---
title: "Civilization #53:  Dostoevsky and the Soul of Russia transcript"
description: "Source-synced transcript archive for Civilization #53: Dostoevsky and the Soul of Russia."
source_title: "Civilization #53:  Dostoevsky and the Soul of Russia"
published_at: "2025-05-20"
source_class: "episode"
public_url: "https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/"
markdown_url: "https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript.md"
text_url: "https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript.txt"
source_url: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0"
data_url: "https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0.json"
---

# Civilization #53:  Dostoevsky and the Soul of Russia transcript

- Source: [Civilization #53:  Dostoevsky and the Soul of Russia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0)
- Published: 2025-05-20, day precision
- Human transcript page: [/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/)
- Episode page: [/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/)
- Transcript Markdown: [/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript.md](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript.md)
- Transcript text: [/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript.txt)
- Episode JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0.json)

## Transcript

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Okay, it's good morning. Today we're doing the Russian Empire. And to review, we've done America and Britain so far, and we've discussed the civilization. Today we'll do Russia, and then on Thursday we'll start Germany. Let's simplify the differences between these three great modern civilizations that are struggling for world domination even today. So as we discussed last week, the defining characteristics of the Anglo -American civilization is their belief in utilitarianism. They want to know what is practical, what works. Their idea of Christianity is the supreme God is a force that elects. And what this means is that not everyone will go to heaven. Only a minority will go to heaven. And this minority are those who are proving themselves the most worthy. Okay, the last idea of the Anglo -American civilization is that the meaning of life is the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. Essentially the pursuit of wealth. Okay, so these are the characteristics of the Anglo -American civilization.

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On Thursday, we'll start the German civilization. And what you will see is that the Germans are very different. They are not utilitarians. They are very idealistic, very romantic. For them, God is a force that demands you to be your very best. Okay, not a few people, but everyone. And the Germans believe in the unity of will. Okay, everyone has to work together and promote German civilization. Today we'll do the Russians. Okay, and the Russians are a very different civilization. First of all, they're much more fatalistic than the Germans. And the Americans, they don't believe that you have control over your life. They believe that you can only accept what is given to you and make the most out of it. For them, God is a force that redeems and saves all. God is merciful. God is forgiving. Okay, this is a very different conception from both the German and the Anglo -American conception.

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The last concept that we will look at today is, for them, the essence of life is to understand the mystery, miracle, and authority of the human heart. Okay, so whereas the Americans and British place their emphasis on science, on mastering the world, the material world, and whereas the Germans are extremely idealistic. They want an understanding of existence. The Russians are focused very much on the human heart. Okay, for the Russians, the greatest mystery, the most knowledge is within the human heart. And this is what we will focus on today. Okay, so the leading question for today's class, the question that I'm sure you're all interested in is, why did Putin invade Ukraine? What is driving the Russian invasion of Ukraine? And there are lots of easy explanations. What I will show you today is, the answer is actually extremely complicated. What I will show you today is, the answer is actually extremely complicated.

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What Putin himself has said in multiple interviews is there are historical, sociological, philosophical issues at work here. And Westerners don't really understand what he's saying. So what I'm going to do today is I'm going to explain to you what he really means. Okay, so if you look at the year 1300, you could not expect Moscow to eventually become a Russian empire. At this point in history, the Mongols have controlled most of the world. And Moscow, along with other areas in the empire, there are vassal states. They pay taxes, they pay tribute, they provide troops to the Mongol Empire. But it's the Mongol Empire that is the great power at this stage. But if you look at history, okay, you'll see a very different kind of history. You'll see a very similar pattern where it's not really the greatest power that will eventually overwhelm everyone. It's always the marginal power. Okay, so going back to and reviewing what we've learned so far.

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Remember, when we discussed the Aztecs, the Aztecs were very much a poor, isolated, backward people. But eventually, through innovation, through tenacity, through resilience, they were able to move forward. They were able to conquer most of Central America. Same thing with the Qing Dynasty in China, right? At this stage in history, maybe 300, 400 BCE, you would not expect the Qing Empire, the Qing Dynasty, to overwhelm all of China and become China's first great national empire. Maybe the Chu, maybe the Wei, Qi, they're all stronger at this point in history. But it's the marginal power that seems weak at first. That will overwhelm. Same thing with Macedon, okay? At this point in history, in the year 400, 300 BCE, it's Athens, Sparta, Thebes that are the powers. But eventually, Macedon will not only overwhelm the Great Peninsula, but they will go over to Persia and conquer the Persian Empire as well.

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Same thing with Rome. Rome, at this point in history, maybe 500 BCE, it is the weakest of all these Italian states. The Etruscans are the main power, and they are the poorest, the weakest, the smallest of all these great tribes. But eventually, over the next centuries, they will conquer everyone. Same thing with the Franks. After the Roman Empire, the Franks will slowly expand from Central Europe and overwhelm most of Europe to create the Holy Roman Empire. Okay? And the same thing with the Prussians. Next class, we will discuss the Prussian Empire, which becomes modern -day Germany. They start off as this landlocked, isolated, central area within Europe, but eventually, they will spread out to conquer all of Germany, okay? So, the lessons we can learn from these case studies is there are three forces that drive these marginalized powers to become the great power of the day. Okay? So, for Moscow, it's a constant process of creative destruction.

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First of all, open, cooperative competition. So, they're always surrounded by these adversaries, and because they don't really lack, and because they don't have natural defenses, they don't have mountains, rivers, it forces them to be tough and unified in order to defeat their enemies. And it's toughness and unity that will allow Moscow to emerge as a great power in Central Asia. Advantage by disadvantage. Okay? You're better off being weak, because if you're weak, it forces you to be innovative and open. Okay? So, they say necessity is the mother of invention. The last factor is vassalage. Okay? So, the idea that historical humiliation and subjection force reflection and resilience. Because Moscow, for the longest time, was subjected to vassals by the Mongols, it forced them to be humble. And humility allows you to reflect deeply. On your own weaknesses. To be honest with yourself. And eventually triumph over all your adversaries. Okay?

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So, these are the three factors that will drive the massive expansion of Moscow. Okay? Moscow starts off as this very small principality within the Mongol Empire. And then it will eventually become the successor to the Mongol Empire. All right. So, let's look at the origins of Russia. So, the history is... We have to go back to the Viking Age. This is about the year 900, a thousand. Right? So, the Vikings are in Sweden and Denmark and Norway. And because it's so poor, and because it's becoming overly populated, they will start to expand over to England, to Greenland, to other areas. And then... Sorry. Can you open the door? And then, they will start to expand. And then, they will also move east. Okay? Why are they moving east? Because all the great wealth of the age is located in the Byzantine Empire in Egypt, and as well as the Abbasid Empire in Iraq and Persia.

