Grand Inquisitor for Europe

Why is EU leadership, the Collective Brussels, is so Much United in its Russophobic Policies?

Despite economic and pragmatic interests. Despite shared religious, cultural and historical destinies. Despite thousands of things that unite Russia and Europe, all of the sudden, Europe had become a version of Hillary Clinton and her “Russia, Russia, Russia” mantra.

Well, of all people, it was Dostoevsky, who has provided an answer in his brilliant Grand Inquisitor, the all-powerful chapter of Brothers Karamazov. In this chapter, the Inquisitor accuses Christ for failing to lead the people into peace and harmony. Inquisitor explains his approach to the silent Christ:

“Man seeketh for himself on earth… a constant object for worship; one to deliver his conscience up to, and one that should unite all together into one common and harmonious ant-hill… An innate necessity for universal union constitutes the third and final affliction of mankind. Humanity as a whole has ever aspired to unite itself universally… The greater [nations] were, the more unhappy they felt, as they felt the stronger necessity of a universal union among men. Great conquerors, like Timoor and Tchengis-Khan, passed like a cyclone upon the face of the earth in their efforts to conquer the universe, but even they, albeit unconsciously, expressed the same aspiration towards universal and common union. In accepting the kingdom of the world and Caesar’s purple, one would found a universal kingdom and secure to mankind eternal peace. And who can rule mankind better than those who have possessed themselves of man’s conscience, and hold in their hand man’s daily bread?”

For Dostoevsky (but not to his Grand Inquisitor), these are Satanic Temptations, which Christ had rejected, but which Grand Inquisitor wants to implement: to find an institution/ideology that would constitute “a constant object for worship” to “capture man’s conscience and “one that should unite all together into one common and harmonious ant-hill”; one “universal kingdom.”

And that’s the crux of the matter. “Unite all together into one common and harmonious ant-hill.“ Chingiz Khan tried to do it. Rome tried to do it. Marx/Lenin tried to do it; British empire keeps on trying to do it.

Grand Inquisitor is a old decrepit guy, who wants to preserve his power. That’s all there is to him, and he knows it himself. So he would do all he can to manipulate populace in submission by appealing to their thirst for bread, for faith, and for unity.

EU is not that different from Grand Inquisitor. Wealthy progressive western democracies are dying to preserve their power by uniting the world under the leadership of Brussels’ technocrats, those ambitious and myopic over-achievers, who should have been replaced by AI long time ago.

Give people bread through social services, grab their conscience through mass media, and united them not by sword of Alexander, Augustus, Napoleon, or Hitler — that would be so retrograde and old-fashioned — but by the fear of such a sword.

Leaders of Europe — similar to the Grand Inquisitor — know damn well, that it is too much work and too demanding to unite people into some fuzzy and constantly failing true brotherhood as envisioned by Christ and other teachers of universal love. It is much easier to unite them in fear of a common enemy.

And such an enemy can’t be some metaphysical entity like a devil, who is always inside us, as any religious leader worthy of his salt would tell you. If the battle is within, who needs political leaders? No, those crooks want to lead and control the population, and therefore they instill the fear of the external devil, the evil barbarian, who wants to invade, rob you, and grab your daughters.

In other words, had Russia not existed, it had to be invented. Of course, Russia is not the first, nor is it the last such external enemy. Traditionally, it was the Other, a stranger: a person of different looks, customs, beliefs, and practices.

There are serious studies of “scape-goating.” Of the need to have an enemy which is both sufficiently powerful to constitute a credible threat, but not life-threatening, in case of confrontation. The enemy can’t be Serbia (different as it is, it is not a serious threat to Europe); it can’t be China or United States (which are too serious a threat). Russia, therefore, is perfect. Scary enough for European bourgeois, but not essential, in case of serious, but non-nuclear, confrontation.

That’s why, after the collapse of Soviet Union (a perfect bogey man to keep Europeans in fear and submission), Putin’s war on Ukraine was a god-send. It is so un-kosher to unite Europe by white supremacy, by wealth, by violent invasions, colonialism and regime changes. It is much more noble to be united by fear of Russia, the only country that constantly engages in violent invasions, colonialism and regime changes.

Finally, a narrative that can unite people. Evil Russians vs. heroic victims, Ukrainians.

Never mind that this narrative it false to the core. Never mind, that the Soviets were not treated like such pariahs, even when they were engaged in Stalin’s brutal repressions, or all sorts of true invasions, like into Hungary or Czechoslovakia. Never mind that US or China are doing things that Russia only dreams of doing. Never mind, that Ukrainians glorify mass murderers and Nazi collaborators, and bring their remains back home from their Nazi cemeteries. Never mind, that the country is mired in corruption, violence, fear, and abuse. We need enemies and friends, to grab people’s conscience and unite them.

That’s why every parliament in Europe, every official building has to flaunt Ukrainian flag. And simultaneously have to ban Russian artists, athletes, and airlines.

That’s a satanic way of uniting, of course. Uniting in hatred, uniting in demonization, uniting in scapegoating. But that’s the way, Grand Inquisitor has chosen, because it is a practical way, as opposed to Christ’ mystical ill-defined teachings of love and sacrifice.

Of course, between not-really-threatening Serbia, and all too threatening US, there are other countries beside Russia, which EU would be ready to hate in its quest for unity. Not Turkey, that has Muslim world behind it. But Israel, for example, can be a perfect scapegoat. Or the United States, once it loses its creative edge to the AI juggernaut, it is so busy creating. So Russians are just the canary in the coalmine.

So as the way of summing up, allow me to re-make an old joke.

An old Jew is dying. All his children want to hear his words of wisdom before he departs to another world. He whispers to them: Save the Russians. What? They look at each other in amazement. What the hell he is talking about? Save the Russians, he mutters again. Why, uncle Mordecai, why Russians?

Finally, Mordecai masters his remaining strength and delivers: because once they finish off Russians, they’ll start killing us again.

Indeed. A white man’s burden is to find an enemy. A scape-goat. And it will be found. The rulers of this world, had been practicing demonizing and scape-goating for centuries. And they perfected the craft to the degree that even Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor would be envious.