Recently, there have been two high-profile speeches that have resonated around the world. They both represented one great accusation of Western civilisation, considered to be absolute evil. The arena for the first one was the forum of the Waldensian Club, the other one was the Royal Festival Hall in London. The author of the first speech was Vladimir Putin; the latter was delivered by Greta Thunberg.

The same accusations

Vladimir Putin accused Western civilisation of racism, imperialism, colonialism and unlimited despotism. He blamed it for seeking to subjugate all countries, depriving them of freedom and democracy.

Greta Thunberg accused the Western world of exactly the same thing: namely that it has created a system built on the principles of racism, imperialism, colonialism, unlimited despotism and in fact genocide.

What has become clear is that the Swedish celebrity is no longer after climate protection or the environment, as she had previously declared, but after something much bigger - the destruction of the foundations of the West.

Both Vladimir Putin and Greta Thunberg consider Western civilisation to be the greatest threat to humanity. No wonder they are calling for a war against it, urging the mobilisation of all forces in the world interested in overthrowing it.

The old and the new left

Putin is echoing the slogans of the old, anti-capitalist communist left that shaped him. Moreover, in his Valdai speech, he referred to the Soviet legacy, pointing to, among other things, the USSR as the main instigator of global decolonisation.

Putin further adds to this Orthodox rhetoric, instrumentally using religion for political purposes and creating a self-image as one of the last remaining defenders of Christianity in the world. In reality, this creation is completely detached from reality. Putin is a tyrannical ruler whose will constitutes the law.

It would take just a single nod from him to introduce a ban on abortion in Russia. Yet in more than two decades of rule, he has done nothing to curb this practice - even though his country remains one of the global leaders when it comes to the number of abortions. Greta Thunberg, on the other hand, relies on New Left slogans revolving around extremist environmentalism. Manifestations of the same ideological formation are political correctness, gender ideology, the culture of exclusion, etc. She too wants to destroy our world, which she considers fundamentally evil.

It is no coincidence that Russia under Vladimir Putin has donated €82 million to Western environmental organisations in order to destabilise Europe with their operations. Greta Thunberg is probably not on Moscow’s payroll, but her message is perfectly in line with the strategy of the Kremlin’s chief resident.

Yes, our civilisation, which was built on the foundations of Greek philosophy, Roman law and the Christian religion, finds itself today in a deep crisis, mainly due to the fact that it has strayed from its spiritual, ideological and moral foundations. In this situation, however, the salvation lies in restoration by returning to the roots, not destruction in the name of successive utopias.

Tłum. K.J.