— I went to play golf last week. I was on the first tee by myself waiting for the group ahead of me before I teed off. I noticed a woman by the side also by herself and I invited her to join me. She gladly accepted. It turned out to be a unique
encounter. Not only was she the best female golfer I have ever played with – she shot in the 70’s – she was Russian. I asked her if she minded if I asked her some questions because I liked to talk to people from different places. She happily said she
didn’ t mind.
We played 9 holes having a pleasant time. I invited her for a coffee at the clubhouse. I came to realize the encounter was even more unique. Poland is a country with a population solidly against Putin and his war in Ukraine. And conversely is very welcoming to the 5 million Ukrainian refugees that have swarmed over the border since the beginning of the war. Therefore the few Russians I have met, mostly have also been opposed to Putin. But Elena, the Russian golfer was educated, a trained economist, and – pro Putin. She didn’t say directly she was pro Putin. But as we had coffee I asked her revealing questions. And I was supportive by saying that we, in the US hear one side of the story, but surely there were other views. She said that Putin had done a lot for the country. After awhile I dared to asked more revealing questions.
This started a subtle inquiry which revealed the answer to the question: Did this educated woman know a lot that I didn’t? Was I ignorant of truths about the Putin operation by virtue of being a westerner and never having direct experience in Russia? Or was she a creature of a political echo chamber that precluded consideration of the other side – like people on the political left and right in the US at the present time.
So I asked, do you think Volodymir Zelenskyy is a good president? Her response was telling. No, definitely not. Quickly followed by, do you know he wasn’t even a politician? I chuckled supportively and said, yeah he was an actor!! Her next reason was that he had a chance to end the war 2 times, and he didn’t. (If I had wanted to get in an ego gratifying argument I could have countered, sure if he wanted to give up the 5 eastern provinces of Ukraine, but Putin’s offer, if there were to be one, was neither sincere nor palatable to Ukrainians.) Next she said something about the west was going to give atomic weapons to Ukraine. (I could have said, are you nuts? The US is wary of any escalation, let alone nuclear war, and won’t even allow Ukraine to use long range missiles from the US arsenal, though Russia has destroyed many sites with their own.)
She showed that she accepted less than rational thought if it purported to support the side she identified with. Exactly like lefties in the US titter about body jokes about Trump or that Trump was traveling in a jet previously owned by Jeffrey Epstein as relevant to his credibility as a politician. Or righties accept the fact that Harris failed her first bar exam, or that Tim Walz resigned from his National Guard unit 9 months prior to its deployment to the middle east – as relevant to their qualifications to be elected.
Of course, I should have known. Elena was intelligent – educated as an economist and worked abroad in Greece. But why should she be any better than the many educated people in the US which are captive to their political identities. So she also believed in the pro-Putin line that Zelinsky refused a truce, that the US was planning to give atomic weapons to Ulkraine , and that Zelinskii was a bad president because he had been an actor. How did this encounter change my outlook? It slightly shifted my perspective of the Russian popular opinion. I asked her about Putin’s support. I said, what, half the population supports Putin and half are against him? She said, “more, I think” [than half support Putin] Before, I thought mostly the uneducated, the government bureaucracy, and military-related personnel supported him. Now I think that’s an underestimation.
And there is less of a chance than I thought of a popular uprising against the crackdown of free speech, the war, and the economic hardships imposed by the war. There is too much support of Putin, it seems.
