News Article: Egor Zamula Interview to Sport express.ru 5/14/21

[Rebels57]

Not getting the vaccine here, great.

???

 

[Curufinwe]

Q: Will you take a vaccine?
A: It’s not a simple question. I will not take it in the USA, perhaps will do it in Russia

 

[deadhead]

There are internal politics around the Sputnik vaccine, Americans often don't appreciate how delicate the balancing act is for Russian athletes who come over, Zamula knows he made a mistake liking a post, that will be noted by the FSB. He has family and friends in Russia, wants to be able to go home without problems, and keep the option of the KHL if the NHL doesn't work out. That means keeping his nose clean, avoiding anything that's controversial. Getting the Russian vaccine is one way to signal he's a "good boy."

There is some controversy about exactly how effective the Sputnik vaccine really is:

DEFINE_ME
DEFINE_ME
Virologist Angela Rasmussen on Russia's controversial Sputnik V vaccine

For better or worse, global vaccine development has become a matter of soft power diplomacy between the U.S., China and Russia. How do you think the mounting concern about Sputnik V might affect geopolitics?
Well, I’m certainly a virologist and not a geopolitics expert, but you can imagine that Russia has presented the Sputnik V vaccine as something that they are doing out of altruism, and that’s their way of contributing to global health. And as you also know, there’s been a lot of discussion about the inequities in terms of rolling out vaccines globally. So this potentially deals a pretty serious blow, I would imagine, in terms of Russia taking a leadership role in making sure that vaccines are being distributed equitably to many countries around the world that desperately need them.

 

[Rebels57]

Q: Will you take a vaccine?
A: It’s not a simple question. I will not take it in the USA, perhaps will do it in Russia

Oof.

 

[CSKA1974]

Q: Will you take a vaccine?
A: It’s not a simple question. I will not take it in the USA, perhaps will do it in Russia

He also states that he had had CoVid. He most likely has antibodies in the system. Also, he had seen a few team mates struggling on and off the ice after the vaccine. Perhaps, that is another reason for his hesitancy.

Also, not related to him, my Russian- speaking Philadelphia physician friend told me that he has had hard time convincing Russian elders to take American vaccine- they wanted Sputnik
You may take an old guy out of of Russia, but you can't take Russia out of an old guy.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Oof.

Like Deadhead said, Zamula probably has to take the Russian brand no matter its quality or his own preference. There's a lot of societal pressure; in his case, there is political pressure too. Taking the American brand is a rejection of a Putin project and therefore a rejection of Putin. And at that point things can get tricky for him, especially if he becomes more prominent. Not just domestically, I wouldn't put it past any of their foreign intel services to harass him here. And the same goes for his family.

And that's without getting into "extracurricular" groups; there are a lot of oligarchs controlling criminal networks who take it upon themselves to enforce loyalty to Putin in order to curry favor. It's just easier and better for him to roll with Sputnik.

 

[CSKA1974]

Like Deadhead said, Zamula probably has to take the Russian brand no matter its quality or his own preference. There's a lot of societal pressure; in his case, there is political pressure too. Taking the American brand is a rejection of a Putin project and therefore a rejection of Putin. And at that point things can get tricky for him, especially if he becomes more prominent. Not just domestically, I wouldn't put it past any of their foreign intel services to harass him here. And the same goes for his family.

And that's without getting into "extracurricular" groups; there are a lot of oligarchs controlling criminal networks who take it upon themselves to enforce loyalty to Putin in order to curry favor. It's just easier and better for him to roll with Sputnik.

Absolutely. @deadhead and now @Beef Invictus stated that very real.

Things may change, though, when he achieves Panarin's level of financial stability.

 

[Zine]

There are internal politics around the Sputnik vaccine, Americans often don't appreciate how delicate the balancing act is for Russian athletes who come over, Zamula knows he made a mistake liking a post, that will be noted by the FSB. He has family and friends in Russia, wants to be able to go home without problems, and keep the option of the KHL if the NHL doesn't work out. That means keeping his nose clean, avoiding anything that's controversial. Getting the Russian vaccine is one way to signal he's a "good boy."

