“I didn’t want to live in a simulacrum of American life in the ruins of the Soviet Union”
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This ep is inspired by Evgenia’s recent essay on her youth and Russia’s deeply colonized culture. But we get into all sorts of related topics — like what else is out there and what’s worth living for, other than this cursed consumerism and materialism that has surrounded us our whole lives.
—Yasha Levine
PS: The photo is from Gorbachev’s embarrassing 1997’s Pizza Hut commerical.
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This essay reminds me of my family. When they came they formed identities of obsessive patriotism. Possibly over compensation to assimilate. They all americanized their names. Oddly not our last. It passes, enough. My dad was very embarrassed of our origin. Whenever Grandma and Grandpa would speak to him he only answered in English.
I think it was from the Cold war propaganda at the time. The accent was strange to the midwesterners.
That was great fun -- both of you; I love Evgenia's "Slavic" laughter.
Same in the entire East Europe also.
And when you visit home they are often astonished if you are not millionaire with yacht and multiple houses -- hence "a loser" ;-))