From New Year’s Eve until well into Easter, all Russian schools, primary and secondary, listened, taught and sang at the top of their lungs the new anthem of Russia, the folk-rock song Ja russkij, “I am Russian”, of the young singer Shaman (the “shaman”, pseudonym of Jaroslav Dronov). The ballad was also performed on the occasion of President Putin’s greeting to the nation for the new year, “the year of Victory”, with the refrain “I am Russian and I am going to the end!”.
The 30-year-old singer is a pop star with blonde hair in braids and a rocker jacket. He gives deafening concerts to stadiums packed with maddening crowds of young and very young fans who hold him up as he launches himself from the stage, by the most hackneyed standards of showbiz liturgies. He also represents the extreme and futuristic face of Russian identity, which distances itself from the West, although he copies it in every detail, but in the “I am Russian” version.
The country’s official anthem -which was also arranged by the singer in a rock version- continues to be that of solemn music -the same as the Soviet one although the text has been corrected- which glorifies “Russia, our sacred homeland / A powerful will, a great glory / Glory to our free homeland!” In the YouTube video for the song that has now become Moscow’s national anthem, Shaman shows the land “that we guard” alternating the cheering crowds with hugs to the fields covered with ears of wheat. The lyrics of the song explain that “I am Russian / And I breathe this air / The free wind blows over me / Which is just like me”. And the chorus repeats with a throbbing rhythm “I am Russian / I go all the way / I am Russian / I have the same blood as my father / I am Russian and I am lucky / I am Russian before the whole world / I am Russian!”
In the last part of the video clip, after the hug with the delirious fans, a scene like “meanwhile, in a distant country…” is shown, in which an African-American couple (man and woman) travel by car under a sign that says “Hollywood” as they sing at the top of their lungs Ja russkij along with the radio. And at the end, it ends with a “at the same time as, high in the sky…” where an alien spaceship can be seen capturing the Shaman’s song from the earth and all the aliens dance enthusiastically to the song of the Russians.The propaganda of the Russian world encompasses all geographical and spiritual dimensions, with a cheap little music that nevertheless expresses its supreme ideal.
A curious comparison brings to mind the similar enthusiasm the Russians felt when Toto Cutugno’s “L’Italiano” was released in 1983, and still today every Russian sings “Sono un italiano vero” by heart, which for them is basically what same as shouting “I am Russian”. Actually, for Russians, identity does not depend too much on genetics, because in their mentality the concept of “master race” does not exist. And it does not depend on geography either, except for the enormous extensions that make them feel like “citizens without borders”. Indeed, in this there may be some analogy with the self-consciousness of the Italians, who live in a strip surrounded by seas whose limits they cannot see, while preserving in the recesses of their psyches the memory of an ancient universal empire. Russo-Italian also evokes cultural consonances, from Dante and Leonardo da Vinci to Pushkin and so many writers, artists, musicians, and even politicians who have tried to imitate the Italian glories of the Renaissance. Or perhaps the earthly glories of the leaders that Putin himself modeled at the beginning of his career.
In reality, the proclamation of one’s own “Russian identity” provokes quite uncertain and disconcerting reactions, beyond the propaganda exaltation. Russian comedian Aleksandr Gudkov parodied Shaman’s song, singing Ja usskij (I am “narrow”) instead of russkij, and caused such widespread hilarity that the FSB services began investigating him for “extremism” and Senator Elena Afanaseva filed an appeal with the public prosecutor’s office to also be charged with “Russophobia”. The comedian fled Russia, went into hiding for a while, and then returned home, but he is careful never to offend more sensitive than American patriotic sensibilities with his sexual jokes.
The grotesque aspect of the assertion of identity, on the other hand, does not even need ironic jokes, when those who shout “I am Russian!” They are characters like the Brazilian soccer player Claudinho, who doesn’t even know the language (but calculates the value of rubles well), or the American actor Steven Seagal, received with all honors in the Kremlin, who repeats everywhere “I’m Russian in one million percent.” The protagonist of so many violent films does not limit himself to claiming his Russian origins, quite dubious by the way, but rather affirms “having been educated in the atmosphere of Russian traditions and values”, as he said at the International Congress of Russophiles that was held in Moscow a few weeks ago. On the other hand, when the actor was invited to Kalmykia in 2007, he declared in front of a stunned audience “I am a Mongolian!”, And seeing the bewilderment on the faces, he corrected himself: “Probably, I am a Kalmyk.”
