· Classical
No one is at fault for being born a slave: Evgeny Kissin to Yusif Eyvazov
World-famous pianist Evgeny Kissin answered Yusif Eyvazov, who wrote a comment supporting his country.
"Life brings surprises every now and then. I never thought that I might have a desire to quote Vladimir Ilyich, but now - well, my hands are just itching to do it!
Recently, my colleague Yusif Eyvazov posted on his Instagram page a photo of Ilham Aliyev with the inscription "WE ARE PROUD OF OUR PRESIDENT '' and numerous icons of gratitude and love, as well as the following text (I keep the author's spelling and punctuation):
'"My dear compatriots! My dear Azerbaijani people! For several days now our Motherland has been living in war conditions and of course, we are all waiting for all this to end and when justice will prevail and Our lands will be returned! But this post is not about that .. this post is about YOU MY DEAR AZERBAIJANIS AND CITIZENS OF AZERBAIJAN AND ALL THOSE LIVING BOTH IN AZERBAIJAN and beyond ... I admire your unity, culture, mind, I am incredibly happy that in such a difficult time we all UNITED each other, we have UNITED each other we are close to each other as never before ... I simply do not have words to express my endless gratitude to you all, for being Azerbaijanis, for the fact that we are all of the same blood, for the fact that you are brave and truthful, for the fact that you are honest and generous ... I know that everything will be fine, and I really look forward to meeting all the guys who express their positions on my Instagram to hug each of you, look into the eyes of the Great Citizens of the Great Country, Representatives of the Great iy Azerbaijan Nation! I love you very much !!!''.
For reference: according to the Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index for 2019, Azerbaijan is an authoritarian regime and is ranked 146th in the world out of 167 countries in terms of democracy (below Zimbabwe, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, etc.), and according to the organization ' Reporters Without Borders for 2020, in terms of press freedom, Azerbaijan ranks 168th out of 180 countries in the world (below Russia, Belarus, etc.).
And such a state, Mr. Eyvazov calls a "great country", its subjects - "great citizens", and is proud of its dictator!
I really don't want, of course, to offend someone, especially a colleague, but here I just can't help remembering (as not an insult, but just a reminder) the famous words that the great Baku resident Lev Landau, being in Stalin's prison, loved to quote to his cellmates, who praised the "leader and teacher": "No one is at fault for being born a slave. But a slave who doesn’t just shy away from striving for freedom but justifies and varnishes their own slavery, this slave is a toady and heel who provokes a legitimate feeling of resentment, disdain, and abhorrence".
Photo Credit Sasha Gusov / Image courtesy of Russian Culture Center of NY
"Life brings surprises every now and then. I never thought that I might have a desire to quote Vladimir Ilyich, but now - well, my hands are just itching to do it!
Recently, my colleague Yusif Eyvazov posted on his Instagram page a photo of Ilham Aliyev with the inscription "WE ARE PROUD OF OUR PRESIDENT '' and numerous icons of gratitude and love, as well as the following text (I keep the author's spelling and punctuation):
'"My dear compatriots! My dear Azerbaijani people! For several days now our Motherland has been living in war conditions and of course, we are all waiting for all this to end and when justice will prevail and Our lands will be returned! But this post is not about that .. this post is about YOU MY DEAR AZERBAIJANIS AND CITIZENS OF AZERBAIJAN AND ALL THOSE LIVING BOTH IN AZERBAIJAN and beyond ... I admire your unity, culture, mind, I am incredibly happy that in such a difficult time we all UNITED each other, we have UNITED each other we are close to each other as never before ... I simply do not have words to express my endless gratitude to you all, for being Azerbaijanis, for the fact that we are all of the same blood, for the fact that you are brave and truthful, for the fact that you are honest and generous ... I know that everything will be fine, and I really look forward to meeting all the guys who express their positions on my Instagram to hug each of you, look into the eyes of the Great Citizens of the Great Country, Representatives of the Great iy Azerbaijan Nation! I love you very much !!!''.
For reference: according to the Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index for 2019, Azerbaijan is an authoritarian regime and is ranked 146th in the world out of 167 countries in terms of democracy (below Zimbabwe, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, etc.), and according to the organization ' Reporters Without Borders for 2020, in terms of press freedom, Azerbaijan ranks 168th out of 180 countries in the world (below Russia, Belarus, etc.).
And such a state, Mr. Eyvazov calls a "great country", its subjects - "great citizens", and is proud of its dictator!
I really don't want, of course, to offend someone, especially a colleague, but here I just can't help remembering (as not an insult, but just a reminder) the famous words that the great Baku resident Lev Landau, being in Stalin's prison, loved to quote to his cellmates, who praised the "leader and teacher": "No one is at fault for being born a slave. But a slave who doesn’t just shy away from striving for freedom but justifies and varnishes their own slavery, this slave is a toady and heel who provokes a legitimate feeling of resentment, disdain, and abhorrence".
Photo Credit Sasha Gusov / Image courtesy of Russian Culture Center of NY