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Okay? So, they're here to establish trading posts. And when they establish trading posts, what will happen is that, first of all, they will intermarry with the local Slavic population. As well as the steppes people. Okay? They will also build an alliance with the Byzantine Empire and become basically vassals to the Byzantines. All right? What will happen is, over time, their trading posts will become cities, and they will expand outwards. So, the tradition, the custom at this stage in history is, if you're noble... You must go and conquer new lands. When you conquer new lands, you can enslave the people to work for you. Okay? This is a very feudal system. Okay? So, this forces a process of constant expansion. If they don't expand, they will only fight amongst themselves. So, the Kievan Rus expands very quickly throughout this area. Eventually, they'll all be conquered by the Mongols. And when the Mongols leave, it leaves a vacuum of great powers.

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Okay? So, the great power of this age is that... The grand ducky of Lithuania. Okay? Novigrad is also a great power. Moscow is the weakest, but again, as I said, over time, because it is weak, it's forced to be united. It's forced to be resilient. It's forced to be innovative. And over time, what it will do is, it will overwhelm Novigrad and become the Russian Empire. Okay? And as you can see, what will happen is, the Russian Empire will expand really quickly until it absorbs the entire Mongol Empire, as well as unify all of Northern Asia. Okay? It is now the largest land mass in the world. Okay. So, the thing to understand about the Russians is that, even though it's a very large country, most of it is not able to be cultivated. Okay? So, it has very low population. Most of the wealth is located over here. Okay?

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This is basically Ukraine. This is what's driving the invasion, because historically, most of the wealth in Russia has been located in the Ukraine area. Okay? If you go over here, it's basically just forest and mountains. So, why are they moving eastwards when there's very little resources here? The answer is fur. Okay? Fur. Fur is a very valuable commodity. They go and they... They trade fur for a living. Okay. Some of the great stars of Russian history is Ivan the Great. His son is Ivan the Terrible, who will expand Russia greatly. Okay? The thing to understand about Russian expansion is, it's really not driven by state policy. It's really driven by oppression and misery. What this means is that, because Russia is essentially a feudal state, the only thing that's going to happen is that, the only way to build a better life is if you escape eastwards, and you basically ethically clean that area and build a new settlement.

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So, that's what's driving this. And what will happen is, as these people move further eastwards, the state will follow them in order to collect taxes. Okay? And sometimes, the state will intervene in order to protect these people from their adversaries in the local areas. But it's a very brutal process that takes centuries. And the Russians win out because there's more of them, and also because they have muskets, and the local people do not have muskets. Okay? So, as you can see, the expansion is very rapid, only across about 300 years. And as I mentioned, it is an extremely brutal process. Okay? So, these are paintings of the brutality involved in this eastward expansion. It involves ethnic cleansing. It involves incitement. It involves enslaving people. Okay? Yeah. It's a brutal process. And these paintings are meant to capture the brutality of the process. And you can see the misery involved. Okay?

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So, these people who are being conquered, they're either being ethnic cleansed, or they're being forced to immigrate, or they're being enslaved. It's a very similar process with the Americans, and these will eventually become the two great empires. Of the 20th century, as well as really the 21st century. Okay? So, the Americans have the same situation where they're expanding westwards, and the Russians are expanding eastwards. The difference is this. The Americans are expanding westwards for better opportunities. Okay? To get wealthy, to build a better life. The Russians are expanding eastwards because they are trying to escape misery, and oppression, and slavery. Okay? That's the difference. And because of this difference, even though there are many similarities. The fundamental belief systems of these two nations are very different. Americans are fundamentally optimistic. Russians are fundamentally fatalistic, pessimistic. All right. So, let's summarize the differences between the Slavic East, the Russian East, and the Germanic West. Okay?

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Slavic gives us the word slave. Why? Because for the longest time, the Slavs in Europe, in Eastern Europe, they were pagans. They weren't Muslims. They weren't Christians. And the custom at that time is you can only enslave people who are not of your religious belief. Okay? So, the pagans were the most valuable people because they can be enslaved by everyone. So, the Vikings came, the Muslims came, the Christians came to enslave the Slavic people and sell them off to the Byzantines, the Abbasids. And that's why we get the word slave. Okay? So, let's look at the three major differences between Russia and Germany. The first major difference is that the Russians believe they are here to the Biden Empire, which is a very top -down centralized bureaucracy. And this is something we discussed before. The Germans believe they are here to the Holy Roman Empire, which is a confederation. Okay? As we discussed, when we discussed the Holy Roman Empire, it was impossible for anyone to conquer all of Europe.

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And so, the Holy Roman Empire was based on consensus. It was based on diplomacy. Okay? It was based on intermarriage. So, this is a much more democratic, much more independent system than the Byzantines. Second major difference is the Germans have the Catholic Church. The Russians have something called the Eastern Orthodox Church. This sounds similar, but what I will show you as we move on is it's actually night and day. Okay? These two belief systems are extremely different. Third major difference is the Germanic West, the Germans, they are culturally coherent. They speak the same language. They believe that they come from the same culture. Whereas the Russian Empire, it is culturally incoherent. Okay? It encompasses a vast array of different cultures, languages, and belief systems. All right. Okay. So, the Russian Empire starts with Peter the Great. And what Peter the Great does is

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he modernizes Russia and forces a decisive war with Sweden, which is at Europe right now, the great military power. Okay? So, for most of Russian history, the European powers didn't really take Russia seriously. And they just thought that the Russians are part of Asia. They're really not part of Europe. And it was Peter the Great. Peter the Great was determined to Russianize, Europeanize Russia, and prove Russia a European power. Okay? And he does that for three reasons. All right? Sorry. Sorry. For many reasons. Okay? He does it because Russia right now is an empire. And as an empire, you need a unifying ideology, a philosophy. And for the Russians, for the longest time, even Putin shares this philosophy, is they believe they are trying to restore the Byzantine Empire. And be the third Rome and save civilization. Okay? So, what do I mean by this? All right. So, the first Rome, of course, was Rome.

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Second Rome was Constantinople. The third Rome now is Moscow. And not only that, but they believe they are the true heir to the Christian tradition. All these other Christian religions out there, Catholic, Protestant, they are corrupt forms. It's the Orthodox Church that is the true heir to the Roman Christianity. All right? Quest for military supremacy means that right now, at this stage in history, all the great militaries are in Europe. So, Russia basically needs to copy, imitate the Europeans. So, what Russia does is it imports a lot, actually, of German soldiers and mercenaries to learn German military technique. Quest for absolute power means that all these czars, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, they're interested in centralized society. They're interested in authority. They want to remove this feudal system and centralized power and all in their hands. Okay? Delusion of authority of church and nobility. So, in Europe, the Catholic Church is above the kings.

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Okay? So, Peter the Great wants to subject the church to his authority as well as the nobility. Right now, the great threat, the great rival to the Russians is the Ottoman Empire. Okay? And last is the contempt of Russia. Okay? So, even though the Mongols probably influence the Russians much more than the Vikings, the Russians believe the Vikings are their true ancestors, not the Mongols. They try to erase the Mongols from their own history. They're kind of ashamed of it. Okay. So, again, as I mentioned, at this time in Europe, about the year 1700, Sweden is the great military power of the age. And Peter the Great and Charles XII of Sweden, they get into this major conflict. And Peter the Great is not that great. Okay? He has a lot of issues. But Charles II is a complete disaster. And the reason why is he's a young man, he's only about 27 when he invades Russia, who fancies himself as Alexander the Great.

