From Russia, with soul

Discusses that all psychology in Russia should be viewed with three factors in mind: the nature of the Russian soul, the current state of the Russian economy, and the incredible number of losses in Russian families due to Stalin's purges. Difficulty in understanding Russian soul; The cataclysmic shift; Healing exchange; Notes from Elena's presentation; New problems; Loss; More.

By Barbara Jo Brothers, published on January 01, 1993

Of course, Misha would know: Did the 40 million include the Russians who died in WWII defending Russia against Hitler's army. No. That is another 20 million! Misha says there is now an ongoing attempt to get accurate figures about Stalin's purges and the figure is growing every time they look. It seems the first thing Stalin did was to murder the entire Census Bureau, so that makes it even harder. But the Russians are intent on getting the whole truth now that they at last have access to all the KGB files. The 40 million doesn't even count the 1917 Revolution.

Misha cautions, "Now this includes also those who died in prisons in Siberia, or froze or starved along the way." I suppose he didn't want me to get carried away and think Stalin had personally shot them all. We are talking, I know for sure, about Elena's grandfather and about the grandfather of another of our group, who had been a minister in city government.

There is still a great deal of feeling around those issues. Many Russians spoke about it in the 1990 meeting. They told us they didn't talk about these things among themselves - the presence of outsiders was almost required for the tears to be released.

In Russia today, one notices that the women can't let go of their grown children, and often they live in the same flat with them. In Moscow, one of the Russian women in our group says she wants two more children because in five to seven years hers will be gone; she would like children somewhere in her house. She had spoken previously of being afraid to be alone in her flat while her husband was gone with the children for several days. She had spoken also of the energy that comes with a new baby.

My theory is that middle-aged women may be holding on to the children in the next generation as a way of dealing with the massive losses in the past one. It is a sort of antidote to the loss, mourning, and sadness of the last lost generation.

PHOTO: RUSSIANS BUILD A BRIDGE.

PHOTO: ELENA ON ECONOMICS.

PHOTO: A BIT OF FALLEN BARRACADE!