War and Peace

 Vladimir Mayakovsky (1920)

Former president Medvedev recently said Russia's failure to prevail in Ukraine "potentially poses a threat to the existence of humanity." History negates his premise. After two stunning defeats Germany rose to become one of the wealthiest and influential nations in the world albeit as a democracy rather than autocracy. The human tendency to self-implode was demonstrated in the recent failed uprising in which antediluvian elements, fascists in tandem with a nostalgic aristocrat, attempted a coup. The last time that happened was in an episode of Babylon Berlin! If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. So what about reforming the mythology of the Russian state. Bring back the Trotskyites under which constructivism, Mayakovsky (one of his famous poems about Russian freedom is War and Peace) and Dziga Vertov all thrived. Long live Pussy Riot! Putin's contribution to Russian history is a dying plutocracy in which a few oligarchs knighted by Yeltsin keep the oversized yacht industry afloat. 

read Francis Levy's review of Fit Nation, The East Hampton Star

and listen to "Irreplaceable" by Beyonce