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Okay? And as we discussed, Alexander the Great was very problematic because he was very tyrannical. And also because he believed he was invincible. So, Charles the Great decides to go invade Russia. And this is a disaster. Why? Because Peter the Great will use something called a scorched earth policy. Basically, he knows that he cannot, on the battlefield, defeat the Swedes. So, what the Russians do is they retreat and burn down all the fields. So, the army cannot feed itself. Okay? This is called scorched earth. And this is important because this is how the Russians will do it. They will defeat Napoleon in 1812. And this is important because this is how the Russians will defeat the Germans in World War II. So, this is a very similar pattern in history. As I mentioned, the great enemy of Russia at this time are the Ottomans. Okay?

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And so, the Russians and the Ottomans will clash over the Kremlin. Okay? The Crimea. Okay? The Crimea. And this will lead to something called the Crimean War in 1854. Okay? So, Peter the Great, again, he wins because Charles II makes disastrous military decisions during this war. But this begins the Russian Empire. Okay? For the first time, Russia is now considered a great European power because it's defeated the great military power of Europe, Sweden. Okay? So, these are paintings celebrating the great Russian victory over the Swedes. So, after this victory, Russia will expand very greatly. And then, after the Peter the Great, the next great westernizer of the Russian Empire is Catherine the Great. What's important first to remember about Catherine the Great is she's actually not Russian. She's actually German. She was born in Prussia. And she married into the Russian Empire. She had a Russian noble family. It was very common at this stage for the European powers to intermarry with each other.

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And most of the Russian nobility, a lot of them actually have German blood. And they actually spoke French at home. Okay? So, this westernization created a process where the nobility now is very European. They speak French. They have German ancestry. And the peasants are Slavic. Okay? And so, this creates a massive divide in Russia. Catherine the Great will extend Russia greatly, as you can see from this map. The great event that basically thrusts Russia as a great power is the defeat of Napoleon in 1812. Napoleon, as we know, the great conqueror, he invades Russia in 1812 and he defeats the Russian army. But what the Russians do that no one can possibly imagine they would do is they burn down the capital, Moscow. Okay? Moscow is their cultural capital. It is the heart and soul of the Russian Empire. And they burn it down to starve Napoleon's army.

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And the Europeans thought this was an incredible act of barbarism. Okay? But for the Russians, they believed it was an incredible act of self -sacrifice. That saved the Russian Empire. In fact, the great Russian composer, he wrote a symphony dedicated to celebrating the victory over Napoleon called the 1812 Overture. Have you guys heard the Overture? All right. Let me play it for you. Okay? By making the sacrifice, they not only saved Russia, but they saved all of Europe. They saved Western civilization, basically.

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Okay.

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So, I'm sure you guys have heard of it, right? Okay. But this is to celebrate the defeat of Napoleon by Tchaikovsky. Okay. After the defeat of Napoleon, though, the Europeans take notice of Russia, especially Britain. Remember, Britain is this great naval power that is dedicated to a divide and conquer policy of Europe. They basically gang up against whoever is the growing power in Europe. So, as Russia is growing, the British encourage the Ottomans and the French to use their power to unite against Russia to prevent Russian expansion into the Ottoman Empire. Eventually, the Russians will defeat the Ottoman Empire. The Korean War is a major setback for the Russians. And this creates something called the Great Game, where the Russians are now being helmed in by the British. Okay? So, the British and the Russians will now fight for supremacy over Central Asia. A disaster. The next disaster for the Russians is the Russian -Japanese War, where Russia gets heavily defeated by the Japanese.

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And this sort of instigates revolutionary sentiment and fever in Russia. And, of course, what follows next is the Great Disaster, the First War, where the Russians are defeated mightily by the Germans. And this creates something called the 1917 Bullshit Revolution, which destroys the Russian Empire and creates a war. And this creates the Soviet Empire. Okay? So, this is just a brief history. We'll go into the revolution at a future date. Okay? It's a very important event, and I want to dedicate a whole class to it. But that's a brief background of the Russian Empire. Okay. So, now let's talk about the civilization. And, as I discussed, Westernization has been a major trend in Europe. But because of Westernization, there are three major contradictions that are created within the Russian Empire. Okay? And these three contradictions will go on to create Russian civilization. Okay?

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These contradictions are, it's both European and Central Asian. Okay? It's both Viking and Mongol. It's both Slavic as well as Tartar. Okay? So, there's a lot of ethnicities, a lot of cultures within Russia. And it's a contradiction. Second great contradiction is Russia. And the second great contradiction is it fancies itself as a Christian Orthodox nation. In fact, the true Christian nation, but it's also very Pagan. Remember, there's this massive eastward expansion in the process. There's a lot of war. There's a lot of violence. Okay? It's very Pagan. And the peasantry, even to this day, maintains a lot of Pagan rituals, a lot of Pagan beliefs. And the third great contradiction is between Enlightenment and Protestantism. and empire. So Catherine the Great, who was Prussian, she tried to saw herself as an enlightened monarch. She was best friends with Voltaire. They never met, but they were pen pals. And she saw herself as an enlightened despot who was trying to bring reason and justice and goodness to Russia.

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But at the same time, it's an empire, and it's a brutal empire. And the Russians engage in a lot of barbarism. So this is also a massive contradiction. And so if you study Russian civilization, it is unique because of these three major contradictions. So let me show you how they influence Russian arts and literature. Okay, let's look at some of the major Russian cultural figures. And there are too many in a name. There's just a lot of them. But I'll just go through the most famous. This is Alexander Pushkin, who is considered... Shakespeare of Russia. He's the great innovator of Russian language. He basically modernizes the language. And he's a poet and a very romantic figure in Russia. He's basically a national poet of Russia. Something really interesting about him is his grandfather was an African general who became a noble in Russia. So he's about one -eighth black and he's very proud of it.

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And so what's important for us to remember is again for most of human history race was not a concept. People didn't really care what race you were. This is Anton Chovkif who is considered the greatest short story writer in human history. Music. Russian music is extremely... Russian music is beautiful. I'll play you some some clips of Russian music. This is This is Glanka, who is a very famous composer. The most famous composer, of course, is Peter Tchaikovsky. Okay, and he is famous for three ballets that are still performed today. The Nutcracker, which is performed Christmas. This is his most famous, Swan Lake, okay? So, let's hear some music from Swan Lake, just so you can appreciate the beauty and the depth of Russian music. What's astonishing about this music is that this music can flow into your essence, your soul. Okay, this music comes from the soul.

