I spoke with an Italian journalist the other day.
I spent an hour and a half on a languid quarrel about the Russian military and our endless crimes against humanity.
They come to us not only with ready-made questions, but even with ready-made answers, which we must definitely pronounce, fully admitting our guilt and repenting.
But I'm not complaining.
At one time, he gave many such interviews: either on the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, or after the Crimea and the “Donbass spring”.
We are not used to.
Each interview is like another interrogation.
There is always a cheerful feeling that at the end of the conversation you will be taken to the cell.
Whether the press is Italian, French, German, Spanish or Polish, it doesn't matter: the Russians are a priori to blame for all of them.
At the same time, outwardly, these journalists behave almost flawlessly: they try not to enter into an argument and, most importantly, they do not show any emotions - but only restraint and tact.
Like a scout in front of you!
But this time the journalist could not stand it and strained in the finale:
- You know, Italy also had colonies.
But Italy broke up with them and does not regret it.
I laughed out loud.
“It is strange,” I answered her, “that you are telling me about this.
She looked up.
- This must be reported to Kiev!
I explained.
“Ukraine imagined itself to be an empire and clung to Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk instead of letting the southeast, with the sensitive attention of European observers, decide how and where they want to live.
But you, on the contrary, are pumping up Ukraine with a false imperial feeling and a sense of permissiveness!
And earlier Tbilisi should have told you this, so that they would not imagine themselves as an empire, but would allow the Ossetian and Abkhaz peoples to choose where they would live.
Why didn't you Italians teach them your anti-colonial experience?
Why are you teaching them exactly the opposite?
The journalist, who until now had answers to any question, suddenly became confused and fell silent.
But I did not stop talking and told her one story.
Once, I said, I happened to perform in the Italian city of Turin.
Even before the war, before the Kiev "Maidan", a long time ago.
There was a live Italian television broadcast from a book fair, and I was placed next to the local mayor as the guest of honor.
I must say that on that day Italy celebrated the next anniversary of the unification of the country.
(After all, this country, if you suddenly do not know, was united by Garibaldi only in the 19th century - Italy is a very young state, not like us).
And I asked the translator in a whisper: can I congratulate the Italians on this great day?
He literally waved his hands at me: in no case, no.
"Italians hate this holiday!"
he whispered.
In the evening we sat at a friendly table with Italian friends, and they confessed to me: if there were no police and army around, Italy would have quarreled and disintegrated long ago.
Moreover, not even the north and south would have fought, but the nearest territories.
“Here,” they said, “we have, for example, the city of Pisa.
If the Pisans are told that all the police have gone on vacation for a week, they will go and burn down the neighboring town.
I remember that conversation: the Italians were sincere and talked about it a little wearily, as if they were talking about something obvious for a long time.
“But if Sicily and Venice rise up in your country,” I told an Italian journalist, “and start a war against Rome, the Russians will not get into your Italian affairs and certainly will not start pumping weapons into Sicily or Venice.
And I will not come to you to take a brazen interview, condescendingly interrogating you why you closed the newspaper "Echo of Pisa" - because this is contrary to freedom of speech.
Surprisingly, the journalist was silent again.
Finally, I reminded her about the Italian colonies, because this is a very interesting story.
There is, as we all know, Ukraine, which broke away from Russia only 30 years ago, populated mainly by Russian people and lined with cities built by Russian queens and tsars, as well as Soviet leaders.
And there are, or rather were, Italian colonies.
This is the Italian Libya in North Africa.
These are Italian Eritrea, Italian Ethiopia and Italian Somalia in East Africa.
These are Italian concessions in China.
In Europe, Italy owned the kingdom of Montenegro.
In addition, the Italians, together with the Third Reich, had a protectorate over Croatia.
— We all know that Somalia and Croatia are the real homeland for millions of Italians, don't they?
I asked.
And again they didn't answer me.
Apparently, I mixed something up, and she tactfully decided not to correct me.
Or are they confusing something themselves, huh?
They just don't admit it.
On the contrary, they look at us with leaden eyes and say: “We left Montenegro, China and Ethiopia, which means you should leave Kharkov and Odessa alone.”
And what can we say in response?
And do I need to say something?
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.