Can a patriot disagree with the government?(134)
Mikhail, homeless, Saint Petersburg
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government. It seems like everyone lives like that.
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Amir, 18, student, Kaliningrad
It might be possible to be a patriot and disagree with the government. I don’t reject such a possibility.
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Kirill, banker, Moscow
Of course a patriot can disagree with the government. This version of patriotism is most likely even a stronger one, because you do something that is in the interests of your motherland but against some popular opinion. You need a lot of strength and courage for that.
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Valerii, taxi driver, Sochi
Let the government decide patriotism issues; what is there for us? We are small people. Those in charge should decide for themselves. They are the head; it’s their business.
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Aleksandr, 19, law student, Tolyatti
A patriot can disagree with the government, especially if we are talking about our current government. If you try to do something for other people, for the protection of human rights, and all the while you are being portrayed in a bad light and the authorities are saying that you are shit, that you are some sort of an agent, when pressure is being put on you and your financial support is being stopped, then you might begin feeling some sort of hatred toward the government.
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Maxim, financial advisor, Vladivostok
n Russia, being a patriot almost always means disagreeing with the authorities. There’s only one nuance: if the government tells you that you should dig a canal, then being a patriot means digging a canal and at the same time saying that it does not need to be dug here. Because Russian patriotism is always about the future, about children and grandchildren. This means, yes, the government does something very bad, and yes, they are wrong, but we are complying not for the [sake of the] government, but for our children and grandchildren, for everyone who will live here next. There are two simple variants, usually: you either agree with the powers and dig the canal, or you disagree and don’t dig the canal. But in Russia everything is different: you might disagree with the powers but you still dig the canal—not because they told you to do so, but because you assume it to be important. So the government is there, and you are there, separately.
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Patriotic acts are done during wars, especially against some foreign invaders. There can be no patriotic acts during civil war, because any civil war, any war within one country, is fratricide. Even a heroic act is a sin and a crime.

 

Khan, 29, migrant worker, Tyumen region
I agree. I will do whatever I am told to do, if it is work related. I do not commit any crimes.
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Lily, photographer, Moscow
One can of course be a patriot and disagree with the authorities. I don’t see any contradiction here.
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Farhat, 40, driver, Tyumen
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government. You cannot accept all the laws that the government adopts.
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Nadezhda Aleksandrovna, 76, retired, Sochi
There are times when patriots disagree with the government. But everything works out eventually.
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Yulia, trader, Moscow
Patriots can disagree with the authorities.
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Viktor Petrovich, 68, retired, Saint Petersburg
It is possible to be a patriot and disagree with the authorities. It is possible, of course, but it’s not likely. But can we do? We live in Russia, but we are not the masters here. The masters are standing behind the wheel of power, but they are not always decent people,
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Sergei, 35, activist, Saint Petersburg
One ought to be a patriot and disagree with the government.
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Let migrants work if Russians cannot do it. Nowadays, Russia does not produce anything. People have no jobs. They don't know how to take care of their land. People do not even know how to milk a cow.

 

Kirill, 14, Kaliningrad
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government. To be a patriot means to protect one’s country, whereas the government can do something bad, such as adopt a law for its own benefit.
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Ksenia, 26, waitress, Alushta
Probably no. Yet maybe, yes. Probably yes.
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Tatiana, chef, Pionersk
It is of course possible to be a patriot and to disagree with the government.
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Tatiana, entrepreneur, Vladivostok
I have no idea if you can be a patriot and disagree with the government—I am apolitical in this respect. I think that patriotism, as such, can only exist with regard to the entire planet. I am not a patriot of any specific country—I worry about all the people in the world.
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Olga Mikhailovna, retired high school teacher, Jewish Autonomous Region
A patriot might disagree with the government, of course.
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Emma Vasilievna, geologist, Khabarovsk
It is absolutely natural for a patriot to disagree with the government. However, this will not affect the authorities.
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Viktor Alexandrovich, cobbler, Kaliningrad
A patriot not only can, but should, always disagree with the government.
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My image of a real Russian is of a man who drinks vodka, works at a factory, and talks to a TV-set.