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And to create music this beautiful, your soul must suffer, okay? Your soul must engage in misery, pain, and suffering in order to create such beauty. So, this is just haunting, beautiful music that Tchaikovsky created. Okay, Sleeping Beauty is also a really famous play by Tchaikovsky. Igor Stravinsky is considered the first great modern composer. And he composed something called The Rites of Spring. Okay, this is 1913. It was first performed in Paris. And it was so well -known. It was so revolutionary that it caused a riot within the Music Hall. This ballet, what it tries to do is it tries to fuse the pagan tradition into modernity. Okay, I'm gonna play some excerpts from The Rites of Spring, and you can see how revolutionary this music is. And what I want you to notice is that is this music expresses encapsulates the contradictions within Russian civilization between the pagan and the Christian you can feel

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the rawness the energy the violence the aggression sensuality so this musical this ballet it's about the rights of spring so it goes back to a Slavic tradition where they celebrate the mother goddess and it's spring so they to celebrate the transition perform games and have festivals and what ends what ends the festivities is the sacrifice of a maiden okay she will dance until she dies and when she dances to her death her heart will explode okay and this symbolizes how the mother goddess gives life to the world by making by dancing and basically pouring out her blood into the world in order for plants for the seasons to change and then her heart will explode and in this world what's important for us to understand is it's all interconnected and it must be balanced out and harmonized so if the mother goddess sacrifices herself and out but does nothing to convey their sex in order

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for their big life then the maiden might sacrifice herself to thank the mother goddess okay all right so now let's move on to Russian literature in Russian civilization there are two great prophets they are Leila Toisto and Theodor Dgotsevsky together they will create modern Russian civilization the sensibilities the beliefs the philosophies of modern Russian civilization and what they trying to do is you can then use them into conceptualization helps to give about remarks but theyhave different perspectives they can engage with about what is Viseo He shandi They're trying to reconcile the contradictions within Russia through their novels, okay? These are the great novelists in the human tradition. All right, so Toy Story's most famous novel is Anna Karenina, which is considered also the greatest work of literature, the greatest novel ever written, okay? And I want to first read some passages from Anna Karenina. This is the beginning, okay? This is one of the most famous beginnings in world literature.

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Happy families are all alike. Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Everything was confusion in the Oblotskys' house. The wife had discovered that the husband was carrying on an intrigue with a French girl, okay? So what Toy Story is telling us from the first couple paragraphs is Russianization, Europeanization, it is a process of corrupting the Russian soul. Okay, the idea that you bring in a French girl and the husband's going to sleep with her, it's corruption, okay? Now, this is important because the Oblotsky, the husband, they are now engaged in a divorce. And Anna Karenina will come from St. Petersburg to try to reconcile husband and wife. And Anna Karenina herself will commit adultery. She'll fall in love with a man named... a man named Vronsky. They'll have a very passionate affair. And this passionate affair will destroy both Vronsky and Anna Karenina. Anna Karenina has a husband and a child back at St.

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Petersburg. She asks for divorce. The husband won't give it to her. And then she slowly falls into depression. And then she commits to killing herself, okay? So let's look at the monologue that she has within herself before she decides to kill herself. Okay? So she's trying to explain why she's unhappy. My love keeps growing more passionate and egoistic, okay? Selfish. While his is waning and waning and that's why we're drifting apart. So they've been together for a long time. But she feels that Vronsky is no longer as passionate as he used to be. While she is becoming more passionate. And there's no help for it. He has everything for me. And I want him more and more to give himself up to me entirely. Okay? He wants more and more to get away from me. We walk to meet each other up to the time of our love.

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And then we have been irresistibly driven in different directions. And there's no altering that. He tells me I'm insanely jealous. And I have told myself that I am insanely jealous. But it's not true. I'm not jealous. But I'm jealous. And I... Sorry. I'm not jealous. But I'm unsatisfied. Okay? This is the most important word. Unsatisfied. Okay? It tells us that she's a very selfish person. Who's using love as a way to... To fill the void in her heart. She feels that this relationship... This adultery... Will give her meaning in her life. And what she doesn't understand is... When that happens... When you... Try to possess someone... You can't love that person. Because love is really about... Giving yourself all to another person. Okay? So think about Dante. Dante never got anything from Beatrice. But he loved her regardless. Okay? So this is where Anna Karina fails. She doesn't really understand what love is. And she's very selfish.

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Also a huge problem for Anna Karina is... Because she betrayed her husband... She now fears that... That Bronski will now betray her. Okay? So do you see the psychology here? And that's why she can't love. Because she broke the fundamental condition... For love which is trust. Okay? So this is telling us... That the heart is a mystery. It's something that you cannot reason out. Something that you can never fully understand. Okay? In theory... If you find someone more attractive... If you think you're better off with him... Then you should go be with him. Okay? That's western civilization basically. Pursue your own happiness. But what Toys R Us is telling us is... The heart is something you cannot master. Okay? Maybe your mind can master. The reason... The logic you can master. But the human heart works by its own set of logic. And you must respect the human heart. If you want to love...

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Then you must give. And not receive. If you want to love... Base your love on trust. Do not betray yourself. Do not betray others. Okay? Does that make sense? Alright. So now let's move on to really... The man who is at the heart and center of Russian civilization. His name is Theodore Dostoevsky. Okay? So let me give you some background about Theodore Dostoevsky. Both Toy Story and Dostoevsky were extremely passionate Christians. They really believed in... They believed in the Christianity. And they had deep empathy for the people around them. Toy Story was born very wealthy. He was of nobility. And he inherited a lot of money. But because he was so distraught by the suffering around him... Because his wealth was basically based on... The oppression of the peasantry, right? He actually wanted to give up all his money. He wanted to throw it all away and become a beggar. He wanted to become poor.

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And it was only at the insistence of his family that prevented him from doing what he felt... He felt his heart demanded of him. Theodore Dostoevsky comes from a low nobility. His father was a doctor. And as a young man, he was a revolutionary. And he participated in these literary revolutionary circles. He wasn't violent. But he had these subversive ideas. So he was arrested. And he was condemned to death. He was put in front of a firing squad. Along with others who were part of the subversion. And at the last minute, he was... His sentence was commuted. He was spared by the Tsar. He was sent to hard labor in Siberia for a number of years. And this was very traumatic. But it was also an extremely enlightening experience for Dostoevsky. It made him think very deeply about the meaning of life. He writes something called Crime and Punishment. Which is really the great novel of Russian civilization.

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It has to do with a man, Raskolnikov. He's young. He's brilliant. He's a university student. But he's poor. And he decides that in order to escape his circumstance. In order to control his fate. He's going to murder a woman. A pawnbroker. Who has a lot of money. No one likes her. No one will miss her. And then he will take her money. And then build a new life for himself. And this will become a basis for his greatness. And he reasons out that... You know what? As a great individual. As a genius. I'm going to contribute so much to humanity. So if I kill an old woman no one likes. It won't really matter. So he's been thinking about this for a long time. He's got it all reasoned out. And what crime and punishment will show us is. Reason is nothing. It doesn't really matter. What matters is the heart. Okay?

