Three Thousand Versts of Loneliness

High-pitched screeching - Simon Schama. Donald Trump’s first weeks in office have drawn strong reactions from his many critics right across the world.  Prominent entertainers, politicians, journalists and other public figures are among those who have articulated their opposition to the new US president in strident terms, on stage, on television, in print and, most vociferously, online.   This deluge of political opinion has typically been expressed at a painfully high pitch, but few voices have shrieked more shrilly than that of TV historian, Simon Schama.  Schama is a successful, respected academic, whose training you might expect to impart a veneer of perspective and detachment, but for weeks he has pumped out hundreds (thousands?) of tweets about Trump , with an unmistakable timbre of hysteria.   He’s compared the new US president to Hitler and Mussolini.  In fact he has ransacked thoroughly the annals of 1930s European history, in order to draw ...

This morning, in Belfast, I was privileged to witness veterans of the Arctic Convoys receiving the Ushakov Medal, from Russia’s ambassador to the UK.  This honour is the culmination of a lengthy campaign to recognise the brave servicemen who risked ice floes and U-boat attack, to bring vital supplies to the Soviet Union, during World War 2.  The British government presented veterans with the Arctic Star, belatedly, in 2012.  Before that, rather shamefully, there was no medal for taking part in the convoys.  It also took some time before the Foreign Office would allow the Russian government to show its appreciation for the servicemen.  The Medal of Ushakov was first presented to British sailors in June 2013, when Vladimir Putin and David Cameron conducted a ceremony, during the Russian President’s visit to London. Most of the surviving seamen who crewed the convoys are now in their nineties.  The event in Belfast was a poignant occasion, w...

Nicholas II - the last Tsar of Russia. It’s been the premise of not a few thrillers, but restoration of the Russian Tsar is now the goal of a political party.  RT reports that the Tsarist Russia party held its first congress in Moscow yesterday . The group proposes that a modern Zemsky Sobor or ‘assembly of the land’ be called in order to choose a monarch.  A rudimentary parliament of that name elected Boris Godunov to the throne after the Rurik dynasty ended in 1598. The party is certainly ambitious.  It hopes to build up a 10-20% vote share with a populist programme tapping into images and symbols from Russia‘s distant past. Another less eccentric group is also charged with exploiting emotive historical events for its electoral advantage. A Just Russia was the pro-Kremlin party designed to offer an alternative to United Russia on the centre-left.  It supported Medvedev’s nomination for the presidency and squeaked into the state Duma at the 2007 election...

Perhaps one year soon Armistice Day will pass without a modest symbol of respect and remembrance inspiring a single display of hatred and intolerance.  Unfortunately 2010 wasn’t that year. First we had the so-called ’Green Brigade’ and its illiterate protest at Celtic’s decision to display a poppy on the club's famous hooped football shirts .  Now the Andersonstown News reports that Relatives for Justice, a republican victims group, has asked BBC Northern Ireland to ban poppies in the interests of ‘neutrality‘ . Last year it was that newspaper’s columnist, ‘the Squinter’, who took anti-poppy bile to a new low, by describing the British Legion’s fundraising campaign as a “three week orgy of ‘up yours fenian face’”.   I posted on that occasion , lamenting the tendency to perceive a simple act of remembering as a hostile political act. There’s no particular need to rehash the same old arguments for the Relatives for Justice campaign.  It’s enough to note that ther...

Predictably, there’s been an enormous quantity of analysis and reportage, following the publication of the Saville Report on Tuesday.  If posting has been light over the past couple of days, it’s because I’ve been making an effort to digest the best of it. There is a lot to commend the thrust of Turgon’s post on Slugger O’Toole, which examines unionist reaction to Saville.  He identifies two ’predictable’ responses which he believes are emblematic. One, as typified by Gregory Campbell, casts doubt on the report’s interpretation.  The other, as articulated by Sir Reg Empey and others, points to a disproportionate concentration of resources on the victims of Bloody Sunday, as opposed to victims of Republican violence. I accept that these arguments have been raised and that they are, as Turgon contends, ’understandable’.  I also agree with his broader point that, should we deny moral equivalence between terror groups and the British army, we should also expect st...