 

Alexander, entrepreneur, Moscow
You can, of course, be a patriot and disagree with the government on the condition that the country is a democratic one.
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Aleksei, aid worker, former soccer player, Saint Petersburg
It is of course possible to be a patriot and to disagree with the authorities, because those people have got their own opinions. If some bureaucrat says, “Let’s separate from Caucasus”—or rather, separate Caucasus from us—in my understanding this is wrong, because it’s a Russian territory; it has been integrated into Russia in one way or another. But on the other hand, if some bureaucrat says that we should stop financing Caucasus so much, it’s now a hot issue. If we stop financing them, people will revolt, and terrorist attacks and all those things will begin again, because people are very impulsive there.
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Alexander, 50, mayor, Tyumen region
Being an elected official, I understand that I should stand for the interests of the government. But somebody needs to be a patriot, too; somebody has to have different views. Because if we all say that everything is all right and clap our hands, we can miss something. Government needs to be supported, for when there is no power in place, there is no order. People will then say, “Guys, it’s difficult here; you can’t walk out in the streets because it’s not safe; there are poor conditions here.” But at the same time, authorities should be told, “Look, people live very hard [lives] today; something needs to be done.” The authorities will then take notice and say that it is necessary to solve those problems: to create new jobs, to move people from old, wrecked houses, to create opportunities for education. But if everyone tells the president and the prime minister that everything is well here and nothing should be changed, then he’ll only busy himself with space programs but not with the people. That is why there should exist different points of view.
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Galina Petrovna, teacher at a village community center, Tyumen region
I think it is possible to be a patriot and to disagree with the government. I bring up my children by my example, and I must raise them into people who love their motherland, Russia. This is the main thing. But, of course, sometimes I disagree with politicians, and I might disagree with my governors.
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Anastasiya, clown and ex-specialist in fraud detection, Volgograd
I think that a patriot can disagree with the government.
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Maria, 35, marketing manager, Yalta
Such people are called dissidents. My grandfather, god rest his soul, used to say: if you want to become disappointed in humanity, go into politics. He's right. In my childhood I used to be very involved with politics, elections, campaigning. All that ended very quickly as I understood what it's all about. It's of no interest to me, and I don't want to waste my time dealing with that.
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Irina, 50, social worker, Simferopol
Yes, of course. We didn't agree with Yanukovich, yet we still loved Ukraine.
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Real Russians are from Saint Petersburg—with such delicate intelligence, a couldn’t-care-less attitude, light consumption. And the second type of real Russian is someone from beyond the Urals—tough silent-type guys who've got a gun under the floorboards, and they’ll sort it all out if necessary.

Stanislav, 42, entrepreneur, Moscow
A patriot never agrees.
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Andrei, 13, Pionersk
I think you can be a patriot and disagree with the government.
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Zarima, works in the Akhmad-Hadji Kadyrov museum, Grozny
You can either agree or disagree with the government—this is entirely your choice.
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Evgeny, 24, unemployed, Simferopol
It's possible. But it depends on the country. It's possible to be a Ukrainian patriot and to disagree with the government there. But I'm no Ukrainian patriot. Ukraine is a separate country for me. I have always considered Crimea to be separate from Ukraine. Crimea was lost in a cards game. Really. Yanukovych was an okay president, yet compared to Yuschenko or Kuchma he was a great president. He increased my pension. Whatever he promised he delivered on it. Yes, he stole a lot, but that doesn't matter because he was a man of his words. My pension was increased from 800 hryvnas to 1400 hryvnas. That's a lot. So I think patriotism and politics are two different things.
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Konstantin Iosifovich, 86, retired, Tyumen region
How can one disagree with the government? How can one love one’s motherland and at the same time disagree with the government? If one disagrees, then he or she should be banished from the country so as to prevent him or her from getting in the way and spoiling everything.
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Oksana, 33, lawyer, Samara
You can love your motherland and disagree with the government. Your motherland is the place where you were born, where you feel good. Government is the people’s servant, albeit a servant that doesn’t always act in the people’s interests.
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Aleksandr, 23, barista, Moscow
Of course a patriot can disagree with the government. The existence of opposition creates a somewhat healthy atmosphere [in the country]. Thus, those people can be called patriots.
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I, of course, despise my Fatherland from head to toe, but it vexes me when a foreigner shares this feeling of mine.