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All right. So first I want to talk about Dostoevsky's understanding of God. Which is the Russian understanding of God. So at a bar at the beginning of the novel. Raskolnikov meets a middle -aged man who's a drunk. He's an alcoholic. Named Marmaladov. Okay? Marmaladov. And Marmaladov is an extremely pitiful man. Because what he's done is. He's like a middle -aged bureaucrat. And he's been poor. And he marries a poor widow as well. And they have like four children to feed. So the widow decides to prostitute Marmaladov's daughter, Sonia. To make money. Okay? And then Marmaladov in a fit of tremendous regret. He goes and finds a job. And this seems like it's going to resolve all problems in the family. But he does something that no one really can predict or expect. He decides to steal all the money within the household. Quit his job. And get drunk every day. Okay? And you hear this.

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And you're like. That makes no sense. But again. That's the beauty of Russian literature. It's focused on what drives us psychologically. It's not about what's reasonable. What is logical. It's really about what we do in these circumstances. Okay? And so Marmaladov. He's driven to despair because he feels he sacrificed his daughter. Okay? He hates the fact that his daughter has become a prostitute. And he cannot allow himself and his family to live happily ever after. Now that his daughter is a prostitute. And that's why he decides to become an alcoholic. And then they talk about God. Okay? They talk about God and what the nature of God is. And this is very important for us to understand Orthodox Christianity. He says to Raskolnikov. Why am I to be pitied you say? Yes. There's nothing to pity me for. I ought to be crucified. Crucified on a cross. Not pitied. Crucify me. Oh judge me. Crucify me.

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But pity me. And then I will go of myself to be crucified. For it is not merrymaking I seek but tears and tribulation. Do you suppose you that sell that this pen of yours has been sweet to me? It was tribulation I sought at the bottom of it. Tears and tribulation. And I found it. And I have tasted it. But he will pity us who has had pity on all men. Who has understood all men and all things. He is the one. He too is the judge. He will come in that day. And he will ask. Where's the daughter who gave herself for her cross? Come son of stepmother. And for the little children of another. Where's the daughter who had pity upon the filthy drunkard. Her earthly father. Undismayed by his beastliness. And he will say. Come to me. I have already forgiven thee once. I have forgiven thee once. Thy sins which are many are forgiven thee.

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- Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=2779s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=2779s)

For thou hast loved much. He will forgive my Sonia. He will forgive. I know it. I felt it in my heart when I was with her just now. He will judge. And he will forgive all the good and the evil. The wise and the meek. Okay. So this God. That the Orthodox Christians celebrate. It's a forgiving God. It's a merciful God. It is a knowledgeable God. A wise God. Why? Because we humans cannot be trusted to be wise. We humans are. We suffer the mysteries of the heart. We do not know ourselves. We do not know our nature. And therefore. We are bound to suffer. And God understands this. And that's why God will ultimately redeem us all. When the time comes. When the time is appropriate. Okay. So it's fatalistic. But at the same time. It's also optimistic. Okay. So. Let us summarize. What the differences are between the Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox religions.

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Okay. And again. These are different branches of Christianity. And they seem similar. But in reality. They are extremely different. Okay. So the Protestants. Believe that. We choose to sin. We have free will. The Catholics. Don't choose to sin. They don't believe in free will. They say. We are born in sin. And the Orthodox. Are fatalistic. They believe. We are born to sin. We cannot control our own nature. Okay. That's the first major difference. Second major difference is. Only a few will be saved and redeemed. Okay. The Protestant. Is a very unforgiving religion. Only if you work hard. And become very wealthy. Will you be saved. The Catholics. Believe that. No. Everyone can be saved. And redeemed. And the Orthodox. Believe. We are beyond salvation. And redemption. They believe. The human. Our heart. Is so dark. So mysterious. That we are beyond. Salvation. And redemption. And now. That is why. God is great.

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Because only God. Can save. And redeem us. Even though. We are beyond. Salvation. And redemption. Okay. The third major difference is. The Protestants. Believe. That. Our faith. In God. Will save. And redeem us. The Catholics. Believe. Obedience. To God. Only God. Can forgive us. And if God forgives us. We can't really control. All right. So these are the three. Major. Differences. And this is important. Because. The Orthodox. Religion. Is at the heart. And center. Of. Russian civilization. Okay. So. Let's see how this influences. Crime and punishment. So. This is a very important passage. In. Crime. And. Punishment. And. We'll be discussing this a lot. As we move. On. Okay. So. Here. Raskolnikov. He's killed. The old lady. He's stolen her money. But now. He feels. Tremendous. Regret. And he doesn't know. Why. He can't sleep. He's. He. He. Falls. Into. Sickness. He doesn't know. Why. This is happening. Because. He's already. Reasoned. Out.

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Right. And then. He meets. Sonya. Who. Again. Is. Marmoladov's. Daughter. And he. And he confesses to her. What he's done. And not only that. But he tries to explain. Why he's done this. Okay. This is a very important passage. In. Western civilization. I saw. Sonya. That. If. One. Waits. For. Everyone. To. Get. Wives. It. Will. Take. Too. Long. So. He's. Basically. Given. Up. On. Humanity. Afterwards. I. Understood. That. That. Would. Never. Come. To. Pass. That. Man. Won't. Change. And. That. Nobody. Can. Alter. It. And. That. It's. Not. Worth. Wasting. Effort. Over. It. Yes. That's. So. That's. The. Of. Their. Nature. Sonya. That's. So. And. I. Know. Now. Sonya. That. Whoever. Strong. In. Mind. And. Spirit. Will. Power. Over. Them. And. Then. Who. Is. Greatly. Daring. Is. Right. In. Their. Eyes. He. Who. Despises. Most. Things. Will. Be. Lawgiver. Among. Them. And. He. Who. Dares. Most. Of. All. Will. Be. Most. In. The. Right. So. It.

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Been. Till. Now. And. So. It. Always. Be. A. Man. Must. Be. Blind. Not. To. See. A. Okay. So. Let's. Go. Back. To. The. French. Revolution. Robespierre. Who. Change. History. Who. Will. Save. Us. Robespierre. Can. Only. Be. Sacrificed. Okay. And. Is. Important. Because. What. Dostoevsky. Wants. To. Show. In. Crime. And. Punishment. Is. That. This. Sort. Of. Reasoning. It. Sounds. Right. But. It. Goes. Against. The. Human. Heart. And. That. Happens. When. The. Reason. And. The. Heart. Conflict. The. Heart. Will. Triumph. And. This. Can. Only. Lead. Raskolnikov. Into. Misery. Also. What. Happen. Is. That. Very. Important. Thinkers. Like. Friedrich. Nietzsche. As. Well. A. Sigmund. Freud. They. Will. Read. This. And. Interpret. It. In. Their. Own. Way. Okay. So. Friedrich. Nietzsche. Will. Read. This. And. Think. That. No. This. Makes. Sense. Okay. It's. That. Raskolnikov. Is. Wrong. It's. That. He. Didn't. Believe. This. Enough. Alright. So. We'll. Talk. About. This. Next. Class. Alright. So. Raskolnikov. He's. Being. Pursued. By.