It is worth pointing out that when Three Thousand Versts reviewed ‘Whisperers’ in enthusiastic fashion, and called ’Natasha’s Dance ’ ‘magisterial’, Orlando Figes had not contributed guest posts. And when I described ’A People’s Tragedy’ as ’the most complete account of the Russian Revolution and Civil War’ I had read, ’Historian’ had not given me a nudge. It’s hard to understand why such a gifted writer would feel compelled to rubbish rivals’ books anonymously on Amazon, but that, apparently, was Figes’ habit. The academic, who is professor of history at Birbeck, University of London, also submitted gushing reviews of his own books, which were certainly good enough to attract unsolicited and heartfelt praise, had he left the job to genuine readers. He used the crafty sobriquet ’Historian’ and, even more cunning, ‘Orlando - Birbeck’ as pseudonyms on Amazon. Then, to cap it all, he attempted to blame the wife when it became apparent that the reviews had issued from the Figes’ hous...

Now I don't know whether much of the Northern Bank millions remains unspent by Sinn Féin and the IRA, but if there is a spare $500,000 still lying around republican coffers it could serve as an opening bid for this rather flimsy looking item. The Bloomsbury auction house in New York is charged with selling "the only full-sized tricolour of the 1916 rising extant" . Apparently it was retrieved by British forces from the GPO in Dublin. It might be, as the blurb points out, a flag "of enormous historic importance", but I would suggest, whoever buys this piece of Irish linen has too much money. It's estimated to raise between $500,000 - $700,000 USD!

Lying to the north of St Petersburg, between the chilly waters of Lake Ladoga and the White Sea, the Republic of Karelia is an autonomous region of the Russian Federation. Forest stretches over more than half its territory, and of the remainder, fully a quarter is comprised of water. Historically, the region known as Karelia included parts of eastern Finland and for a time, during the Russian Civil War, hopes were raised that an independent state might be forged by the majority Finno-Ugric population. Fuelling Karelian aspirations was an Ulsterman who would later become an independent unionist MP at Stormont! Colonel Phillip James Woods was an unlikely talisman for nationalism at the edge of the Arctic Circle. A champion of the British Empire, he had served in the Second Boer War under Baden Powell, taking part in the Relief of Mafeking. He became involved in the nascent Ulster Volunteer Force, and with other members of that organisation, helped form the 36th Ulster Division, wh...

Marking the fortieth anniversary of the commencement of Operation Banner, History (formerly the History Channel) is screening a documentary called ‘Soldiers’ Stories’ tonight, at 9pm. Bobballs has provided a positive review over at his site. I too enjoyed the programme. It doesn’t provide the most intricate analysis of Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’, which are depicted in fairly broad strokes, but that is rather the point. This is a personal interpretation of events, by individual British soldiers who served here, and it reflects their confusion, as well as frustration, anger, fear and, occasionally, excitement. These are powerful, and occasionally harrowing tales, rendered all the more visceral by the ordinary men who tell them.

‘Wolf Hall’ became 2009’s Booker Prize Winner last night, justifying its status as bookmakers’ favourite. I haven’t read Hilary Mantel’s historical novel, based on Thomas Cromwell’s assent from tradesman’s son in Putney to chief minister of Henry VIII. I have, however, just finished ‘The Glass room’, one of the beaten shortlistees, written by Simon Mawer. Clearly historical fiction, often regarded rather sniffily by critics, is currently fashionable. Mawer’s tale falls into the category too. It examines the tides of twentieth century European history which lapped around the location of its eponymous ‘Glasraum’ in Mittel Europe. A wealthy Jewish industrialist and his new Aryan wife (the Landauers) commission a precocious architect to design their futuristic home in Czechoslovakia. It is finished in the 1930s just in time to form the backdrop for a lot of sex, Nazi invasion, genetic experiments, communism and a tearful reunion. Mawer writes well and he has chosen a clever settin...

