Opinion: Anti-Moscow Propaganda Making Russia Turn its Back on the English Language

Sean Bw Parker

As a sometime English teacher, mostly via the Kubrickian futureworld that is Skype these days, much of my trade is now done internationally. Whilst following up an idea born during the Gezi Protests in summer 2013 in Istanbul, during which I felt like Adolf & Eva’s illegitimate son, hiding out at friend’s apartments lest the new ‘Islamo-Robocops‘ knock on/down the door, I alighted on the ruse to decamp to Moscow.

I had a friend was very keen on the idea, enthusiastic to see me escape a country I had adopted as being now run by the Ignorami, and as his partner was running English classes for the new corporate bourgeoisie there. I got in contact with him again recently about the idea – hands across the digital ocean and all that – but it appears that the arse has fallen out of the English teaching market in Russia. Our conversation was so revealing, and interview-like, that he agreed to have it published…

Friend: “It’s because of EU sanctions, we only teach to corporate clients and big companies don’t want to train their employees in English anymore. Simply because there is less business to conduct in English.

Unlike the Western media portrays it, Putin and Russian professionals were indeed in love with the West, in cultural and trade relationships. The demonization campaigns simply made everyone look eastwards.

The love for the West was so immense but blocked by the media so much that only the Westerners who work here knew about it. I mean, we have some corporate clients in the middle of Russia, manufacturing American brands in American style factories, driving to work and back with huge vehicles, shopping from malls that are identical to Wallmarts – basically loving the American dream. Only Mars/Wrigley group has more than 6-7 factories in Central Russia, Americans were indeed building a solid partner with very similar dreams.

After everything collapsed, the Western media did so badly that many Americans I know started their own newspapers, started holding information summits in both countries to breach the propaganda white-noise generated by the Western media.

Basically trying to warn fellow Americans like, ‘Guys, we are very similar, we’re being loved here, please stop believing everything you read.”

Me: “Sad more than bad then. What about these Russian criminals buying London?”

Friend: “Well, they are in exile. When the Soviet system collapsed, they embezzled the country because there were no financial institutions in place for internal auditing and corruption. Once they got installed, they were caught red-handed.

For some reason they chose London as a safe-haven. They are there to stay, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Me: “What about the homosexuality nastiness?”

Friend: “That’s a bit complicated, if the official relationship with West could improve the way it did – it would be very good for homosexuals. The younger generation have no problem with it.

But after they got screwed over by the US over Nato, the old-schools gained respect again, saying ‘you see, we were right about the West, they suck’.

And they started using this against homosexuality. This seems to be most people’s problem with Russia these days…

Different country, we have different views about homosexuality. It’s allowed and everything but we’ll never openly admit or promote it.

Demonization led this view to succeed. Otherwise, if ties with the West naturally improved with the new generations, this topic would have softened automatically.”

Me: “Ok. Its turning away from the west sounds similar to Turkey.”

Friend: “Not at all. Turkey never belonged to the West and never will. The uneducated masses took over the country and ended that topic’s misery.

In Russia, the masses believed that they are a part of the West but the West is driving them away.”

Me: “So now they’re all learning Chinese and Arabic?”

Friend: “Mostly Chinese and Spanish. The BRICS are improving a lot, Russia and China are constantly breaking records in economic deals.

The thing that concerns me the most is regular American citizens who have never visited the country are being scared by their government for no reason. Recently, I invited a friend of mine from
California. She was literally asking questions like ‘Will I be safe?’. This was the red flag for me, I sent her some information about some Americans living in Russia, kindergarten teachers, businessman etc, and how happy they were with the way they were being treated.

She added that she thought these fears went way back. She said ‘You know what? When I was a child and I behaved badly, my parents usually scared me by saying “The Russians will take you” if you don’t behave well’.

This was a shocker, reminding me of all the leftover fears that were generated during the Cold War. And I’m afraid, because the American Foreign Policy is tapping into this fear with the recent demonization campaigns. It takes generations to clear bad blood, and I believe it’s pure madness to raise new generations with hate and fear towards a country which is inherently very similar to them.

Do we really want to raise our generations for them to hate each other? Being afraid of visiting each other’s countries because of politicians? Living in parallel universes with totally different sets of information…”

Sean Bw Parker