Alexander Pushkin
Yury Evgenievich, 76, retired, Tolyatti
I’m a patriot, but I don’t support state powers of any kind.
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Andrei, sailor, Vladivostok
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government.
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Marta, photo retoucher, Saint Petersburg
A patriot might disagree with the government. There are many such cases, in my opinion. I feel critical both of the authorities and of patriots. My father is involved in politics to some extent, so I’ve got some understanding of all this—from phone calls, etc. That’s why I’ve got quite a double opinion on the mater.
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Sergei, 32, from Saint Petersburg, lives in Tallinn
Of course it is possible to be a patriot of your land and disagree with the government.
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Movsar, neurosurgeon, Grozny
I think that patriots can and should disagree with the authorities.
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Siyavush, 24, taxi driver, Tolyatti
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government.
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Grigory, aid worker, Saint Petersburg
Naturally, a patriot might disagree with the authorities. Unfortunately, our government is developing in a totally wrong direction. What they are doing now—“tightening the screws” (strengthening control)—makes people more unhappy.
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Patriotism is too deep a feeling to depict in the posing for a photograph.

Charles Chaplin
Andrei, 32, unemployed, Samara
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government.
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Anna, art student, Moscow
I think that a patriot might well disagree with the government. One can love his country but not support and not really respect his government.
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Aleksandr, 43, unemployed, Samara
I think one can be a patriot and disagree with the government.
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Olga Pavlovna, pediatrician, Tyumen region
Patriots can disagree with the authorities. However, the laws and regulations that the government adopts should be obeyed in order to avoid disturbing the stability of the country where you live. Any household has its own principles that should be observed regardless of whether you like them or not. You can share those principles or you can disagree with them, but you have to respect them.
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Vlad, hip-hop dancer, Volgograd
Patriots can disagree with the authorities.
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Ismail, 61, construction worker, Bakhchysarai
Yes, it's possible. If the government doesn't look after you, your people, then you can disagree with it. The government – it's like a father of, say, five children, he has to pay attention equally to all of them. If he doesn't then children argue with their father. And so with the government.
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Nata, neurosurgeon, Grozny
It is of course possible to be a patriot and to disagree with the government. Everyone can have his own opinion.
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In other countries, you either agree with the government and dig the ditch, or you disagree and don’t dig the ditch. In Russia it's different: you disagree with the authorities but you still dig the ditch—not because you are told to do so, but out of spite.

 

Natalia, art director, Tyumen region
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government. We, for instance, do not always agree with the government. We are, of course, silent about a lot of things, but deep inside we still disagree.
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Sergei, fisherman, Vladivostok
A patriot can disagree with the government. In fact, this has recently been the case.
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Said, street cleaner, Saint Petersburg
I do not know if a patriot can disagree with the government.
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Igor, coach, Tyumen Region
I think that a patriot can disagree with the government. I have not always agreed with the government’s decisions. The government is far away, it is not aware of our local problems—this is why I sometimes disagree with the government.
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Larisa, social worker, Kaliningrad
A patriot can certainly disagree with the government—it is natural for him to do that. There are too many yes-men and compromisers, but that does not change anything.
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Sergei, bartender, Vladivostok
A patriot can disagree with the authorities. Everyone understands the prosperity of his or her country differently. When people care about the well- being of their motherland, they will not necessarily agree with the government.
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Dunya, philosophy and theology lecturer, Moscow
It is normal when a patriot disagrees with the government. The state is just a mechanism that usually proves unequal to its task. It seems to me that theoretically it is possible to build a society without a state.
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Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched.

