From the book “Homo-brehun”
(written weeks or months prior to
the russian army’s invasion into Ukraine)
This wisdom was discovered by the ancient Chinese: “War is the art of lies.” Ms. Lie, what can I say, loves the role of a secret counsellor to commanders and military leaders. But much she prefers the role of a grey cardinal to the rulers of the meager, and even mentally insane. As for the war, the story is more tangled.
A human is by nature an aggressive and tenacious creature. In the wild stages of life, humanity is fighting for territories to benefit from. Of course, as in any affair, in war people use their tricks. But these tricks are not yet worthy of the loud name of lies.
At least the domestication of a human also extends to the ways of waging war with one’s peers. Already in ancient times, rules were born to be allegedly called honest, i. e. anti-false. Let’s say a declaration of war. An honest warrior with strength and confidence in his rights warns the enemy: “Yes and yes, I’m coming for you!”, That is, I will fight with you, get ready!
By the way, here is when I inadvertently notice the crooked smile of History: to russians believing to have come from Kievan Rus’ this ancient motto is unknown. They have the opposite: “They are not there!”, when talking about their own army on a foreign land.
During the millennia of continuous wars, people gradually became aware of a thing, accumulating experience. For example, since Biblical times, brutal aggression and great physical strength have been known to not guarantee victory over the physically weak: the story of David and Goliath. And cunning and insidiousness are not always effective weapons. But the protection of good, justice, ideals are worth regiments and often allow defeating a much stronger opponent. Not so much physical strength, supported by rage, as spiritual, will power, faith lead to the victory in the unequal battle.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the millennium, carved a dignified image of a warrior, composed a code of honour, still known as chivalry. The knight does not fight secretly, cunningly, neither fights with lies, nor against the weak, women and children. Such warriors were the Cossacks of the Hetmanate, such warriors appeared every time their Ukrainian land had to be defended. As if earth born.
Knighthood gradually influenced the nature of wars waged in Europe. In the nineteenth century, there were various conventions, agreements, rules of warfare, which significantly civilised it. Rights were conferred to prisoners of war, medics, especially sisters of mercy and other guarantees.
The First World War still possesses signs of civilization, especially against the backdrop of the Second. But the destruction of millennial efforts to civilise war was initiated during the First World War. I consider the use of chemical weapons to be a turning point in the history of wars, i. e. the discovery of mass destruction weapons. Barely had the possibility of easily and dishonestly, without risk and their own losses, to destroy the enemy been discovered, as progress grew by leaps and bounds: to reach nuclear weapons in just a few decades. Its ordeal, on the one hand, has slightly sobered up the humanity: it will not be possible to destroy with impunity, but it has allowed to finally forget about a civilised war. The so-called Cold War began to gradually become a hybrid one. And then the full kingdom of Lies came. Not any art of lies. Art, if it is, of course, art (because this word is already abused) is always the best of human abilities, albeit a little honest and noble. And the hybrid war russia has been waging against the world for decades is, first and foremost, a cynical abolition of all rules of honour and conscience. So it is far from any art. It is the Kingdom of Lies.
Mariia MOKLYTSIA,
Doctor of Philological Sciences,
Full Professor of the Department of Theory of Literature and Foreign Literature
