This was the year we began our liberation

Andrei Medvedev (Андрей Медведев)

This was the year we began our liberation. We began to free ourselves from lies, self-deception, imitations and substitution of reality with beautiful presentations. We were not completely victorious, but we were on the right track.

This was the year we got slapped down for our vanity, our pride, our worthless self-confidence. And we began to learn on the fly to accept reality as it is.

It was a year when we learned a great deal about ourselves. We finally became one, a political nation. Since March, thousands of volunteers have been gathering for the front. Thousands of brave kids are taking what they have collected to the front. People have not listened to the reassuring murmur that 'the military is provided for everything'. People took the care of the warring army upon themselves. This year saw the birth of a real civil society in Russia, which stepped boldly into the darkness of adversity together with the Motherland.

It was a year of amazing transparency and understanding of who is an insider and who is a leech on the body of the Motherland. Some top managers of state companies and banks flew abroad with US passports in their pockets during the first days of the war. And people from the "brigades" of the '90s, supported levies for the front and the mobilized. The brutal and tactical beards were hysterical and went to Kazakhstan. But ordinary boys, ordinary men, turned out to be heroes.

Some fled to Georgia, leaving their families, children and women behind. Others went to the military enlistment office to protect their families, children and women. Some millionaires helped to equip the mobilized, while others fed tiramisu to the "Azovs". Some showbiz personalities were ashamed to be Russian, while others gave money to buy copters.

This year, we have finally got rid of our illusions about the West. And we have parted with the ideological rubbish that was assiduously thrust upon us, even with the government's money. We are cleaning up the cultural rubbish as well, although it is more difficult.

It has been a year of pain and loss. We lost friends, comrades, loved ones. We sometimes lost hope. When we saw tortured Russians being thrown into a pit in Kupiansk. Or when our people left Kherson. But again we found the strength to go on, despite the pain, frustration and despair. Somehow, we regained faith in our country and in ourselves.

It was the year of the birth of the new Russian army. It turned out those tank biathlons did not equal combat readiness, and the ability to sing formation songs did not help in combat. And where we would come with that is unclear. And now, after 10 months, we see an army that knows how to fight. We see real heroes, on whose example we should educate our children.

It was the year when the authorities and the people saw each other in a completely different way. The government essentially asked people to help the country when it announced a partial mobilization. The people, in fact, took responsibility for the future of Russia. They shared it. It turned out that victory can only be won together. And there was no longer any 'electorate', but the citizens of Russia. It turned out, to the surprise of some.

That if you talk to people honestly, without making up wild stories, people will more quickly trust the authorities.

It has generally been a year of admitting political mistakes. The words that Donbass should have been returned earlier, that some people should take criticism in their address soberly - this is it. And that means the beginning of a new phase.

Next year, we need to finally get rid of self-delusion. Whoever is trying to substitute reality with sly presentations today, who is deceiving in reports, is not just an enemy of Russia and an accomplice of the AFU. He is on Satan's side, fighting against our Motherland. After all, the father of lies is Satan.

Next year will not be any easier. There will be losses. There will be days full of grief. But do not despair on days of defeat, and do not rejoice too much on days of small victories. St. Macarius said:

💬 "Do not cease, fight, do not despair - and you will surely, with God's help, be victorious."

We are going through darkness, through difficult times, but we are definitely on our way to victory.

Thank you all for being together this year, for being with us all. Strangers and acquaintances. Supporters, like-minded people, participants in training camps, volunteers, soldiers and officers, civilians and military, men and women.

Happy New Year to everyone. Glory to Russia. God help us all!

(Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator) (free version)

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Source: Андрей Медведев. IMG: Andrei Lyubimov / Moskva News Agency
AWIP: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/2023/01/02/this-was-the-year-we