Moscow does not believe in tears

Over the past 40 years, the most widely disseminated foreign phrase in the Chinese world has been "Moscow does not believe in tears." A Soviet film released in 1980, its title became the chicken soup that nourished an era, the slightly spicy taste, the slightly cold body sensation, the pain and determination of the sober, but also the frank and brave to bear. For Chinese, who has just come out of a special era, "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" and the famous line "Life begins at the age of 40" undoubtedly create a new spiritual atmosphere, which has the meaning of the beginning of all things.

Poster for the movie Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears

However, as a powerful quote, Vladimir Mensov's "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" is not the source. In fact, "Moscow does not believe in tears" is one of the old Russian proverbs, which dates back to the 16th century, the time of Ivan IV. The Dictionary of Allusions to Western Famous Sayings (Huacheng Publishing House, August 1990, edited by Chen Zhenguang and Qi Qingsheng) sorts out this vein.

There is a entry in the Dictionary of Allusions to Western Quotations called "Moscow does not believe in tears" (p. 213), which is explained as follows:

In the 16th century, the Muscovite Principality (note: the original book is wrong, it was already the Russian Empire at the time of the conquest of Kazan) conquered the Kazan Khanate. The victors treat the conquered cruelly. Although the tatar royals who had lost their country complained bitterly for more tolerance, they could not arouse the sympathy of the Moscow rulers. Hence the phrase "Moscow does not believe in tears" (see the entry "Orphans of Kazan"). The idiom certainly means that no matter how a person cries out and cries about his misfortune, others will not believe it. But the reverse can also refer to: for unfortunate things, tears can not help much, people who encounter misfortune still face up to reality, and it is the best policy to work hard to overcome difficulties.

According to the prompt "Moscow does not believe in tears", "Orphans of Kazan" can be found in the same book (p. 167), which supplements "Moscow does not believe in tears", as follows -

After Russia conquered the Kazan Khanate in 1552, the members of the Tatar royal family, in order to seek as much tolerance as possible from the Tsar, did not hesitate to tears and snot to tell their sufferings, and were called orphans of Kazan. Another theory is that after the fall of the Kazan Khanate, many beggars appeared in Moscow. They all claimed to be victims of the war, saying their parents died during the siege of the Kazan Khanate. Of course, most of them are blind, so these so-called "Kazan orphans" are described as people who pretend to be pitiful, pretend to be poor, and beg for pity.

From the annotations of the two entries, one can smell a sense of slaughter that comes from the depths of history, which is a little harsher than the reality reflected in the movie "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears". In the middle of the 16th century, the russian expansion of Ivan IV, which began with Ivan IV, paved the way for the birth of this famous saying to be magnificent enough and cold-blooded and ruthless enough. Obviously, it all started with Ivan IV.

Ivan IV was the first Tsar in Russian history. However, he has a more prominent nickname, "Ivan the Terrible", and a nickname that better reflects his style, called "Ivan the Terrible". Historians' assessments of Ivan IV's merits and demerits have always been controversial and discredited. In the eyes of Stalin's Soviet Union and today's mainstream Russian historians, he was a prominent historical figure. But in the eyes of Western historians, he is the embodiment of a Russian-style dictatorship. In the "white-skinned, yellow-hearted" Tsar of Russia, great wisdom was combined with extreme cruelty. He was extravagant, moody, bloodthirsty, ferocious and insane, both rooting out dissidents and killing innocents. The methods of torture and persecution he used against his subjects were varied, and the scale of the massacre was chilling.

But to be fair, Ivan IV was not so much cruel by nature as he had a complex personality. Because the upbringing that shaped his character was unpredictable and insecure. Ivan IV was born in 1530, lost both of his parents at an early age, was assisted by lords, and as a young man he was a "prisoner" within the walls of the Kremlin. The fierce infighting and internecine warfare within the court had a profound impact on the formation of Ivan IV's character and the behavior of his pro-government rule in 1547. On the one hand, he was tyrannical and arbitrary, believing that the monarchy was divinely granted and that everyone should be absolutely obedient; on the other hand, he was timid, suspicious, and with a sense of neurotic fear, he was accustomed to treating all the people of the world as deceitful and rebellious.

Generally speaking, authoritarian dictators with a dual personality of "tyranny and timidity" must overcome their psychological obstacles through continuous expansion of territory. Ivan IV is a typical example, and he can be seen as the starting point of the history of imperial Russian expansion. The first target of Ivan IV's expedition was Kazan, east of Moscow, on the left bank of the Volga River.