Guy de Maupassant. My Uncle Sosthenes
Ramazan, 26, chef, Yalta
Of course, that's possible. I think, it depends on the situation.
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Anastasia, 22, studies international relations, born in Moscow, living in Tallinn
If the authorities are destroying your land and your culture without thinking about the people, you obviously have to protest. You have to protect your country.
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Alexander, 18, architecture student, Samara
I think you can be a patriot and disagree with the government. Because patriotism is sort of a thing of the past, and we have an entirely different government now.
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Natalia, singer, Vladivostok
Of course a patriot might disagree with the government.
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Ivan, entrepreneur, DJ, Saint Petersburg
One might love his motherland and disagree with the government.
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Dmitry, retired, Kaliningrad
It is possible, and one ought to be a patriot and not agree with the government.
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Alexander, 31, sailor, Kaliningrad
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government. The state should, after all, follow society — progressive young people of our country.
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I should like to be able to love my country and still love justice. I don't want just any greatness for it, particularly a greatness born of blood and falsehood.

Albert Camus. Resistance, Rebellion, and Death
Aleksei, 33, construction worker, Pionersk
Government is right about some things and wrong about other things at times, because they sit in their cabinets and almost don’t see real people. But people see real life. And this now causes life to get worse and worse for Russians. Everything can be sold; everything can be taken away.
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Dmitry, 44, dental technician, Samara
One can easily be a patriot and disagree with the government.
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Zinaida, cook, Grozny
Of course, one can disagree with the government and still be a patriot and love one’s motherland. Russia is, after all, a democratic country, isn’t it?
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Vyacheslav, 53, homeless, used to work in construction, Saint Petersburg
One can of course be a patriot and disagree with the government.
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Maxim, furniture magnate, Kaliningrad
Governments come and go. Every man who comes to power thinks that he does it well. It’s only God who does things well, no one else. But if a man comes to power and tries to do something, then he should be respected just for his attempts and good will.
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Rukiya, nurse, Grozny
You can’t be a patriot and disagree with the government.
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Akim, 38, butcher, Bakhchysarai
How can one disagree? Of course I am a patriot. I think, one has to agree. But it doesn't matter what I think, the government makes its decisions without us.
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I do not know who a real Russian is. This is a difficult question. I think the most important thing is that he isn't a Nazi.

 

Anastasia, theater student, Volgograd
A patriot can and maybe even should disagree with the government. Of course, it all depends on the government, and people are not always able to make a change. You really have to push the Russian people to the limit in order for them to join street rallies. Maybe this is what will soon happen. Russian people are actually very strong.
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Natalia, janitor, Birobidzhan
A patriot might disagree with the government, of course. The government says one thing, but does another. I’m a person of principle; I don’t trust or agree with the authorities, ever.
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Aleksei, 37, delivery driver, Kaliningrad
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government if it conducts a policy that you don’t like.
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Alina, event planner, Moscow
It seems to me that a patriot might disagree with the government.
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Yury, 12, Volgograd
In order to be a patriot, you have to abide by the laws. Otherwise, you are not a patriot.
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Aziz, 21, fast food worker, Kaliningrad
Patriots can disagree with the authorities.
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Igor, 49, unemployed, Simferopol
History has lots of such examples; starting with Peter the Great there were so many upheavals and revolutions. Dishonest people come to power and then that's a patriot's job to take care of them.
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We were supposed to spend a month in Vietnam, but after the first two weeks we longed for those Russian birch trees and for the language. We found Russian TV channels and watched them, although I never watch those at home. I felt so warm at heart, and I realized that it would probably be hard to emigrate.