Russian identity, the samobytnost (self-essence) of the Slavophiles, is not a question of nationality, but rather of ideal, moral and political orientation, more akin to sports passion or youthful musical hysteria than to true ethnic or civil belonging. . And the Russian language itself confirms this imprecision: the word natsionalnost’, “nationality”, does not indicate citizenship, for which the term graždanstvo is used, but specifies the ethnic group of belonging, as indicated in Soviet passports: citizen Soviet, of Russian nationality (or Tatar, Chechen and many others). This is another reason why one cannot easily speak of “nationalism” to refer to the traditional Russian ideology, which tends rather to imperialism, and where there is also confusion: tsarstvo is the kingdom of the tsar, a “symbolic” term. (Caesar-Czar ), while imperija was imposed by Peter the Great in the 18th century to indicate a more western-format type of political structure, and so he wanted to be Roman-style imperator, as a modern version, rather than a old-fashioned tsar, Russian style. That is why even for the supreme leader of the day, the cry ja russkij provokes a certain identity crisis, especially if he has to be defined with decidedly imported terms, such as “party secretary” or “federal president”.
The title of “patriarch” fares a little better, and although that word is not native to Russia either, at least it can be attributed to more archaic times (better if they are those of Abraham before those of Constantinople). Even “orthodoxy” is of Greek stamp, and the Russians prefer to use sobornost, a Slavophile term of dubious definition that indicates a kind of “mystical union”, not so much around the dogmas of faith but rather because of submission to the Hierarchy “of all the Russias”, another term much loved by spiritual leaders, which introduces more reasons for confusion.
For ordinary people, therefore, being “Russian” can mean many things. First, obviously, being born in Russia, having Russian parents, growing up speaking the Russian language. To this must be added being in tune with Russian culture and sensibility, having an emotional relationship with Russian history, remembering the battle of Borodino against Napoleon and that of Stalingrad against Hitler. Not all “ethnic” Russians have all these characteristics, because among Russians there are some who prefer what is French, and others who prefer Western culture. In general, however, “doc” Russians live in Russia, but this is not absolute either; they may be children of Russians living elsewhere, brought up by a Russian family but who have never been to Russia. The diaspora goes from the United States to the Baltic or Central Asia, and citizenship in this case does not erase nationality, ethnic self-identification.
Another dimension is that of those who say “I’m Russian” like Steven Seagal, an ideological statement that means being “on the side of the Russians.” It is enough to prefer the Russians to the Americans to be included in the Russian world, beyond any anagraphic definition and the type of passport. In the early 2000s, T-shirts with the inscription Jarusskij were being sold all over the world, at the initiative of the ultranationalists of the “Russian Marches” movement, and it is enough to be a political supporter to be included among the “real Russians”. What’s more, you don’t even need political harmony, an attitude of sympathy and closeness is enough, because Russians are people with their hearts, and in the end it doesn’t matter so much how you think, as long as you love us and drink a good vodka with us.
The singer Shaman is a good example of a true Russian: for about ten years he tried by all means to make his way in show business, participating in all possible television talent shows, almost always performing covers of the most famous singers and proposing honeyed romantic love songs without much success. When the state propaganda began to search for a “true patriotic singer”, seeing that all the big stars had stepped aside, Jaroslav seized the moment and loudly proposed a series of musical themes in support of the special military operation and the greatness of the Russian army. And at last he achieved his goal, becoming the “authentic Russian voice.” Indeed, it is not enough for someone to consider himself Russian, other Russians must recognize him as such.
Today the Russians are increasingly confused among all the Russified “nationalities”, from Asia and the Caucasus, from the Finnish North or the Tatar Urals, from the Sino-Japanese Far East or from Siberia, which over the centuries has mixed all kinds of ethnicities and backgrounds. There is another ambiguity in the language, which distinguishes the Russkye, ethnic Russians, from the Rossijane, the “Russians”, those who have Russian passports but are really anything else. And in the end, the only one who doesn’t understand who he really is could end up being the man who screams at the whole world ja russkij, but he doesn’t know who his brothers are.
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