In a recent article , Simon Jenkins wrote about the ‘raucous child’ which inevitably accompanies history, ‘lessons to be learned’. Over the past few days I have been immersed in two separate accounts which attempt to portray this difficult infant, chaperoned by partial histories of terror campaigns. Richard English’s ‘Terrorism: How to Respond’ purports to take an essentialist approach to its topic, but it is a puzzling book, that stresses the importance of the unique context in which each terrorist group operates, yet attempts to apply principles which it derives from Northern Ireland’s experience rather widely. In contrast, ‘Talking to Terrorists’ by Bew, Frampton and Gurruchaga, consciously rejects the notion that a particular template can be exported internationally. Importantly, it contends that the Ulster peace process has in any case been misinterpreted, even as its purported lessons have been cited as a model that can help resolve conflicts elsewhere. English’s short book...

In a radical departure for ‘Three Thousand Versts’ I am publishing the first ever guest post (control freakery you see). Phil Larkin has kindly emailed a response to my article about Putin and WW2. It is much too well argued to be consigned to my inbox and Phil has kindly agreed to let me reproduce it here. I will respond to some of the points which it raises in due course. I always find Chekov's contributions on Russia, her politics, culture, and national identity fascinating. Although I have travelled throughout Poland (which I love) the Baltic States, and the Balkans, Russia largely remains for me, in the words of Winston Churchill, a mystery, wrapped in a riddle, inside an enigma. Throughout my travels, however, I have seen examples of Russian culture, the beauty of Eastern Orthodox iconography being particularly striking. I firmly believe that too many Western statesmen fall into the same category as myself, namely, ignorant, vis-a-vis Russia, something which causes many pr...

If you cannot bear to read Vladimir Putin’s Gazeta Wyborcza article, marking the 70th anniversary of Poland’s invasion by the Nazis, in patchy translation, the BBC website carries a selective synopsis of its contents. The Russian prime minister, as the report intimates, offers unequivocal condemnation of the ‘Non Aggression Pact’ which foreshadowed the occupation of Poland by German and Soviet forces, calling it ‘immoral’. However he is also quick to draw comparison with the 1938 Munich Treaty, which saw Britain and France attempt to appease Hitler at the expense of Czechoslovakia. Despite its eccentric English, in order to get a sense of the tenor of Putin’s critique, I’d recommend reading the translation which the PM’s website provides. The 'Putinite regime' is commonly portrayed as if it were intent on overseeing Stalin’s rehabilitation, often with the implied aim of entrenching its own, purportedly authoritarian, project. As this weblog has consistently argued, the tr...

It is impossible, as a first time visitor to Moscow, not to be impressed by the city’s Metro system. It was conceived that the stations should be ‘people’s palaces’ representing their putative shared ownership by Soviet workers. Exploring underground for just an hour or two, a passenger can discover facilities which are sumptuous, ornate, resonant with symbolism, and comprise, in themselves, popular tourist attractions. Construction of Lazar Kaganavich’s plan for Moscow, of which the metro was an integral part, was begun in the 1930s, with the first line opening to the public in 1935. The underground railway and its stations are, largely, achievements of Stalin’s regime. It is hardly surprising that the troublesome dialogue which Russia periodically engages in with its Soviet past has once again arisen in relation to the Metro . Renovation of Kurskaya Station, returned to its original glory, has proved a little too thorough for some observers . A verse from the 1944 Soviet natio...

Given that resisting republican rewrites of history is the topic of my post below here's a rather instructive story about what happens when that imperative is cast aside. Pictured is a memorial in honour of 'Irish republican' Sean Russell which was unveiled last week . The Republic's National Graves Association oversaw its reconstruction, after the original was beheaded. To fill in some history, whilst the Luftwaffe blitzed English cities during World War 2, the IRA's Chief of Staff launched his own bombing campaign in England. Russell eventually lost his life on a Nazi U Boat. This is what 'countenancing' recent history involves for those unfamiliar with republican doublespeak. No progressive or thinking person would 'countenance' tolerating such revisionism.