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The. Police. And. It's. Obvious. That. He's. The. Culprit. It's. Obvious. That. He's. Guilty. But. What. Happens. Is. Someone. Else. Confesses. Of. The. Crime. And. Know. Why. But. Someone. Else. Confesses. Of. The. Crime. And. At. This. Point. You. Would. Think. That. Raskolnikov. Is. Now. Happy. He's. Now. Free. To. Do. Whatever. He. Wants. This. Shows. That. It. Is. God's. Will. That. He. Become. Great. Is. God's. Will. That. He. Kill. And. Become. Great. What. Happens. Next. Is. He. Decides. To. Confess. The. Crime. And. The. Confession. Is. The. Confession. Strikes. And. So. Striking. And. So. Nonsensical. That. The. Law. The. Legal. System. Doesn't. Know. Really. Doesn't. Know. What. To. Do. With. Him. So. They. Basically. Sentence. Him. To. Like. Hard. Labor. In. Siberia. For. A. Few. Years. It's. The. Lightest. Crime. So. It's. The. Lightest. Punishment. He. Could. Have. Received. Okay. And. At. This. Point. You. Would. Think. That. He. Was. Of. Crime. He. Doesn't. Feel. Guilty. Or. Remorseful.

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For. Killing. The. Landlady. Okay. At. Least. He. Might. Have. Found. Relief. In. Raging. And. His. Stupidity. As. Had. Raged. At. The. Grotesque. Blunders. That. Have. Brought. Him. To. Prison. But. Not. In. Prison. In. Freedom. He. Fought. Over. And. Criticized. All. His. Actions. Again. And. No. Means. Found. Them. So. Blundering. And. So. Grotesque. As. He. Had. Seen. At. The. Fatal. Time. In. What. Way. He. Asked. Himself. Was. My. Theory. Stupid. And. Others. That. Have. Swarmed. And. Clashed. Them. Clash. From. The. Beginning. Of. The. World. One. Has. Only. To. Look. At. The. Things. Quite. Independently. Broadly. And. Uninfluenced. By. Commonplace. Ideas. My. Idea. Will. Be. No. Means. Seem. So. Strange. All. Skeptics. And. Half. Punny. Philosophers. Why. Do. You. Halt. Halfway. He. Doesn't. Understand. What's. Happening. All. Right. Now. We. Have. To. All. The. Way. Back. To. The. Beginning. Of. This. Course. We. Discuss. Homer. In. The. Iliad. Remember. Achilles. Had. The. Same. Problem. Achilles. Saw. The.

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Death. Of. His. Friend. Patroclus. And. Swore. Vengeance. Against. Hector. And. Then. He. Killed. Hector. And. Then. He. Started. To. Mutilate. Hector's. Body. And. After. Did. So. You. Would. Think. He. Would. Found. Relief. And. Cartharsis. But. It. Only. Made. Him. Even. More. Depressed. More. Miserable. Okay. So. This. Is. What. Homer. And. Dostoevsky. Is. Telling. Us. Don't. Try. To. Reason. Things. Out. You. Try. To. Reason. Things. Out. It. Only. Make. You. Miserable. Because. The. Truth. Is. Not. Within. Reason. Okay. The. Truth. Is. Within. The. Human. Heart. Why. Does. My. Action. Strike. Them. As. So. Horrible. He. Said. To. Himself. Is. It. Because. It. Was. A. Crime. Exceeded. And. So. They. Were. Right. And. I. Didn't. And. So. I. Had. No. Right. To. Have. Taken. That. Step. Is. Only. In. That. He. Recognized. His. Criminality. Only. In. The. Fact. That. Had. Been. Unsuccessful. And. Had. Confessed. It. Okay. So. He. Keeps. On. Reasoning. And. Decides. That. The. Source.

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Of. His. Misery. Is. His. Weakness. Okay. He. Killed. The. Lady. And. He. Felt. Regret. For. Doing. It. So. This. Proves. He's. Not. Great. Napoleon. Would. Have. Felt. Any. Regret. Julius. Caesar. Would. Have. Laughed. About. It. Alexander. Great. Would. Have. Bragged. About. It. But. He. Felt. Regret. And. Therefore. He. Is. Weak. Okay. And. That. Is. Where. His. Reasoning. Gets. Him. And. Makes. Him. More. Miserable. Okay. But. He. Finds. Salvation. And. Redemption. And. Finds. Salvation. And. Redemption. In. The. Love. Of. Sonia. So. Right. Now. He's. In. Siberia. In. Prison. And. Sonia. Comes. All. The. Way. To. Be. With. Him. Okay. And. This. Is. How. The. Novel. Ends. How. It. Happened. He. Did. Not. Know. But. All. Once. Something. Seemed. To. Seize. Him. And. Fling. Him. At. Her. Feet. He. Wept. And. Threw. His. Arms. Around. Her. Knees. For. The. First. Instant. She. Was. Terribly. Saves. Him. He. Love. He. Surrenders. Himself. To. His. Love. For. Sonia. He.

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Surrenders. Himself. To. Sonia. And. That's. What. Ultimately. Saves. Him. So. Think. Back. To. The. Iliad. Right. So. Have. To. Surrender. Yourself. To. Your. Love. Either. For. The. Other. People. Like. Sonia. Or. To. God. That's. Where. Salvation. Is. Okay. All. Right. So. The. Other. Novel. Of. Dostoevsky. Is. Called. The. Brothers. Karamazov. Okay. And. It's. Much. Too. Long. To. Read. But. There's. A. Very. Important. Passage. It. Within. A. Novel. Is. About. Who. Are. Who. Have. Their. Own. Ideas. Are. Being. Persecuted. They're. Being. Slaughtered. Okay. And. It. Is. A. Nightmare. So. What. Happens. Is. Jesus. In. Heaven. He. Sees. His. Pain. He. Sees. His. Suffering. And. It. Bothers. Him. So. He. Descends. To. The. Earth. And. When. He. Is. Walking. Among. Men. And. Right. Away. People. Recognize. Who. Is. Jesus. They. Worship. Him. Then. He's. Dragged. Before. The. Grand. Inquisitor. He. Becomes. A. Prisoner. To. The. Grand. Inquisitor. At. This. Point. You. Would. Think. The. Grand. Inquisitor. Would.

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Be. Happy. To. See. His. God. Instead. He. Gets. Really. Really. Angry. At. Jesus. Thou. Did. Not. Love. Them. At. All. Thou. Who. Did. Come. To. Give. Thy. Life. For. Them. Instead. Of. Possession. Of. Man's. Freedom. You. Did. Increase. It. And. Burning. The. Spiritual. Kingdom. Of. Mankind. With. Suffering. Forever. You. Did. Desire. Man's. Free. Love. That. He. Should. Follow. You. Freely. Enticed. And. Taken. Captive. By. You. In. Place. Of. The. Wretched. Ancient. Law. Men. Must. Hereafter. With. Free. Heart. Decide. For. Himself. What. Is. Good. And. What. Is. Evil. Having. Only. Your. Image. Before. Him. As. His. Guide. But. Did. You. Not. Know. That. He. Would. At. Last. Reject. Even. Your. Image. Was. Laying. Upon. Them. So. Many. Cares. And. Unanswered. Unanswerable. Problems. Okay. Okay. So. The. Idea. Here. Is. This. So. One. Question. That. Jesus. Would. Have. For. The. Grand. Inquisitor. To. Oppress. Everyone. Why. You. Do. That. And. The. Grand. Inquisitor. Is. Saying. To. Him.