 

Aishat, studies in a community college and works at a travel agency, Grozny
I doubt that it is possible to be a patriot and disagree with the authorities at the same time. Governments can be unjust now, but if you look deeper into their position, you can understand that they are right.
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Andrei, 31, hostel manager, Sevastopol
It's possible. Every person is unique with his own opinions, and every person can have his own understanding of what's happening in the world.
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Sergei, retired engineer and taxi-driver, Kaliningrad
One can definitely be a patriot and disagree with the government. We’ve got many such people. Look at the opposition in Moscow, for instance, at Navalny and others. I don’t think that they are not patriots. They are patriots, but they disagree with the authorities. Government has got its sordid motives, its commercial interests. Like in any country, we’ve got people who come to power and do what they shouldn’t be doing. They promote their own interests, invade markets, gas and oil markets, etc.
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Sergei, 53, TV repairman, Kaliningrad
A patriot might of course disagree with the government.
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Olga, retired foreign trade expert, Pionersk
Of course it is possible to be a patriot and disagree with the government—this is absolutely not a rare occurrence. Love of motherland is such an inner state; it doesn’t mean that you should be pleased with everything, but it is your country. If you haven’t got it in you, then you are free to go live anywhere else.
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Roman, executive recruiter, Vladivostok
Naturally, a patriot might disagree with the government. I think there are many such people in Russia now.
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Ksenia, 16, Saint Petersburg
A patriot can disagree with the government. That is why if you love our country, it doesn’t mean that you like its political regime.
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What is patriotism but the love of the food one ate as a child?

Lin Yutang
Dina, 34, event planner, Volgograd
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government. These things are unrelated. It is really a difficult question for me, because I support Putin and do not understand all this talk about what a monster Putin is. I just cannot understand this. There are certain things for which Putin is not the only one responsible. We too should assume responsibility on a daily basis. For example, my husband and I know absolutely nothing about giving bribes. And apparently, nobody who has ever seen our faces would even think about offering us a bribe. I do come across kickbacks at work, but they all go not through me but through the principal: unlike me, he knows how to deal with this.
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Elena, brand manager, Sevastopol
Of course it's possible. Regarding the current government, what happened with Crimea, I'm most certainly thankful to the government that all of this has happened without any victims. I have lots of Ukrainian friends, including those who serve in the Navy. I am thankful that we don't have bombs dropped on us, and we don't have religious nor ethnic tensions. Crimea is a region where an ethnic conflict can start very easily. Everything was done very smartly and safely for the local population.
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Pyotr, advertising, Moscow
Of course, a patriot can disagree with the government for the same reasons I have mentioned above. If the government considers something to be beneficial for the motherland, it does not necessarily mean that this is the case or that you have to consider it beneficial as well.
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Valentina, graduate student, Saint Petersburg
Of course it is possible to be a patriot and to disagree with the government. I think the opposition now represents such people perfectly.
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Natalia, 38, entrepreneur, Sevastopol
Yes, of course. I think if one was to answer the previous question by saying that people and the government are one and the same, as it should be in a normal country, then it means that people, the nation, the government – they all have one thing to strive for and that's the country's welfare. Since in Ukraine, the government has it's own goal, and the people have their own, so my answer is clear.
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Alexander, 39, geography teacher and botanist, Khabarovsk
Of course, a patriot can disagree with the government. Moreover, I think that today this is usually the case.
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Aleksandr, audio salesman, Tyumen
Of course, a patriot can disagree with the government. However, whatever the laws—good or bad—people have to obey them. I wonder, however, why people only pay attention to the government and the president when local authorities are more to blame. Everyone shouts—journalists, bloggers—that we have a bad government. But we should first change our local authorities and only then should we rise to higher levels. It is our fault that we have such rulers.
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Patriotic acts are done during wars, especially against some foreign invaders. There can be no patriotic acts during civil war, because any civil war, any war within one country, is fratricide. Even a heroic act is a sin and a crime.

