Why All Russians Are Responsible for Putin's War

As Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine continues, we assess the responsibility of the Russian people for Putin's evil.

I use Thomas Mann's brilliant meditations on Nazi Germany to help us start a conversation about how do humans take responsibility when they are not guilty of evil, but are associated with it.

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CHAPTERS:
00:00 Thomas Mann on political responsibility
03:15 Russians taking responsibility
05:21 Irresponsibility
08:30 Holding the world in one's heart (utilitarianism)
10:02 Being humane
12:29 The West

Thomas Mann, Germany and the Germans

Avishai Margalit talk at Stredoeuropske Forum

Dmitri Gordon interview of Michail Khodorkovsky (March 2, 2022)

opening music: Wilhelm Furtwängler & Yehudi Menuhin with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, 1947

[VladVexler]

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[barbaraludwiczak]

The point is: Even if you aren't interested in history and politics, these are interested in you. There is no escape from them.

[pedropinheiroaugusto]

As a Portuguese born after a 48 year long fascist dictatorship, I can relate to what is defended in the video.
Portuguese dictatorship was only possible, even enduring a 13 year long colonial war with no end in sight, because most people were numb and refuged in a personal shell.
When democracy came, after a military coup, people participated in droves but democracy is hard, it demands constant presence, results are slow, and people got disappointed (even though Portuguese democracy is a success story) and now there's danger of populism...

[wgwells]

As a humanities and philosophy teacher, I can say this is one of the most important things I have ever watched on YouTube. Well done, Vlad--may this message spread across the world.

[sebastiangrumman]

People like Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Putin do monstrous acts, but we throw the appellation "monster" on them so as to distance ourselves from their acts. "These are monsters, not humans, therefore WE, OURSELVES, could never be capable of such acts".

[rgbforever]

Hello,
This is a thank you
I am 16 years old, live in Germany, and i am totally overwhelmed with all current events.
I am not able to find true comfort in restricting myself in my knowledge
and not taking on responsibility really, but at the same time i tried to push away that responsibility because i couldn't do anything about it, i viewed it and still view it as unfair since i believe in fairness that put me in a moral dilemma i was unable to understand really and still don't claim i do. It is hard for me to accept unfairness to put it in to context. The example in this case would be the lackluster german weapon deliveries at the start of the war.

This video gave me an idea that i don't claim to fully understand on what it means to take responsibility and what the difference between taking responsibility and accepting the others actions or opinions.

I hope i was able to vaguely put my thoughts in to words that make sense.

[varvarith]

Weak are punished for their crimes, strong are rewarded for their crimes.

[petertraudes]

I am in the Netherlands and i have a Dutch friend who studied Russian and who works as a translator. It turns that hè also is a "Putin Versteher" who constantly repeats the Russian propaganda on the genocidal war in Ukraine. I broke up our friendship of more than three decades and i am very unhappy about it.

[MusicMissionary]

This is so on point. It's all about non-dual thinking. If you insist you're good and the enemy is evil, you can justify any evil act.

[john]

This is what is happening in the UK, regarding Brexit. "We" voted for Cameron, "we" voted in the referendum in 2016, "we" voted for Boris in 2019, Now "we" don't like what "we" were given, so "we" are trying to ignore it.

[anthonybullard]

"... And if you've got a ready made answer in two minutes flat to that question, you're wrong." One of my favorite Vlad quotes.

[martinschaefer]

There is one good russion YT channel which is taking this up: 1420. They are asking seemingly stupid questions to russians on the streetsre, but that way forcing them to think about what is happening instead of retreating from any politics. Reactions quite often confirm what Vlad is saying...

[BigDaddyCane]

It's good to see you back. Hope you're feeling better.

[scottishfold]

Excellent analysis. I am Italian and there was once a famous singer-songwriter who said something similar "I'm not afraid of Berlusconi himself, but of Berlusconi in me"

[michellestratford]

As a Canadian, this is ringjng very true and very terrifying for me. Our neighbour to the south is eyeing up our natural resources and planting the early seeds to get support for an ultimate economic 'invasion'. We are so interconnected today that a Putin combined with a Trump can bring dark and desperate times throught the world😢💔🇨🇦

[belesdan]

Too many people in Germany say the don´t want to hear about the holocaust and the world wars anymore. We have to leave it behind us, that has nothing to do with us we must be proud of our country again and vote for nationalist parties. That makes me sad and angry. It is not our fault what happened 80 years ago, but it is our responsibility that it never happens again.

[Supermiez]

Can we have the “how all Americans are responsible for Trump, Musk, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libia, Vietnam etc” video now?

[FarTooFar]

I worked with an absolutely wonderful russian women who I saw lose her composure and cry only twice. On the first occasion, when her beloved grandmother died; the second occasion, on the morning her country invaded Ukraine. Tears of shame.

[thomasayresol]

I'm so glad you did this video on the abdication of responsibility. This has been a problem here in the USA for decades. It seems to be getting worse. The most frightening part for me is watching the public expectations and publicly held standards for leaders in government going in a downward direction. The point of getting elected to public office was to serve the public, to govern. Now we have many leaders that refuse to govern. They don't even pretend anymore. It's all about selfish interests; money and power. But as George Carlin said, "Maybe, just maybe we deserve the leaders we get. After all, we elected them." Forgive me if the George Carlin quote is not exact, but you get the idea.

[elysiumfields]

I come back to this video months later and it is still as relevant and impactful as ever. A stark warning and lesson to any and all members of any society on the planet. Thank you for expressing it so succinctly.