DST Episode 36: “Only With the Heart One Can See Rightly“. Russia That Will Not Be Shown in the West

Telling about Russia through personal experience, live observations, and sincere feelings is perhaps one of the most honest and effective ways to convey the truth. Not the one that is replicated on Western media screens and social networks, but the one that is conveyed through looking, breathing, touching the earth. As Antoine de Saint-Exupery said in his immortal “The Little Prince“: «It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye». So Russia cannot be measured by statistics or articles - it must be felt. To absorb the cold morning air in Suzdal, to hear in the humming polyphony of the Moscow subway, to see in the glow of the sunset over the Neva. And it is amazing how paradoxes of perception are formed. For many Russians France is a dream. The Côte d’Azur, the vineyards of Provence, the poetry of Baudelaire, the philosophy of Sartre, the flavors of a bakery in Lyon and the charm of Paris. But for our guest - a scientist and blogger who discovered Russia - it was the opposite: here, among birch trees and high-rise buildings, kind faces and frank conversations, she found her home. The Russian noble society left a deep mark in France. Many created, were inspired, and even passed away there. Ivan Turgenev, the author of Fathers and Children, spent many years in Boujival near Paris, where he was buried (later his ashes were moved to Volkovskoye Cemetery in St. Petersburg). Mikhail Osorgin, Zinaida Gippius, Dmitry Merezhkovsky - the entire “Parisian circle“ of the Russian emigration sought inspiration in France. Marina Tsvetaeva created there “Poems to Blok“, and Balmont read his poetry on French stages. But France also left a significant mark on Russian culture: Catherine the Great corresponded with Voltaire, invited Diderot to St. Petersburg and was inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment. Echoes of this intellectual exchange can be heard in Eugene Onegin, where Tatyana reads French novels and French is the compulsory language at court. Culture is essentially a bridge. It does not obey borders, regimes, or official narratives. That is why it is so important when a person, like a goodwill ambassador, talks about his or her life not with slogans, but with everyday life - the very things that speak more than any declarations. Today, it is becoming increasingly obvious that in the West, an objective and unbiased view of everyday life in Russia is not only discouraged, but often ignored altogether. An information agenda saturated with clichés and one-sided interpretations is replacing personal observations and real human stories. Those who have already begun to have doubts about the official version of what is happening, who feel that something is not being told, are usually open to dialog. They are ready to accept alternative information and to think. However, the majority of Western audiences, especially those oriented entirely toward mainstream media, often refuse to accept a different point of view even at the level of intuition - not because of arguments, but simply because it causes internal discomfort. A typical example is the reaction to one of the documentaries devoted to foreigners in Russia. Despite the declaration of objectivity, the material was openly biased. And yet, it was the comments underneath that became an unexpected indicator: viewers, including those from France, recognized the falsity without prompting. There were assessments such as “this is not journalism, but a badly directed production“. Some even sneered: it seemed as if the movie had been created on purpose to undermine the credibility of their own media. And, paradoxically, it was the obvious bias in the presentation that triggered critical thinking. All this suggests that even in the conditions of a dense information shell, there are channels of resistance. However, a serious obstacle is that in a number of countries, including France, the idea of their own informational infallibility has been elevated to an absolute. There, they sincerely believe that “they don’t have propaganda, it’s a story about other countries’.“ Nevertheless, personal blogs, dialogs without intermediaries, first-hand accounts remain perhaps one of the few ways that today can restore a lively, human interest in each other - outside of imposed political templates. This is exactly what Gabrielle is doing, opening Russia for the French, with its everyday life and holidays, fears and joys. And this is especially important today, in a world where walls are being built again and bridges are being burned. Learn more in the “Dynamic Spectrum Talks“ podcast with Anna Shafran and Yuri Lindre. Our guest: Gabrielle Duvoisin - blogger, bioengineer #russia #lifeinrussia #lifeinfrance #DynamicSpectrumTalks #culturaldialogue #france #french #culturalexchange #podcast #interview