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It's. Because. People. Don't. Want. Free. Choice. People. Don't. Want. Free. Will. They. Only. Told. What. To. Do. And. You. Refuse. To. The. King. You. Refuse. To. Be. The. Emperor. You. Demand. Of. Them. That. They. Reason. That. They. Love. You. Freely. And. People. Don't. Want. To. That. So. We. No. Choice. But. To. Oppress. People. To. Build. A. Church. As. A. Great. Oppressive. Empire. In. Order. To. Liberate. People. From. The. Burden. Of. Free. Choice. Okay. Does. That. Sense. That's. The. Argument. Here. You. Did. Come. To. Give. Sorry. And. How. Are. The. Other. Weak. Ones. To. Blame. Because. They. Could. Not. Endure. What. The. Strong. Have. Endured. How. Is. The. Weak. Sort. Of. Blame. That. It. Is. Unable. To. Receive. Such. Terrible. Gives. Can. You. Have. Simply. Come. To. Elect. And. For. The. Elect. He's. Also. Saying. To. Jesus. Listen. You. Tell. Us. That. Only. By. Believing. In. You. Freely. Can. We. Be. Redeemed. But. That. Takes. Power.

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That. Takes. Strength. What. About. Those. Who. Cannot. Do. Such. A. Thing. How. About. The. Weak. How. About. The. Lost. Where. You. Condemn. Them. To. Hell. That's. Not. Very. Merciful. Okay. Okay. So. This. Is. How. The. Story. Ends. When. The. Inquisitor. Sees. Speaking. He. Waited. Some. Time. For. His. Prisoner. Jesus. To. Answer. Him. His. Silence. Weighed. Down. Upon. Him. He. Saw. The. Prisoner. Have. Listened. Intently. All. The. Time. Looking. Gently. In. His. Face. And. Emily. Not. Wishing. To. Reply. The. Old. Man. Longed. For. Him. To. Say. Something. However. Bitter. And. Terrible. But. He. Suddenly. Approached. The. Old. Man. In. Silent. And. Softly. Kissed. Him. On. His. Bloodless. Aged. Lips. That. Was. All. His. Answer. The. Old. Man. Shuddered. His. Lips. Moved. He. Went. To. The. Door. Open. It. And. Said. To. Him. Go. And. Come. No. More. Come. Not. At. All. Never. Never. And. He. Let. Him. Out. Into. The. Dark. Alleys. Of. A. Town. The.

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Prisoner. Went. Away. And. The. Old. Man. The. Kiss. Glows. In. His. Heart. The. Old. Man. Adheres. To. His. Idea. All. Right. So. This. Thing. Is. This. The. Grand. Inquisitor. He. Has. This. Novel. He. This. Philosophy. Of. Why. Jesus. Is. Bad. Of. Why. We. Should. Worship. Satan. Of. Why. We. Need. An. Empire. Why. We. Need. Oppression. And. It. All. Makes. Sense. Okay. And. Now. Jesus. Must. Respond. And. Jesus. Responds. With. An. Act. Of. Forgiveness. With. An. Act. Of. Charity. He. Kisses. The. Grand. Inquisitor. And. This. Is. Exactly. Like. Prime. Kissing. Achilles. Right. Prime. Didn't. Go. To. Reason. With. Achilles. Prime. Went. To. Kiss. Achilles. Hand. To. Forgive. Him. Okay. Now. What's. Important. For. Us. To. Understand. Is. Of. Humanity. The. Bag. Gets. You. Nowhere. Because. People. Are. Stubborn. About. Their. Ideas. But. The. Heart. You. Know. It's. A. Mystery. It's. Still. Loving. It's. Still. Open. So. If. You. Touch. It. You. Change. People. Forever. Okay. All.

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Right. So. Let's. Go. Back. To. The. Original. Question. Why. Did. Putin. Invade. Ukraine. What. Putin. Has. Said. Over. And. Over. Again. Is. We. Invade. Ukraine. To. Save. Russian. Civilization. And. That's. The. Answer. Because. For. The. Russians. Their. Civilization. Is. Unique. It. Is. Distinct. And. Is. Beautiful. It's. Worth. Dying. For. Okay. And. Okay. So. Even. Though. The. Russian. Empire. Is. Gone. Putin. And. Russians. Believe. They. Here. To. The. Empire. Okay. So. Let's. Look. At. The. Difference. Between. The. American. Civilization. Or. Russian. Civilization. To. Understand. Why. This. War. Happened. The. Okay. Sorry. To. Be. Very. Clear. This. Is. The. American. The. Russians. See. The. Americans. Okay. Does. That. Make. Sense. This. Is. How. Russians. See. The. Americans. First. Of. All. They. See. Americans. Are. People. Buy. Things. So. We. Just. Let. Everyone. Buy. Things. And. The. Americans. Are. Expansionist. Which. Means. That. Not. Only. Is. It. Right. And. Good. For. People. To. Buy. Things. But. Everyone. Should.

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- Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/#seg-0057](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/#seg-0057)
- Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=3896s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=3896s)

Have. The. Right. To. Buy. Things. So. You. Are. Preventing. People. From. Buying. Things. You. Are. A. Dictator. You. Are. A. Tyrant. Okay. It. Our. Responsibility. To. Liberate. The. World. So. We. Can. All. Become. Consumers. North. Korea. Iran. They. Ought. To. Liberated. So. That. Their. People. Can. Buy. Things. From. Us. Okay. So. That's. The. American. Civilization. The. Russians. Think. Like. No. We. Are. A. Spiritual. People. We. Unique. And. We. Demand. Sovereignty. We. Demand. The. Right. To. Live. The. Lives. We. Choose. To. Live. We. Demand. The. Right. To. Be. Who. We. Are. Okay. And. If. It. Means. Fighting. America. It. Means. Our. Deaths. If. It. Means. Sacrifice. We. Will. Do. So. Because. Our. Civilization. Is. The. Greatest. In. The. World. Because. Our. Conception. Of. God. Is. A. Correct. Conception. Because. Our. Truth. Is. The. Real. Truth. Alright. So. In. Other. Words. This. Is. Really. A. Class. Of. Civilizations. And. In. A. Class. Of. Civilizations. There. Can. Only.

