I recently came across a speech about Russia by Arnold Schwarzenegger, an actor I admire and whose iconic films, like Terminator, I’ve watched with great interest. The well-crafted speech, in Arnold’s own style, contained important messages. He first mentioned Yuri Petrovich Vlasov, a man who inspired him and whom he admired so much that he even hung a poster of his picture on his bedroom wall as a youth.
Yuri Vlasov was the first weightlifter in the world to lift 200 kilograms overhead. Arnold was a 14-year-old teenager when he achieved this world record, and he witnessed the event firsthand. After lifting 200 kilograms, he was able to go backstage, meet Yuri Vlasov, and congratulate him. He has remained a huge fan ever since, and he has become a true Russian admirer. Even though his father, who joined the Nazi Germany Army and went to fight in Leningrad, advised Arnold not to hang a poster of a Russian in his room, he disobeyed his father and consistently cultivated friendships with the Russian people. Following these messages of friendship, he also warned the Russian people and soldiers about the propaganda and misinformation surrounding Russia’s war against Ukraine. Let’s begin with the lies and truths the Russian Government told the Russian people and soldiers about the war in Ukraine:
Lies and Truths
LIE 1 (To the Russian People): “This war is being started to purify Ukraine of Nazism and nationalists and to protect those of Russian descent.”
TRUTH: Denazify Ukraine? Ukraine’s president is Jewish. All three of the president’s uncles were killed by the Nazis during World War II. Now, are you going to denazify a country with this man as president? Ukraine didn’t start this war, nor did the nationalists or Nazis. The Russian president and those around him, the Kremlin, started this war. The truth is, the Russian soldiers were not greeted by Nazis or nationalists, but by Ukrainians fighting to protect their country and families.
LIE 2 (to the Russian Military): “They will be hailed as heroes by Ukrainians.”
TRUTH: On the contrary, Ukrainians see the Russians as invaders. They encountered Ukrainian resistance, fighting to the death to defend their country and families.
LIE 3 (to the Russian Military): “You’re going on a training exercise.”
TRUTH: What training exercise? They were sent into battle with Ukrainians, trained to defend their country.
Ultimately, 141 countries voted that Russia was the aggressor and warned them to “withdraw their troops from Ukraine immediately.” Only four countries voted in Russia’s favor. In short, the entire world turned its back on Russia for declaring war on Ukraine. Because of this brutality, Russia was ostracized from the community of all nations.
Three million Ukrainians, mostly women, children, and the elderly, were forced to flee their country. Many still want to leave. This is a humanitarian crisis.
Unprecedented sanctions have been imposed on Russia for raining bombs and missiles on innocent people.
Arnold’s Statements
Having said all this, Arnold Schwarzenegger, using his own father as an example, empathizes with the Russian soldiers with these words:
“My father (referring to fighting for the Nazis) went to war in Leningrad, fueled by the lies of his own government. When he left Leningrad, he was physically and mentally devastated. He lived the rest of his life in pain. He lived with the physical pain caused by the broken back and the shrapnel that injured him, and the mental pain caused by his guilt.
My Russian friends, you understand what I mean; I don’t want you to be devastated like my father. This isn’t a war of the Russian people defending their country; it’s an unlawful war. Your country is being sacrificed because of those in the Kremlin and their ambitions.
Remember, 11 million Russians have relatives living in Ukraine. So every time you fire a bullet, you’re shooting at your brothers and sisters. You’re bombing hospitals, schools, and homes.
I know these Russian people or their soldiers don’t realize what’s happening. So they need to be aware of this propaganda and disinformation.” I made this video for the Russian people.
To the Russian people: I ask you to help spread the truth. Let everyone know about the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Ukraine.
To Putin: You started this war, you are leading this war. You can stop this war.
I want to conclude this speech by sharing my thoughts on the Russians protesting against the war: The whole world has seen your courage. We also know that you are suffering the consequences of your courage. You have been arrested, imprisoned, and beaten. You are my new heroes. You have the power of Yuri Petrovich Vlasov. You have the true heart of Russia.”
You can watch this speech in full at https://twitter.com/schwarzenegger/status/1504426844199669762?s=21 .
Response from a young Russian weightlifter
Of course, Maryana Naumova responded to this statement when she competed for Russia in the Arnold Classic Weightlifting Competition held in the United States at the age of 15, breaking the world record for 150 kg (330 lbs) in the upper chest. She claims that schools in the Donbas and Luhansk regions were bombed by Ukrainians, and that Russians there were killed. She asks Arnold why he hasn’t responded to her articles and pictures on the subject. She even reproaches him, saying, “I watched the video you shot for the Russian people, and it’s clear you haven’t read the articles I wrote.” Similarly, she reminds him that her country, America, fought for Iraq, and that her father inflicted suffering on Russians by fighting for the Nazis. She invites him to the war zone. We know that she was once a Hitler admirer and later regretted it. However, she says that those like Stepan Bandera, who collaborated with the Nazis during World War II and declared the Ukrainian State (https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Bandera ), and his sympathizers are far from remorseful.
You can watch Maryana Naumova’s response to Arnold Schwarzenegger in the video below:
I must say that I agree with Arnold in all of these discussions. There are some truths to Maryana’s words that need to be considered, but here, in my opinion, Arnold is right.
