Am I Willing to Stand Up for My Beliefs?

At some point in a person’s life they will have to ask themselves, “What do I believe?” and “Am I willing to stand up for my beliefs?” To believe something privately is one thing, but it is another thing to take a public stand regarding one’s belief, especially if there is a large element of risk involved once those beliefs are made known.

In 1905, Lev Tolstoy (1828-1910), author of such works as “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina” wrote an editorial piece entitled “Bethink Yourselves” regarding the Russo-Japanese War. This piece was banned in Russia on the grounds that it was declared ‘unpatriotic’ by the Czar’s government; however, it was published in ‘The London Times’. As a public figure, he felt the need to speak out. He wrote, “"Again war. Again sufferings, necessary to nobody, utterly uncalled for; again fraud, again the universal stupefaction and brutalization of men "Men who are separated from each other by thousands of miles, hundreds of thousands of such men (on the one hand—Buddhists, whose law forbids the killing not only of men but of animals ; on the other hand—Christians, professing the law" of brotherhood and love), like wild beasts on land and on sea are seeking out each other in order to kill, torture, and mutilate each other in the most cruel way. What can this be? Is it a dream or a reality? Something is taking place which should not, cannot be; one longs to believe that it is a dream and to awake from it. But no, it is not a dream, it is a dreadful reality!"“ 1

The Russo-Japanese War was part of the backdrop of the 2017 film, “Anna Karenina: Vronsky’s Story” directed by Russian director Karen Shakhnazarov (b. 1952). Alexei Vronsky, Anna Karenina’s lover, is reflecting upon his relationship with Anna thirty years after Anna’s death at the Saint Petersburg train station. Vronsky and Anna’s relationship was largely a war between them (which did not end well), Vronsky spent the rest of his life running from one war to another after Anna died, and the Russo-Japanese War certainly was not a rousing success for the Russian government since the 1905 Revolution followed as a result.

Karen Shakhnazarov is aware of all of this; however, he still chose to publicly support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 by signing a letter to that effect. He is not alone in his support of the war, in fact, 511 artists signed a letter in 2014 supporting Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the Donbas Region of Ukraine. However, the questions still remain, “Why do I really believe?” and “Can I genuinely stand up for my beliefs?”

In 2005, Russian director Vladimir Bortko (b. 1946) directed a ten part mini-series for Russia-1, the premier government owned television station, entitled “The Master and Margarita” based upon the classic novel of the same name by author Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940).

This novel is filled with satire regarding the Soviet government of the 1930s. In fact, the publication of the novel was banned in the Soviet Union until it was published in serial form in 1966. Mikhail Bulgakov, a writer and medical doctor, had serious health issues and petitioned Joseph Stalin’s government for permission to move to Paris, France with the rest of his family in order to receive the medical attention he needed. This request was denied and Bulgakov ended up dying in Moscow at the age of 48.

The mini-series “The Master and Margarita” remained very faithful to Bulgakov’s novel since it was done over ten episodes and could go into much more depth than a 90 minute or so film in the movie theater.

Another extremely satiric piece about the Soviet Union by Mikhail Bulgakov was made into a television movie by Vladimir Bortko in 1988. The novella and film are entitled “Heart of a Dog”, the story of a stray dog who is transformed into a man by a surgeon simply to see if it is possible to transform a dog by implanting human testes and a pituitary gland into a dog. The dog, who is given the name Poligraf Poligrafovich Sharikov, after becoming human, appears to be representative of the most base attitudes of Soviet society in the 1920s. This novella was written in 1925, but not officially released in the Soviet Union until 1987.

Vladimir Bortko knew what this novel and novella were about. He saw how they satirized the dictatorial Russian government of their day; however, he still chose to sign the letter in support of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea and the Donbas Region. From where is this disconnect coming? These are not the actions of the Master, but of Berlioz, the head of Massolit, who published only those pieces which the government found acceptable.

Speaking out against the government, especially one which encourages imprisoning opponents, is a risky undertaking. Actress Liya Akhedzhakova (b. 1938), who starred In such films as “Office Romance” and “The Irony of Fate” is an outspoken critic of contemporary Russian culture and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In April 2023. Russian- and English-language independent news website, Meduza, reported that Vitaly Borodin, head of the Federal Security and Anti-Corruption Project, is asking Russia’s Prosecutor General to launch a criminal case against Akhedzhakova. He claims, Akhedzhakova has criticized “the state organs’ and the president’s decisions and policies with regard to the war by Russia in Ukraine. Akhedzhakova denies the allegations. This is tantamount to being declared a ‘foreign agent’, as what done in the Soviet Union during the time of Joseph Stalin.

Silence does not automatically imply consent. There are many artists who never signed any letter in support of war and who never made their personal feelings known. However, to produce such works based upon “Anna Karenina” using war as backdrop or the writings of Mikhail Bulgakov and then stand in support of the actions of a dictatorial government seems extremely hypocritical. It seems as though the same level of fear present during the time of Joseph Stalin is still alive in Russia today. Who would imagine that a well known Russian citizen would be declared a “foreign agent” in 2022 for expressing his opinion regarding an act undertaken by his government?

End Note

1. “Tolstoy on the Russo-Japanese War”: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1827&context=ocj