Kazan was originally founded by the Bulgars, and was incorporated into the Territory of the Golden Horde during the Mongol Western Expedition, where the Tatars established the Kazan Khanate after the Golden Horde. Both Tatars and Russians were previously vassals of the Golden Horde, both with Mongol genes, distinguished only by faith. In terms of inheritance, the Mongol blood of the Tatars is more "pure" than that of the Russians. Before the 16th century, the offensive and defensive forces on both sides were generally the Tatars invading Moscow, who repeatedly slaughtered, plundered and trafficked the Slavs. Historical memory acts on the national language, hence the Russian proverb that "uninvited guests are worse than the Tatars".

Therefore, Ivan IV's conquest of Kazan has both the motivation of opening up the territory and the meaning of revenge and hatred. In fact, Ivan IV began to use troops against Kazan in 1547, the year he was crowned Tsar, but was unable to cross the Volga due to the premature thawing of the river. Five years later, in 1552, Ivan IV personally led an army of 150,000 men and 150 cannons to kazan again, both land and water.

The fortifications of Kazan were not bad, and the infantry and cavalry were not inferior to Ivan IV's army. However, three key factors determined the victory or defeat of the war: first, the Russian army came from the upper Volga River and cut off the water source of Kazan City; second, the Russian artillery had an absolute advantage, and the construction of wooden turrets kept most of Kazan under artillery fire; third, under the guidance of German engineers, the Russian army dug tunnels leading directly to the city wall.

The Battle of Kazan, on the surface, was an infighting between the two Mongol remnants, essentially a victory for Russia's technological civilization in Europe over the Ottoman vassals. On October 2, 1552, kazan castle was destroyed. On that day, Ivan IV, whose main job throughout the war was to pray, marched into the palace of the Kazan Khanate. At this time, the harem ladies of The Kazan Khan Yadiger Muhammad rushed out of the palace gate with gold and silver treasures, crying and bowing down in front of the iron hooves of the Russian army. Later, the Khan himself, seeing that the tide was gone, also crawled at the feet of Ivan IV with a low brow and begged for forgiveness. With a little arrogance and a little contempt, the "Lord of the Generation" said to the weeping capitulators: "Unfortunate people, you do not understand the power of Russia! (A Generation of Tyrants: Ivan the Terrible, p. 51, World Knowledge Press, September 1986, by Henry Troya, translated by Zhang Zhi and Liu Guangxin)

The scene of the surrender in front of the Kazan Khanate Palace, and the words of Ivan IV to the "weeping loser", are the motif of "Moscow does not believe in tears" and the precursor to a series of cruel historical narratives that followed. What happened to the Tatars after the Russians annexed Kazan? It is a conjecture within the scope of people's common sense, which is the treatment that the country is destroyed and the family must enjoy. Under the compulsion of Ivan IV, Yadigar Muhammad and his courtiers converted to Orthodox Christianity and were baptized. His harem beauties and the widows of the fallen Tatars also abandoned their faith and became the servants of the Russian generals.

And thousands of Kazan people became the lowest grass people in the Russian Empire's society. Not only did they have to endure hard labor, but they also had to bear all the expenses incurred during the six-year construction of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. From the middle of the 16th century onwards, a large number of displaced Kazanese came to Moscow, the russian capital, including some Russians who had previously been plundered to Kazan by the Tatars. These Kazanese dragged their children and daughters, lacked food and clothing, looked sad and wept, but the Russians who had been bullied by them had little pity for them. What emotions can overwhelm the compassion that is unique to human beings? It should be hatred based on shame. The Russian proverbs "Moscow does not believe in tears" and "Kazan orphans" were conceived and formed on the streets of Moscow at that time. It is the indifference of the victor to the loser.

The conquest of Kazan marked Russia's complete liberation from the control of the "Mongol-Tatar" ethnic group, and the vast land on the east bank of the Volga River was open to Russia. After the fall of the Kazan Khanate, the Astrakhan Khanate, the Siberian Khanate, and the Crimean Khanate were also incorporated into the territory of Imperial Russia. The small state of Shuer on the edge of Eastern Europe eventually became the world's largest territorial power across Eurasia today. In this miraculous expansion, Ivan IV is the first driving force behind the story. The giant baby, whom Kazan Khan Shafa Gelai called "a tooth that devours our Tatars," was born and later devoured larger lands and more people. Eventually, Russia became what Lenin called "a prison for the peoples of all races" (The Complete Works of Lenin, Chinese Second Edition, Vol. 21, p. 392).

Interestingly, Kazan is exactly where Lenin grew up.