The Power of Denial

寒苇
楼主 (文学城)

In the unequal Treaty of Brest-Litovsk of March 3, 1918, Vladimir Lenin signed away a quarter of Russia’s population and industry in addition to nine-tenths of its coal mines. Why? He couldn't wait to end the war with Germany. 


How could Lenin get away with it? By denial. He denied that he had betrayed Mother Russia. Somehow he convinced his fellow Bolsheviks that Germany, following Russia, would be ripe for a communist revolution. Whatever he had lost to an Imperial Germany, he promised to recover from a Communist Germany. Workers were supposed to own and share everything while respecting no borders. 


Of course, it was the victorious Allied Powers’ politicians, not the defeated German Empire’s workers, who finally abrogated the Brest-Litovsk treaty in the wake of the Armistice of November 11, 1918. 


Facts might be stubborn things, but they had not been stubborn enough to stop Lenin and Leninists from weaponizing denial through their CHEKA, a Soviet agency of terror, during and beyond the Russian Civil War.


by 寒苇

r
renqiulan
Good evening, Wei Wei! Thanks for your post.
寒苇
You're welcome, Qiulan! The night is still young.
r
renqiulan
So, you're also quite well versed in Soviet history.
寒苇
I'm interested in Russian literature.Why not Soviet history?
r
renqiulan
If I read it correctly, the power of denial is the power of
r
renqiulan
terror through CHEKA.
寒苇
In a nutshell, yes!
r
renqiulan
You're good at writing short essays.
寒苇
You're making me blush.
r
renqiulan
I'm not flattering you.
s
shuier
Wei Wei, you are a history buff.
寒苇
I am not a buff. I just have a curious mind.
s
shuier
Beware! Curiosity killed the cat.
r
renqiulan
Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.
r
renqiulan
I didn't mean to interrupt...but I jumped in, anyway.
s
shuier
秋兰,我们在这里一路说着英文,可以吗?
r
renqiulan
就我所知,可以的。当然,如果有人用中文跟评,最好还是以中文相应。这是常理吧。
s
shuier
遵命!
r
renqiulan
又遵命?水儿加入了纪律部队么?
C
CBA7
A rare and interesting topic. Thank you for sharing.
寒苇
水儿的皮肤这么白皙,肯当兵?
s
shuier
当白色娘子军。哈哈!
寒苇
You are most welcome to chime in and share your view.
r
renqiulan
When something is debatable, let's debate it.
s
shuier
That's right.
r
renqiulan
Are we sounding like a chorus?
C
CBA7
You guys did so well, I have no power of denial at all :)
r
renqiulan
Ladies, I have to say goodnight.
寒苇
I can't deny that.
s
shuier
I think we're done here.
C
CBA7
You are indeed! 书香成了秋兰的包厢,有两个美眉陪着聊天,哈哈哈,开个玩笑!
C
CBA7
Not yet :) Good night, have fun!
唐宋韵
或可用标题 The "Art" of Denial. 拙劣的否认或抵赖 是没有power的,但古今中外少数人,

有把死的说成活的的本事,真让人信服,跟着他跑。这是art 啊。

寒苇
With all due respect, it's all about power play. Thanks.
r
renqiulan
I don't know how to respond. 包厢?
寒苇
根据Niall Ferguson, 布党就是枪干子里出政权的。枪口对外,但更常对內。骗不了人沒打紧,恐怖可以颠倒黑白。
唐宋韵
我已经把这个问题generalized。以为ALL power play是片面,那只是一个方面。另一方面,其思想控制的

举措和忽悠大众的能力是不容忽视的。这也就是后来东方大国公开说的“二杆子”。

C
CBA7
秋兰,这只是个玩笑而已,不必当真。昨天晚上,看着你们3位一唱一和,有说有笑的,感觉你们像是坐在剧场的包厢里聊天一样 :)
C
CBA7
秋兰,如果我因为考虑不周把玩笑开过了头,向你们3位道歉, then I would take it back.
r
renqiulan
Don't worry about it. We're just cracking each other up.
s
shuier
+100
寒苇
+100
C
CBA7
Thank you guys so much! Happy Thursday, Happy everyday!
r
renqiulan
Joy to the world of CBA7!