recently I've met a very interesting quote in internet. It was from an article of well known Russian film critic - Gorelov. I consider it to be very exact and useful. (Sorry, if my translation into English will be inadequate).

---

“Running to the West every east-european film producer carries sacred truth about communist tyranny. But as far as he reaches West he sees in horror that his truth is unwanted. West do not understand and do not want to understand what is «ochered'» (queue) and what is «kolbasa» (sausage). It is impossible to explain to the West what is "character (reference) for Bulgaria", what is rush hours in metro, what is toilet of platzkart wagon, what is "elation of preying for tin compote «Hungarplod»", who is "barin-oficiant" (lord-waiter), what is bald tires, port wine "Sakhra", «smennaya obuv'» (second pair of shoes), "black saturday", phrases: "do not engage turn after me" and "do not give more than two into one hands". West rightly sees in all these not sufferings, but only small everyday disorders, that Russians, Poles and Hungarians invented themselves because they do not believe in God and do not like to work, but love to await gifts from nature in the person of "all-the-people" state.

In contrast to that, under the words "totalitarian tyranny" West sees the Tiananmen Square (in a size of 1/4th of the mainland), tanks moving through snowstorm towards big lines of dissidents with candlesticks, crowds of starving men in the streets, killing each other for a piece of bread, searches and arrests, cold houses and a lot, a lot of red shoulder straps in the streets. Having understood this, east-european film producer lies on the sofa and turn his face to the wall in prostration. Last time he saw starvation in Kuibyshev (now Samara) during evacuation in 1942, but that time it was war and the whole Europe was not too wealthy. Tanks in the streets he saw only once during rehearsal of November parade and joyfully waved to them together with others. He never saw dissidents with candlesticks, but heard from people that there are 12 of them (getting out of torture chambers they divested this lie and proved that there were 26 of them). The only KGB officer he knew did not beat his fingers with the volume of the BSE (Big Soviet Encyclopedia), did not tear off his nails and did not force him to run naked in the frost. In dull but polite way he just asked him who thinks what in his department, with idea not to tear off their nails, but to deprive them their holidays’ bonus (set of “delicacy” with caviar and vitamins).

It is appeared that all his sufferings are bluff, zilch, drudgery of a bug, which did not get its second fancy cake. It is appeared that in comparison with Chili, Cambodia, Angola or SAR, he ran through fat, free and jolly life. It appeared that he was in need of not something necessary, but tasteful and beautiful. It appeared that his grief of "deficit of women boots" could not be sold. Just take your boots and go away.”