### 1:06:02 seg-0058

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- Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/#seg-0058](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/#seg-0058)
- Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=3962s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=3962s)

Be. One. Winner. There. Can. No. Compromise. Okay. So. There's. War. In. Ukraine. It. Is. Seemingly. Something. Much. More. Devastating. Much. More. Cataclysmic. Alright. And. So. This. Is. What's. Going. On. Alright. That's. It. Guys. Any. Questions. You. Guys. Is. This. Clear. To. You. Alright. Any. Questions. About. What. We. Discussed. Yeah. Great. Yep. So. Right. So. You're. Right. So. Russian. Literature. Romantic. And. They. Didn't. Remember. Some. It's. A. Response. To. Enlightenment. Because. Enlightenment. With. Khan. And. Rousseau. The. Argument. Is. That. Reason. Is. Don't. Salvation. For. Reason. You. Save. Yourself. And. Can. Save. Civilization. Okay. If. It's. Logical. Then. It's. Truthful. And. The. Romantics. And. The. Idealist. Sorry. The. Romantics. Are. Saying. No. That's. True. Okay. And. What. Dostoevsky. Is. Saying. Is. Telling. Us. That. Is. That. This. Is. Nonsense. Reason. Doesn't. Really. Get. You. Anywhere. Okay. For. Reason. You. Can. Reason. That. It's. Okay. To. Kill. Millions. Of. People. Okay. Logic. Doesn't. Really. Get. You. Anywhere. What.

### 1:08:00 seg-0059

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- Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/#seg-0059](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/#seg-0059)
- Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=4080s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=4080s)

You. Have. To. Do. Is. Listen. To. Your. Heart. Okay. Think. About. The. Heart. That's. Where. The. Truth. Lies. All. Right. So. So. It's. Very. Much. A. Reaction. Against. Enlightenment. In. Europe. At. This. Time. Okay. Dostoevsky. Is. Also. Saying. Like. Toy. Story. Westernization. Of. Russia. Is. Only. Corrupting. Us. What. Need. To. Do. Is. Return. To. Our. True. Self. Which. Is. An. Orthodox. Civilization. Maybe. That's. That's. The. True. Christianity. All. Right. So. Great. Anymore. Anymore. Questions. Okay. That's. A. Great. Question. Okay. So. Question. And. It's. One. Of. A. Question. If. Just. Said. That. Russians. Are. Fatalistic. Then. How. Are. They. So. Resilient. Okay. So. You. Can't. Logically. Figure. It. Out. Okay. It's. I. Can't. Logically. Explain. To. You. The. Feeling. But. It's. Like. Knowing. That. World. Is. Doomed. Okay. We're. Heading. Towards. Doom. And. What. We. Do. Isn't. That. Important. It. Compels. You. To. Live. Your. Best. Life. Okay. So. That's. What. Meaning. Is. Meaning. Is. With.

### 1:09:33 seg-0060

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- Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=4173s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=4173s)

The. Knowledge. That. The. World. Is. Ultimately. Headed. Towards. Doom. You. As. A. Person. Are. Compelled. To. Live. Your. Best. Life. Nonetheless. Okay. And. That's. A. Very. Very. Pagan. Very. Viking. Mentality. So. Before. Christianity. This. Was. True. For. For. People. It's. Okay. The. World. Is. Going. To. End. What. Matters. Is. The. Life. You. Today. Okay. So. So. I. Mean. It's. Problematic. Because. I. Mean. Americanization. Westernization. Has. Such. A. Huge. Impact. On. Global. Culture. Right. And. We. Think. We. Think. In. Very. Deep. Life. About. That's. The. Meaning. Of. Life. That's. The. Purpose. Of. Life. Even. Though. You. Know. It. Won't. Get. You. Anywhere. You. Should. Still. Do. It. Because. That's. Where. The. Meaning. Is. Okay. If. Think. About. It. If. You. Go. Deeper. Then. It's. Also. Like. A. Profound. Faith. In. God. Okay. Like. You. Know. The. World. Is. Ending. But. You. Still. Work. Hard. To. Make. It. Better. And. That's. What. Faith. In. God. Really. Is.

### 1:11:08 seg-0061

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- Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/#seg-0061](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/#seg-0061)
- Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=4268s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=4268s)

Doesn't. Make. Sense. If. You. Know. Like. If. You. Something. And. God. Rewards. You. That's. Not. Faith. Really. Does. That. Sense. Okay. So. So. I. Understand. It's. Really. Hard. For. Us. To. Understand. But. What. I'm. Very. Limiting. Okay. Sometimes. You. Have. To. Listen. To. Your. Heart. And. Your. Heart. Knows. I. Know. The. World. Is. Doomed. Because. Because. That's. Just. Reality. But. Nevertheless. I. Responsibility. To. Children. I. Responsibility. To. My. Neighbors. To. The. People. I. Love. To. Try. My. Best. Regardless. And. That's. What. Faith. In. God. That's. What. Faith. In. Each. Other. That's. What. True. Love. Really. Is. Does. That. Sense. Okay. All. Right. Great. Great. Question. Though. And. I'll. Honest. Of. I'm. Confused. By. This. As. Well. Okay. Because. You. I'm. I'm. So. Western. In. My. Thinking. But. I. Think. Again. It's. It's. You. Got. You. To. Yourself. Not. To. Be. So. Logical. At. Times. Right. Okay. Any. More. Questions. Does. That. Sense. To. You. Okay.

### 1:12:35 seg-0062

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- Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/#seg-0062](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/#seg-0062)
- Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=4355s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=4355s)

Oh. Great. Question. Why. Are. The. Russians. So. Pessimistic. Okay. First. Of. All. It's. Really. Cold. In. Russia. Okay. If. You're. If. It's. Cold. You're. Not. You're. Not. That. Optimistic. Right. Second. Of. All. Russian. Civilization. Is. Built. On. Violence. Right. The. Americans. Basically. Went. Over. And. Were. Able. To. Steal. The. Continent. From. The. Natives. And. They. Didn't. Really. Put. Us. Put. That. Much. Much. War. And. Then. And. Then. The. Conflicts. Within. Their. People. Okay. So. Russia. Is. A. Violent. Society. And. So. That. Leads. To. A. Natural. Pessimism. Okay. So. Another. Saying. This. Is. Even. Though. Russia. Is. Huge. It's. Not. That. Many. Resources. And. People. Have. Fight. Over. These. Resources. Whereas. America. Is. Huge. Lots. Of. Resources. And. People. If. Hard. You. Can. Obtain. A. Of. Resources. Okay. So. That. Leads. To. A. Optimistic. Attitude. So. The. Question. Really. Isn't. Why. Russians. Are. Fatalistic. Because. Most. People. Are. Fatalistic. The. Question. Really. Is. Why. Americans. Are.

### 1:13:53 seg-0063

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- Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/#seg-0063](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-0ralqcpwuh0/transcript/#seg-0063)
- Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=4433s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rALqcPWuH0&t=4433s)

Optimistic. Right. Okay. Does. That. Make. Sense. Okay. Any. More. Questions. Was. This. Clear. To. Guys. Okay. And. I. Know. It's. Hard. Okay. But. But. I. Will. Say. Like. Russian. Civilization. Even. Though. I. Personally. Would. Never. Want. To. In. Russia. Okay. Because. There's. A. Racism. In. Russia. But. It. Is. A. Unique. Beautiful. Civilization. And. And. Hope. That. In. The. Future. You. Have. A. Chance. To. Read. The. Toys. Toy. Dostoevsky. Because. They. Are. Really. The. Best. Novelist. Ever. Okay. So. Next. Class. We. Will. Start. The. Germans. Okay. German. Civilization.