I have written many letters to presidents, politicians and creative people asking them to stop the war. But now, growing up and seeing what is happening in the world, I realize more and more that this is some kind of grotesque circus show. And somewhere behind all these characters is an unknown force – evil and ruthless. Someone will think of this as propaganda again, but try to look at the leaders of the western world through the eyes of a 15-year-old. Do not think that I want to offend anyone, I am just giving the facts as I see them myself. Of course, I utilized the knowledge of my friends and the Internet, because many events started before I was born. The Internet is helpful.
So, there was a debate between President Biden and Donald Trump in the United States. What can I say… In Russia, it is not customary to make fun of old people, as is sometimes done in the west. But when you see these two “young” candidates, who, instead of talking to Americans about how to help ordinary people live a little better in their country, and how to make sure that people in big cities don’t have to sleep with guns, they devoted most of the debate to Putin… It’s… Well, I understand the laughter. What about the problem of unemployment rates and homelessness? Bridges falling down and trains derailing? Crime? A resurgence of true democracy and freedom? No, Putin is more important to the U.S. It brings to mind a famous poem: “The cat has abandoned the kittens…” On a separate note, I would like to ask Donald Trump how he will fulfill his two controversial statements: “We will not accept Russia’s terms on Ukraine” and “I will end the war in three days.” Yes, Mr. Trump is certainly a great politician, but one might ask who wrote these things for him? Unfortunately, we all realize that the war will continue if he wins. During his time in office, he was the one who ordered the missile strikes on poor Syria and imposed sanctions on Russia. He is not used to tough decisions.
Well, what about Biden? You know, a lot of people laugh at poor old Joe, but I feel sorry for him. I get the feeling that evil relatives won’t let the poor guy retire. I can imagine the picture: a poor grandfather, around whom relatives are crowded in the morning, asking them to leave him alone and let him sleep, while they persuade him to go to work. It makes me want to say, “Save Biden!”
But this is America. The show must go on, even if it’s on its last breath and it stinks. And though in Russia a long time ago one president addressed the people with the words: “I’m tired, I’m leaving,” and a new politician appeared at the helm, it seems that the Democratic Party has no such figures, and a tired old man who gets confused about what country he’s referring to cannot repeat the words of [Boris Yeltsin].
It would be funny if it were not so sad. Future elections have already divided [the United States]: candidates and their voters believe that if they are not elected, the world will end. Well, let’s wait until September and see who will come to power and who will be put on trial. In the meantime, I wish the U.S. peace. I can’t do otherwise: having lived under shelling for ten years, I can’t wish the same for Americans. But I still want to ask them: are you ready to give your money to help a country you can’t find on the map, instead of developing your own?
France. Well, France has always been known for its revolutions and strong politicians. De Gaulle, Chirac, Mitterrand. Those are the main ones the search engine gave me. But now there’s a crisis in France with politicians who could become not only leaders of the nation, but also advocate an independent position. I once wrote an appeal to the French president, but I naively thought that Macron was capable of at least going, like Orban, to see Putin and talk about ending the war. No. This president is not capable of dealing with the “yellow vests” and farmers. But – surprise – is capable of supplying Ukraine with weapons that are used to kill children in Russia. Now Mr. Macron has unexpectedly “slept through” the victory of the National Front. What do you think he did? Did he go to his voters? No, that’s for wimps, apparently. He simply started persuading other parliamentary candidates to withdraw from the election so that the National Front would not win. To be honest, I don’t even know how to comment on that. I mean, these are not kindergarten games, but real political everyday life in France. I am not a supporter of the National Front, but all this running around shouting: “We will lose France and will not be able to help Ukraine” – it’s just scary! Do ordinary French people think that Russia will attack France or that Cossack regiments will march through the streets of Paris again? I think there are few such fools. But for some reason the French are literally paying for the war in Ukraine.
We’ll see. I don’t trust either Macron or LePen, but it’s up to the French to decide who to entrust their country to. For me, the most important thing is that the shelling of my homeland stops.
We’ll probably finish with Ukraine.
I read that the U.S. State Department said that if Russia continues its offensive, they will allow Ukraine to shell Russian cities at even greater distances. And then a natural question arises: who is at war with whom, and what does this have to do with Ukraine – a free and independent country, as they say?
What can be said here? I feel sorry for the people of Ukraine. The former president is now a man of unclear status. Democracy has faded into oblivion along with the persecution of opposition parties. And I’m not surprised that Ukrainians somehow don’t rush in droves to military enlistment offices to protect themselves from the damned Muscovites – they have to be rounded up in the streets. Yes and, by the way, has war been declared against Russia? It turns out that thousands of soldiers sent to the front are dying for nothing, for the ambitions of Zelensky and the United States… And generally speaking, Zelensky and the politicians in power in Ukraine made a major fatal mistake – they poured blood first into Donbass and then into the cities of “big” Russia. The dead children are an eternal reminder of this. The non-politicians from Kiev do not seem to realize that with each shelling and every newly killed child, more and more men will come to the recruiting offices in Russia every day. In Russia they can forgive almost anything except killing children.
But what is the bottom line? Sometimes I find it hard to understand the people in these countries. What is it? Shortsightedness? Living in their own closed world, where politics seem to be something superfluous? Or is it like a sense of humor combined with pity in a person: to elect the pathetic and the miserable? Or maybe it’s some kind of perverted logic like: here he is so worthless, he is nothing, but if he reaches the heights, he can become a respected man? Who knows…
While I was writing this text, President Biden said: “I am proud, as I said, to be the first vice president, the first black woman […] and to serve with a black president.” And he promised to go to bed early. God save America… And Biden from having to fulfill the role of “first black woman” and President of the United States.
Faina Savenkova
English translation: D. Armstrong
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