The Europeans were savages everywhere they went

There is something to be said for European history. They way it's written by the Europeans, they're, of course, the heroes. They brought 'much needed' civilization to the world -- but much of that civilization came with murderous savagery. They were barbarous in their treatment of the peoples the encountered. The only ones who were greeted with any respect were those that had enough might to pose a violent threat to them (the Wazirs and Mehsuds come to mind) -- but even those few, were eventually managed so they posed little threat. The colonial legacy remains today, a sickness that besmirches the societies left behind in the wake of Europe's retreat.

I haven't read much of Russia's past adventurism, so this was a little introduction for me, and reading it just left me angry. Russia's society has not advanced enough to reflect on, and acknowledge its shameful past -- which is too bad, as that may give it a little pause before it continues that sadism.

in reference to:

"The adventurers did not themselves hunt the fur-bearing animals, hunting the natives instead. In the name of the tsar, they demanded pelts as yasak (tribute) from reindeer herders, steppes nomads and hunter-gatherers. As the fur-bearing population gave out in one place, the Russians moved east and north, following the streams and portages of the rivers that flowed to the Arctic Ocean. To ensure that yasak was paid, native women and children were taken hostage, enslaved and raped. Settlements were torched. In four decades the population of native Yakuts in the Lena basin collapsed by 70%. Piotr Golovin, the Cossack governor of Yakutsk, hung men on meat hooks when yasak quotas went unfulfilled. Like so many of his contemporaries, Golovin was an equal-opportunity sadist who killed his own. Official history still defends these men."
- The Amur River: The Amur's siren song | The Economist (view on Google Sidewiki)

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