Historian on how ordinary people should navigate global change

Andrei Fursov said people most often ask him two questions: how ordinary people should cope with today’s reality, and how to educate their children.“You know, there is an important passage in Leo Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace. The author writes that while the war with Napoleon is raging, ordinary life continues: people fall ill, get married, die, and so on. Life goes on. In any case, even in crisis situations, you have to continue living,” he emphasized.

In his view, children need to be prepared for a much harsher and more diverse world. “There is a good principle: do not trust, do not fear, do not ask. I believe the most important thing for all of us is to give our children a good education and prepare them mentally and physically for these challenges. They need to be ready and understand that crises are completely normal,” Andrei Fursov said.

The historian also noted that in European history, calm periods are the exception, not the rule. Crises are what usually prevail.

“We grew up in a non-crisis time. But our children will live in a crisis time. And let’s face it, crisis times are much more common than good times.  The famous geopolitician and poet Fyodor Tyutchev wrote: ‘Blessed is he who visits this life at its fateful moments of strife.’ In any case, no matter the circumstances, you must never give up. And you must live in such a way that you do not shame your ancestors and feel no shame before your descendants,” Andrei Fursov said.