The Antonym of Collective Guilt is not Collective Innocence
As the Russian military, after failing to swiftly occupy Ukraine, turns to its now traditional tactics of attacking the population in the occupied territories, a wave of anger towards Russians is following the wave of solidarity with Ukrainians. In a well-intentioned attempt to shield the Russians from discrimination, the West falls into a dangerous trap of substituting collective guilt with collective innocence — both are a blessing for the propaganda machine built by the Kremlin over the years.
By Vlad Los
A few weeks before the first Russian rockets began striking Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, I was talking to a friend of mine about the troop build-up on Ukraine’s borders and the fears of a full-scale invasion. Knowing my individualistic worldview, he asked me why I still had Russian friends after 8 years of war and wasn’t blaming them for the sorrow brought upon my country in a long history of not so “brotherly” relations. This question made me think about the link and the difference between individual and collective responsibility and challenged the very foundations of my beliefs.
As I am writing today, Ukraine has been under attack by Russia for more than a month. More than 3 million people had to flee the country and thousands of casualties have been reported, both soldiers and civilians.
As I am writing today, Ukraine has been under attack by Russia for over a month. More than 3 million people had to flee the country and thousands of casualties have been reported, both soldiers and civilians. And I still value the importance of differentiating between individuals: One should be judged for his crimes only and no one should be judged for the crimes of others. Yet, now there is a new dimension to that. For sure, there are Russians who are being unjustly discriminated against. But it’s not as easy as that.
War, unlike politics, rarely allows for a nuanced view of things, especially if there is a clear aggressor. When civilians are killed and wounded, the feeling of hatred towards the attackers causes people to stop discriminating between the soldiers and people, the guilt for the death and sorrow lies on the shoulders of all the aggressor nation’s people, supporting or not. In Russia’s war against Ukraine, it isn’t any different: the deliberate rocket- and airstrikes on civilian buildings and infrastructure by the Russian army (which hasn’t changed its tactics much since the wars in Chechnya and Syria) direct the justified hatred toward Russia and, therefore its citizens.
War, unlike politics, rarely allows for a nuanced view of things, especially if there is a clear aggressor.
This leaves the Russian opposition and its supporters, who for years have been fighting for the rights of political prisoners and joining protests only to become prisoners themselves, in a hard position. Smart young men and women, whose shame for their nation’s doing wasn’t limited to a post on social media on the day of the bombardment of Kyiv followed by a paid promotion. On that day, they were among the first ones who texted me “How can I help?”; it was not an empty “I am so sorry”.
But here is the bitter reality…the Russian opposition is small.
But here is the bitter reality, that for the majority of peace-loving and tolerant West Europeans is sometimes not only incomprehensible but also unacceptable: the Russian opposition is small. It doesn’t have popular support, even outside of Russia. According to polls conducted by liberal Russian sources (which serves rather as the bottom limit), 59% support the war against Ukraine. On March 18, 2022, a concert in support of the annexation of Ukrainian Crimea has taken place in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, filled with pro-war signs and about a hundred thousand people proudly waving Russian flags and shouting pro-war phrases. Ironically, the day before, German chancellor Olaf Scholz posted a disputed tweet arguing that Putin is the only one to blame for the war.
According to the Federal Government of Germany, some 3 million people living in Germany are Russian native speakers — the biggest language minority in the country. A very silent minority, which is not often mentioned in the media or addressed in legislation. As a result, German politicians and the public aren’t familiar with the political positions of this Russian-speaking population. Those who have an insight into their everyday lives know that the number of people who follow propagandistic news and support — or at the very least understand — Putin and his imperialistic ambitions is anything but marginal. There is a sense of nostalgia for the Soviet times while living in the liberal West. These are people who are now protesting against sanctions, bullying Ukrainians on social media, and vandalizing cars with Ukrainian license plates.
In Russia’s war against Ukraine, the conflict is quite simple to understand, at least in terms of its players: a long-time autocracy has attacked an independent democratic state. As the first pictures of civilian casualties began to appear across the media, the Ukrainians fleeing from war and those fighting for freedom in the country, received a huge wave of global support.
As the first pictures of civilian casualties began to appear across the media, the Ukrainians fleeing from war and those fighting for freedom in the country, received a huge wave of support from the people all over the world.
Nonetheless, as updates become recurring, the interest of the public might begin to decrease. Parallelly, anti-Ukrainian, pro-Russian, and anti-sanctions rhetoric will gain support. While the anti-refugee demonstration in Dresden at the beginning of March attracted few participants, the motorcade to a Soviet monument in Bonn was joined by some 500 people with a clear pro-Russian message and, among others, flags of the unrecognized “republics” on occupied Ukrainian territories (after this article was written, an even bigger convoy of, according to Berlin police, several thousand cars drove through the streets of Berlin on April the 3rd). This is a dangerous development for both Ukrainians who are seeking refuge in liberal democratic countries and European security policy.
Europe’s recent leaning toward a more collectivistic worldview plays a very bad joke on the balance and security of liberal societies. A notion of collective guilt (which, in my view, is a little different from collective responsibility) is a dangerous precedent for free and pro-Western Russians. The opposite — the “it is only Putin” message of innocence of all Russians — is, however, a perfect example of what the German and, frankly, most European politicians are the best at: looking away from a difficult issue. This leaves the West European democracies fighting, at least on paper, for the survival of the global liberal order, with the “Russian world” (“русский мир” — a popular aggregate term used for the set of imperialistic and chauvinistic values characteristic of Russian doctrine and people who support those values and means of upholding them) rooted deep in their backyard.
Unlike many of the members, whose background is in political science, Vlad is a first-year Master’s student in Physics, showing how the BridgeEurope debate naturally extends beyond the realm of politics students.
BridgeEurope Blog serves as a platform for reflection and discussion on current topics. The opinions expressed in the blog represent the view of the authors solely and not the view of BridgeEurope.
Originally published at https://www.bridgeeurope.org on April 6, 2022.