A Russian Who Influenced My Life
First of all, I’d like to state that I personally have sympathy for Russians. Beyond living in neighboring countries within the same geography, I’d like to take this opportunity to recall an incident I had with a Russian female official handling international applications at McGill University, which directly impacted my life. I’ve previously written about this in a blog post you can read at https://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/ufuk-acan-bir-deneyim-mcgill-yillarim . The subject is my admission story to McGill University, which holds a very important place in my life. I’m sharing those lines again as a reminder:
After applying to McGill University, I was waiting for the positive results regarding my acceptance, and lo and behold, I received a rejection letter from McGill University. I was completely devastated. How could this have happened? I met all the criteria they required. I passed every exam. I even achieved one of the highest scores on the SAT math exam, almost achieving a perfect score. I was one of the best students in my school. I was the school president. I was very active in sports. There was definitely a mistake here, and I needed to fix it.
No giving up
The normal reaction would be to accept the situation and go to one of the universities they’d been accepted to, right? In my mind, I’d already been accepted to McGill University. I took immediate action and got the first flight to Montreal.
I went straight to the Admissions Office, explaining the situation. I told them I wanted to talk about my application. The woman who answered my request at the entrance said, “Just a moment, I’ll call the person in charge.” I’ll never forget that a blonde woman approached me from the enclosed area.
We started talking, and the following exchange took place:
- Hello, I’m Serhan Süzer. I applied to your school and received a rejection. I think there’s a mistake here, because when I looked at your application criteria, I fit all of them. I’m here to find out the reason for this rejection.
- Could you please write your full name and where you applied? Let me get your file from inside and take a look.
After getting this information, he went back inside and returned with my file in hand. Our subsequent conversation unfolded as follows:
- The reason is that your TOEFL score was below the minimum score we required.
- How is that possible? I passed the TOEFL exam, meaning I got a passing grade.
(I had my entire application file with me, and I pulled out the document showing my score and placed it in front of him).
- Here it is.
- How is that possible? Your score here seems lower.
- Let’s look at the dates.
Then the real problem arose. I took the TOEFL exam without studying for my first try (to find out what the exam was like). Then I took the exam again after studying (TOEFL exams were held every two months during our term). I got a passing grade from that. For some reason, the information about the first exam I took to try out for McGill University, which I received a low score for, had disappeared. When the application officer realized the situation, he immediately reacted:
- It’s good that you brought this document. Can I have a copy of it?
- Of course.
After the copy process:
- We’ll re-evaluate your application and get back to you. I see your English is actually perfectly fine.
- (I continued chatting, a habit I’ve had since high school) Thank you. I’ve been traveling a lot since then. I guess that plays a role. By the way, where are you from (he had a slight accent)?
- I’m originally from Russia.
- How wonderful. We Russians and Turks are brothers. Relations between us are improving every day.
- Yes, I’m following the region.
- Have you ever been to Turkey?
- No, I’ve never been.
- We have some wonderful places. Marmaris, Fethiye, Bodrum, Çeşme. Turkey is a true holiday paradise. I recommend it.
- Yes, I hope to come one day.
- All the best. Thank you so much for your help.
- Of course, what does that mean?
- I’ll be waiting to hear from you.
- Okay. Good day.
- Good day.
Two weeks after that conversation, I received my acceptance from McGill University. It sounds like a joke, but I did it. I was going to study in the school and city of my dreams.
Just like Yuri Petrovich Vlasov, who influenced Arnold’s life, a Russian woman directly influenced my life. Unfortunately, I don’t remember her name, but I hope to find her again in the future. Such is fate. After this experience, I always held a positive view of Russians because of her.
My visit to St. Petersburg last October and getting to know the Russian people further strengthened this feeling. I recommend reading these articles for those who haven’t encountered my St. Petersburg articles:
https://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/gokyuzunun-altindaki-muze-saint-petersburg-1
https://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/gokyuzunun-altindaki-muze-saint-petersburg-2
Unacceptable Justifications
I personally feel saddened to see them isolated in this way by the actions of their government, despite having such positive views of the Russian people and culture. I believe they don’t deserve it. In fact, I find some of the protests against Russians exaggerated and absurd.
However, in the end, no one in their right mind in this century accepts the justifications created to justify such a brutal war, such as saving the country from Nazis or nationalists, or whatever the reason. This is why Russia has been marginalized to an extent unprecedented in history. Western countries have also made serious mistakes in Iraq and Syria, and I have always been personally opposed to the wars there. However, it is unacceptable for the Russian government and its sympathizers to constantly draw comparisons based on these mistakes. So, are you repeating the same mistakes of declaring war against another country and saying, “We can do it too, making excuses; it’s our right?”
Differences between Ukraine and Iraq
There are also significant differences between Ukraine and Iraq:
1) Ukraine is a democracy. You are declaring war on the people who elected their own leaders. The people of that country will, of course, stand behind their leaders to the death and defend their own country. In Iraq, there was a dictator like Saddam, who did not hesitate to kill a certain segment of his own population (Kurds and Shiites).
2) Ukraine has never declared war on any country. It has a peaceful history. However, during Saddam’s era, Iraq aggressively declared war on its neighbors. I would like to remind you that it engaged in a years-long war with Iran and declared war on and invaded Kuwait.
3) I believe that the Russians living in the eastern regions’ demand to secede from Ukraine is entirely based on provocation. Ukrainians and Russians are of the same ancestry; they are brothers. If this region, which has been relatively peaceful for decades and even hosts a soccer team like Shahtar Donetsk, a European Champion, hadn’t experienced such clashes that have resulted in casualties on both sides, such as these provocations, would never have occurred. There are also peaceful ways to gain control of the Black Sea.
I want to conclude with a beautiful video prepared for Ukraine. This video beautifully expresses the feelings we wish to express in thousands of words:
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbdM3M0Fhif/?utm_medium=share_sheet
I condemn all wars and the propaganda and actions taken to legitimize them. I hope that future generations will never again witness a brutal war like the one in Ukraine.
Tag: memoir
