Mysterious Russian Soul

I had almost forgotten about my Ukranian blog buddy Crazy Ivan. He had to go underground last year when Russia invaded. But I see he has managed to post some of his wonderful broken prose recently. From the Russian it goes like this...

~About the mysterious Russian soul~
"Granted that I took my keyboard and plunged into the cauldron of absurd reality, where naivete and fearlessness play in clear contradiction with the geopolitical madness. Let's take a closer look at this mosaic psychosis, which, like a whirlwind, takes us into a world of persecution of logic and the suppression of everything reasonable.
What the Russian people are really good for is their familiarity. Two hundred years ago, the great Saltykov-Shchedrin (image below) wrote that the task of the authorities is to keep the people in a state of constant amazement. He, perhaps, thought that he was joking so subtly and bitterly, and meanwhile the authorities took this rule into service, and for two hundred years of unceasing amazement developed in the Russian people a total immunity to this feeling. And then, of course, it was our turn to be amazed.
They cannot be defeated in the sense that they do not understand the meaning of the words victory and defeat. And this is a kind of wisdom, because for them victory from defeat will be no different. Victory - they will go home to thump, and the authorities will take all the money from them in the form of taxes. Defeat - they will go home to thump, and NATO will take all the money from them in the form of reparations.
And here, my dear friends, comes the moment of truth. What is all this madness about? The answer is simple: in the Russian habit of being indifferent. For two centuries now, they have been patiently catapulting from reality to reality, like drunken acrobats in a circus arena, where yesterday Kiev was burned in a day, and today they live in a world where everything that remains of the Black Sea Fleet is trying to hide from sea drones, and the film "Barbie" can, if you're lucky, watch in the Saratov cinema in a not very bad pirate screen.
Forget about the rest of the world - that's their secret to happiness. They, like the heroes of Amber, jump over the edge of perception, swaying between realities, like a drunken clown on a high spire. And what drives them? And nothing but fearlessness. They allow themselves to fall into the nirvana of the unknown, for they know that nothing has changed, nothing will change. So they live, plowing the expanses of their insensitivity.
Capture Kyiv in three days? Yes of course.
Let's surrender Kherson? Yes of course.
Will Prigogine take Rostov and go to the Kremlin in a tank? Well, yes, it is logical.
Drones will fuck up in Moscow City? Well, yes, that's how it should be.
Yes, they do not give in to delight, because they have long ago moved the arrows in their internal indicator of surprise. Now they, like the captains of the Black Sea Fleet, who drowned everything in a puddle, confidently nod their heads, realizing that victory and defeat are just jokes in the palette of their indifference.
And the day will come when the Trident will be erected over the Kremlin. The day when the planet will be shocked by the genius of the Russian strategy: "First we lose in order to try to win later!" After all, only a Russian can easily translate the saying "pull a star from the sky" into reality, calmly sitting on the couch with a pack of seeds.
Trident? Above the Kremlin The policeman now beats not because you have a Ukrainian flag, but because you do not have a Ukrainian flag? Well, yes, it is logical.
All that remains is to call for respect and admiration. Respect for their magnificent ability to remain indifferent to everything that falls on their tiny world. Admiration for this masterful game without surprise, for this soul dancing on the verge of absurdity, which may not be amazed, but does not plunge into the abyss of the unknown.
Maybe it's their defense, their armor, their way of not being overwhelmed by either victory or defeat. After all, for them the meaning of the words was lost in this whirlwind of apathy, and they just watch the whole performance with a smile on their faces.
Perhaps this is because they have long since lost their souls. Without a soul it is impossible to be amazed"