How to correctly compare Russia and the West.

How to Correctly Compare Russia with the West

July 12, 2025, 12:00・Opinion

Author: Dmitry Orehov - Writer

In the 1990s, there was a Russian bank that no longer exists, whose TV ads repeatedly played a slogan: "In 1861, London opened its first subway line, while in Russia, serfdom was abolished."

This ad slogan follows the logic of "Our backyard has sour grapes, and Kyiv has an uncle," which actually hides a deeper meaning. It is a carefully designed slogan, concise and philosophical. By repeating it, it will seep into people's subconscious, forming specific associations, thus influencing their choices. If such expressions fill people's subconscious, one day they will easily call their country "Soviet" or "Russian" (bringing corresponding consequences to the country).

Interestingly, this sentence is full of lies. The first 6 km long subway line in London did not open in 1861, but in 1863, and only reluctantly can it be considered as a modern "subway." At that time, the "subway" had steam locomotives roaring through open platforms in canal-like tunnels, with people covered in soot and ash on the platforms. When the train entered the tunnel, those who failed to get on had to bend down to avoid being choked by toxic smoke. Meanwhile, pedestrians on the street were also enveloped by smoke, soot, and ash from the ventilation shafts. In fact, it was not a subway, just a slightly buried underground city railway using coal-fired steam locomotives.

If we are to talk about a real subway, we should not think of London, but Budapest. In 1896, it opened the world's first electrified underground railway. (By the way, London did not become electrified until 1905.) Of course, the Budapest subway trains were small and slow, now looking both interesting and old-fashioned, but they were indeed real subways, far from the "hellish scene" of London.

Now, let's talk about serfdom. Britain abolished serfdom in 1574, while Russia did so in 1861. At first glance, Britain seems to have been 287 years ahead of Russia. But that is not the case. Britain abolished serfdom early, not out of a desire to improve the lives of ordinary people, nor because the British had any special "civilization," but to allow the poor to more freely be crushed by the emerging capitalist system. The end of British serfdom was accompanied by the emergence of paupers (beggars), whose situation had no rights at all. The poor were driven off the land, deprived of their livelihoods, became wanderers, were arrested, hanged, used as cheap labor, and later sent to workhouses where they were forced to work for the rich for survival. As Michel Foucault said, these unfortunate people were merely "raw materials for wealth."

Now, let's look at the workhouses during the time when "London opened the subway." These institutions were surrounded by stone walls, and their appearance was no different from prisons. People had to wear clothes similar to convicts. Unwed pregnant women were marked with yellow. In the workhouses, people worked 12 hours a day. The residents smashed stones, ground bones, sewed sacks, and sorted trash. Food was scarce, and if someone made a mistake, their food would be halved. It is reported that people once fought over the remaining meat on bones, grinding it up (to eat).

People who made mistakes were locked in solitary confinement. Couples were separated to prevent "poverty from producing offspring." Even young children were separated from their parents. Sometimes, parents could hear the voices of their children behind the walls but could not see them. If a child died, the parents had no right to say goodbye to them. Workhouses had orphans, the disabled, the elderly, and the mentally ill. As a journalist at the time wrote: "Ten children slept in one bed. If burial was delayed, the living had to sleep with corpses, and the sick and weak lay in their own excrement."

All of this was considered normal because the opinion leaders of Britain believed that life in the workhouses must be "as difficult as possible so that people would not want to become poor."

Certainly, Dickens, who had a sense of justice, was fighting against this disgrace at the time. However, the anti-workhouse activists in Russia succeeded, while the anti-workhouse activists in Britain failed. The state labor system existed throughout the 19th century and even in the first half of the 20th century, Britain's workhouses continued to punish people for poverty. This system was abolished in 1929, but many workhouses continued to operate, and the last workhouse closed in 1941.

Now, back to that ad slogan. Obviously, it could be phrased differently. For example: "In 1896, Eastern Europe already had an electrified subway, while London's workhouses were tormenting people for 40 years." I think if such content was broadcast on television, it would certainly receive a large number of angry letters from citizens.

For some reason, when it comes to our Western neighbors, we always strive for absolute fairness. We believe that even the slightest criticism of them will make us forget our own mistakes and shortcomings. That is why we do not want to mention others' faults. For 40 years, we have been possessed by a despicable little demon, always comparing others' strengths with our weaknesses, never changing the approach. Imagine, if we also compared in this way (comparing our strengths with others' weaknesses), what would the world look like in the eyes of the public?

... In 1865, Russia established the Ministry of Transport, while the United States abolished black slavery.

... In 1908, Russia introduced compulsory education, while the Belgians stopped the amputation of hands of Congolese residents.

... In 1955, the Soviet Union built the Volgograd Hydroelectric Power Station, while the United States carried out the last lynching of a Black boy.

... In 1964, the Soviet Union launched the Voskhod manned spacecraft, while New York removed the "whites only" signs from park benches.

... In 1967, the Ostankino Television Tower was completed, while Australia finally agreed not to consider indigenous people as animals.

... In 1980, Moscow hosted the Olympics, while France abolished the guillotine.

Actually, France abolished the guillotine only in 1981, but well, let the Frenchmen bear one less year of blame.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7526438382533116459/

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