Today is Victory Day in Russia. The celebration marks the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War 2. The Great Patriotic War, as it is known in Russia, has played a defining role in shaping national consciousness. The Russian sacrifice in that conflict was extraordinary in its scale. Russia will celebrate Nazi surrender with parades, concerts, fireworks and military events, throughout the country. Although, with ironic untimeliness, the BBC reports that the huge Motherland statue in Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) which commemorates the city’s pivotal role in the war, is suffering serious subsidence. According to the Moscow Times , spectators in Russia’s capital will watch events drenched in sun and enjoying temperatures of 22C. Which, looking outside, makes me a little jealous. The photograph shows the eternal flame memorial which sits at the wall of the Kremlin in Moscow.

I’ve read two extracts from a book entitled, ‘Breaking up Britain: Four nations after a union’, over the past couple of days. One , by the volume’s editor Mark Perryman, is full of sweeping assumptions and portentous, imprecise sentences which squirm like eels in a bucket whenever the reader tries to grasp one and attribute to it a definite meaning. The other , by Arthur Aughey, is its antidote. Aughey believes that history cannot be understood in linear terms, and it is dangerous to interpret it as if it were a path which leads to an inevitable destination. He delivers a sober, realistic appraisal of devolution in Northern Ireland. And he explains his ideas clearly, picking illuminating, rather than obfuscating, images by which to illustrate them. In order to tiptoe carefully around apoplexy I will leave Perryman’s piece to be inspected in readers’ own time. It is sufficient to quote the opening two sentences, “Once the union between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland...

Historians have often speculated that Northern Ireland’s history might have been less troubled had Stormont’s first Education Minister been able to realise his vision of an integrated education system. Under enormous pressure from Catholic and Protestant clerics, Lord Londonderry’s 1923 Education Act was amended beyond recognition. The Minister retired from politics here in disillusionment and an early opportunity to draw some of the sectarianism from society was lost. Eamon McCann revisits those events in his Belfast Telegraph column and laments the lack of any current impetus towards integrated schooling in Northern Ireland. Whilst current Education Minister, Caitriona Ruane, deplores separating children using academic criteria, she is supportive of the religious division and indeed she actively encourages further partition of pupils along community lines by championing separate Irish language schools. In truth the situation in education is merely one of the baleful consequenc...

Secretary of State Shaun Woodward’s decision to rule out any possibility of a £12,000 payout to the relatives of everyone killed in the troubles (within the UK) is unsurprising. It was necessary, both to avoid justifiable moral revulsion and in order to salvage other recommendations contained in the Eames Bradley report. This one clause might otherwise have deemed an extensive report effectively worthless, had it not been swiftly and unequivocally kicked into the long grass by the government. What Eames and Bradley produced is not entirely without merit. It is imbued with an underlying desire to see closure which many people in Northern Ireland share. Putting a stop to endless calls for expensive public inquiries is plainly a necessary aspiration. Despite criticism, I also believe it makes a decent fist of suggesting structures which might enable victims’ families to hear the truth about what happened to their loved ones. However Tom Elliot articulates some objections which th...

A depressing little story appeared in the Sunday Tribune yesterday illustrating that whilst attitudes may be changing as regards recognising the heritage which we share on these islands, there remains in Ireland, north and south, a deep vein of hatred towards anything which might be associated with the ‘other side’. Students at St Mac Dara’s community college in Dublin have been persuaded to alter a mural depicting historical events of 1916. A parent complained in an anonymous letter that one half of the painting, which portrayed Irish involvement in the First World War, included a ‘loyalist symbol’. The offending item was of course a poppy. No matter that the other half of the mural was dedicated to the Easter Rising which also occurred during that year. No matter that the poppies were painted as part of a wider view of Flanders’ fields. This lone, spineless bigot was determined that no image which he associated with the British tradition would grace a mural at his child’s scho...