It Must Be Love

A female staff member in the office recently had a freak workout accident on the treadmill.  The result was visible bruises and scars on her face, arm, and hand.

Two days later, as she was riding on the metro on her way to work, a babushka consoled her by saying "if he beats you, then he loves you."

I have heard that in pre-revolutionary times, it was commonplace for good Russian husbands to "discipline" their wives and show their "love" (wife beating was probably far more common in the US around the same time).  But, I wonder, if there is something deeper at play in the Russian psyche.

Russians are a remarkably patient and resilient people.  They put up with all sorts of abuse in all sorts of places - the kind that would break an American's spirit in any social quarter and lead to a new revolution and the dissolution of the country.  Yet, Russians manage to keep it together; they keep their chins up, and trot ahead as their country plods forward with uncertainty while being abused by gangs of robber barrons.

From Russia, With Love

It must be love.