 

Asya, 16, Saint Petersburg
Of course it is possible to be a patriot and disagree with the government. This is widespread now. But one should be well informed of what’s happening in the government and not just keep saying “I don't like Putin because he’s a dummy and doesn’t do anything.” This is absurd. There should be some proof to that.
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Lera, fashion blogger, Vladivostok
A patriot might disagree with the government. Moreover, this happens in 90 percent of the cases.
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Vladimir Alexandrovich, engineer, Volgograd
Of course a patriot can disagree with the government. There is actually no other way. A patriot should have his or her own opinion. But in order for that to happen, he or she should get an education, master philosophy, psychology, logic, mathematics. Only then can one form his or her personal opinion about anything.
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Anna, interior designer, Saint Petersburg
A patriot might disagree with the government. I think I’m one of such people now.
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Alexei, 33, construction worker, Birobidzhan
I think one can be a patriot and disagree with the government. You might have one opinion, and the authorities another.
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Nikita, 8, Yalta
Probably no.
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Evgeniy, 27, forest ranger, Samara
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government.
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Let migrants work if Russians cannot do it. Nowadays, Russia does not produce anything. People have no jobs. They don't know how to take care of their land. People do not even know how to milk a cow.

 

Leonid, 34, industrial alpinist, Saint Petersburg
A patriot might disagree with the government. These things are not in any way related.
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Yulya, 27, art-director at a night club, Sochi
Of course, a patriot can disagree with the government.
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Sultan, security guard, Grozny
Of course one can be a patriot and disagree with the government. Some people who have absolutely no idea what patriotism is might be eager to take a position of state power. There are many such people in politics. They might say that they are patriots, but it’s not really true.
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Anna Ivanovna, 73, retired engineer, Vladivostok
Of course a patriot can disagree with the government. There was no such thing as bribery before: people just worked and were rewarded according to their work. Times have changed, however.
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Dmitry, theater directing student, Volgograd
Patriots should disagree with the authorities. Everyone thinks differently. Our country is supposed to be a democratic one, which means that it is ruled by the people. Consequently, the people may disagree with what is happening within the government. The system should be organized in such a way as to make Russia a really democratic country and not a plutocratic one as it is now.
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Konstantin, 23, human rights activist, Tolyatti
A patriot cannot disagree with the government, because someone who disagrees with the authorities disagrees with the system created by these authorities, and consequently this person is no longer a patriot.
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Anastasia, 18, student, Tolyatti
A patriot can disagree with the government. Most of our population lives like that. We all love our country, but we don’t like what happens in it.
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My image of a real Russian is of a man who drinks vodka, works at a factory, and talks to a TV-set.

 

Frida, retired, Tyumen region
Why not? It is quite reasonable not to agree with the authorities. The authorities can be different, but people are different too.
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Madina, nurse, Grozny
Of course you can be a patriot and disagree with the government: we are a democratic state. Each person should speak out his own opinion, stand for his point of view. Nothing he says is bad: he might think that whatever he suggests would be better for the country.
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Sergei, 49, unemployed, Kaliningrad
Of course one can disagree with the government on some matters, but I think it doesn’t change the big picture. Love should comprehend anything, and that’s what your respect is about.
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Galina Nikolaevna, 83, retired, Samara
I think that more or less intelligent people come to power.
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Roman, medical equipment supply, Saint Petersburg
Patriots can disagree with the authorities. Disagreement is a natural position that demonstrates an independent opinion.
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Anton, 18, student, Tolyatti
I think you can be a patriot and disagree with the government.
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Aleksei, artist, born in Moscow, currently in New York
Of course you can be a patriot and disagree with the government. In my opinion, today, the so-called patriots are actually the ones who disagree with the authorities. I think that this is absolutely normal, since the government does not always do what is good for the state and, consequently, for its people, because there is no state without people. You cannot love an empty house: chances are, it is its inhabitants that you care for. Consequently, if you are a patriot of Russia, it is probably not some abstract Russian borders that you like, but the people who live in this country and their specific traits.
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Real Russians are from Saint Petersburg—with such delicate intelligence, a couldn’t-care-less attitude, light consumption. And the second type of real Russian is someone from beyond the Urals—tough silent-type guys who've got a gun under the floorboards, and they’ll sort it all out if necessary.

Maks, 31, entrepreneur, Alushta
Yes.
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Nikolai, construction worker, Tyumen Region
I think that a patriot can disagree with the government because not everything that the government does can be considered patriotic. The government’s current behavior is unpatriotic. Government officials all claim that the country’s industry is growing, but all I can see is fields overgrown with wild grass and farms that are falling apart.
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Khristina, 30, financial analyst, originally from Saratov, lives in Kiev
Patriots can disagree with the authorities. You can be fond of Russian birch trees while disliking the president and disagreeing with him.
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Vera, 33, manager, Samara
Can a patriot disagree with the government? Easily! We can have different goals; we can see the future in different ways.
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Evgenii, entrepreneur, Tyumen
A patriot can very well disagree with the government, especially in our country. What is patriotism? It is love for the motherland, love for your land, for your family, for ancient traditions and customs. Governments, however, are a different thing—that is politics.
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Anatoly Yevgenievich, doctor, Saint Petersburg
It happens sometimes that authorities act unpatriotic, in which case there will be no agreeing with them, of course.
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Shamil, 19, studies interior design in China, Grozny
A patriot might disagree with the authorities, of course.
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I, of course, despise my Fatherland from head to toe, but it vexes me when a foreigner shares this feeling of mine.

Alexander Pushkin
Elena, fish monger, Samara
Patriots can disagree with the authorities.
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Ilya, software engineer, Vladivostok
I think that people can and should disagree with the authorities.
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Nikita, 12, Kaliningrad
In theory, you can be a patriot and disagree with the government because governments can be different: some work to improve the situation, [while] others can make it worse or leave things half-finished.
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Ksenia, 33, restaurant manager, from Saint Petersburg, lives in Kiev
Of course one can be a patriot and disagree with the government. I think that most patriots disagree with the authorities.
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Tatiana, set designer, Volgograd
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government. The government does not always support its people. The government’s interests are not the same as those of the people.
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Grigory, 21, construction worker, Samara
Of course it is possible to be a patriot and disagree with the government. Easily.
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Alexander, 29, unemployed, homeless, Saint Petersburg
It is possible to be a patriot and disagree with the government. I don’t know how, but I think it is possible.
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Patriotism is too deep a feeling to depict in the posing for a photograph.

Charles Chaplin
Valentina, retired construction worker, Tolyatti
Can a patriot disagree with the government? I do not know. Some people agree, others do not.
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Galina, executive recruiter, Vladivostok
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government. For example, in the late Soviet period, in the 1980s, it was obvious that ideology was completely at odds with life, and many disagreed with the government.
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Tamara Alexandrovna, retired merchandiser, Volgograd
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government. One should not agree with the government at all. The government lives its own life that is different from ours.
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Peter, editor, New York City
Of course, the biggest patriots are always very critical not only of the government but of themselves. You can't be critical of those in charge and not critical of yourself. I think, patriotism as a concept is something that is community-based. It always starts local, from your own community. Those people, real patriots, whom I have met in my life and in my travels, were always patriots of their communities in the first place. For example, firemen, paramedics in the US, they help everyone. These people will probably find it difficult to answer a question, whether they are patriots of their country. I have met such people in Russia too.
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Indira, make up artist, born in Chechnya, living in Sweden
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government. Governments do not always share the people’s interests, because power changes people. Many politicians go back on their promises and do not fulfill their duty with regard to the people.
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Lyudmila Andreevna, 58, street cleaner, Birobidzhan
You can of course be a patriot and disagree with the government. I disagree with the authorities about many things.
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Igor, sculptor, Saint Petersburg
One might be a patriot and disagree with the government. Many people live like that. It’s absolutely normal. Governments come and go, but people stay and live.
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In other countries, you either agree with the government and dig the ditch, or you disagree and don’t dig the ditch. In Russia it's different: you disagree with the authorities but you still dig the ditch—not because you are told to do so, but out of spite.

 

Malika, 46, janitor, Grozny
Yes, a patriot can think in his own way and not agree with the government.
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Yuliya, 19, attends beauty school, Tolyatti
You can be a patriot and disagree with the government.
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