There is some controversy about exactly how effective the Sputnik vaccine really is:

DEFINE_ME
DEFINE_ME
Virologist Angela Rasmussen on Russia's controversial Sputnik V vaccine

For better or worse, global vaccine development has become a matter of soft power diplomacy between the U.S., China and Russia. How do you think the mounting concern about Sputnik V might affect geopolitics?
Well, I’m certainly a virologist and not a geopolitics expert, but you can imagine that Russia has presented the Sputnik V vaccine as something that they are doing out of altruism, and that’s their way of contributing to global health. And as you also know, there’s been a lot of discussion about the inequities in terms of rolling out vaccines globally. So this potentially deals a pretty serious blow, I would imagine, in terms of Russia taking a leadership role in making sure that vaccines are being distributed equitably to many countries around the world that desperately need them.

My goodness, enough of the sensationalism and stereotypes. Just like Panarin, Zamula is (and his family) are in no danger whatsoever. Good lord.

That said, it is in his professional interest to say the right things. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation is a Putin good old boys club.

Regardless, Zamula is a right-wing wacko by American standards. He regularly espouses ultra patriotic views and was close to denying covid in a previous interview. lol

 

[deadhead]

My goodness, enough of the sensationalism and stereotypes. Just like Panarin, Zamula is (and his family) are in no danger whatsoever. Good lord.

That said, it is in his professional interest to say the right things. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation is a Putin good old boys club.

Regardless, Zamula is a right-wing wacko by American standards. He regularly espouses ultra patriotic views and was close to denying covid in a previous interview. lol

Guess you haven't read much about Russia the last couple decades.

It's not like he's prominent enough to be stabbed with an umbrella, but you can make life difficult, father gets fired, you get assigned to a KHL team in the middle of nowhere, and so on. There are ways to get the message across to those who buck the system publicly. It's a good idea for a young player who isn't rich enough to bring his family over and make the US his permanent home to play it safe, say nothing or be supportive of the current regime.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Guess you haven't read much about Russia the last couple decades.

It's not like he's prominent enough to be stabbed with an umbrella, but you can make life difficult, father gets fired, you get assigned to a KHL team in the middle of nowhere, and so on. There are ways to get the message across to those who buck the system publicly. It's a good idea for a young player who isn't rich enough to bring his family over and make the US his permanent home to play it safe, say nothing or be supportive of the current regime.

You geosplaining Russia to a Russian is certainly something

 

[deadhead]

You geosplaining Russia to a Russian is certainly something

I've got quite a library on Russia under Putin, part of my research on a book on energy security, so I keep track of stories on Russia, especially the endemic corruption. Putin isn't Beria, but he's no p***ycat either.

I've got my Russian roots, my grandmother was in Moscow during the revolution and my grandfather was a Kulak in the Ukraine, who had to make a hasty departure after the Communists won.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

I've got quite a library on Russia under Putin, part of my research on a book on energy security, so I keep track of stories on Russia, especially the endemic corruption. Putin isn't Beria, but he's no p***ycat either.

I've got my Russian roots, my grandmother was in Moscow during the revolution and my grandfather was a Kulak in the Ukraine, who had to make a hasty departure after the Communists won.

I understand all that. But you have to remember that we live in a society.

 

[CSKA1974]

Guess you haven't read much about Russia the last couple decades.

It's not like he's prominent enough to be stabbed with an umbrella, but you can make life difficult, father gets fired, you get assigned to a KHL team in the middle of nowhere, and so on. There are ways to get the message across to those who buck the system publicly. It's a good idea for a young player who isn't rich enough to bring his family over and make the US his permanent home to play it safe, say nothing or be supportive of the current regime.

Look at his location- if true,that is as Russian as it could be.

@Zine feel free to edit my translations as they always have room for improvement.

 

[CSKA1974]

I've got quite a library on Russia under Putin, part of my research on a book on energy security, so I keep track of stories on Russia, especially the endemic corruption. Putin isn't Beria, but he's no p***ycat either.

I've got my Russian roots, my grandmother was in Moscow during the revolution and my grandfather was a Kulak in the Ukraine, who had to make a hasty departure after the Communists won.

Oh, wow. That's very interesting family history, I would really like to hear more about it. We can probably take this conversation to private messaging.

 

[deadhead]

Oh, wow. That's very interesting family history, I would really like to hear more about it. We can probably take this conversation to private messaging.

Sure, what I've been told that side of the family is pretty eccentric, smart but crazy.
Explains a lot about me.

 

[Appleyard]

I think he is a bit cocky and sometimes presents desirable for reality. I may be totally wrong.

Having spoken to Egor in person...

to say he is sure of himself is an understatement. Aha.

Every other NHLer I have ever spoken to have pretty much said (paraphrased):

"ah, I only realised I was good enough for the NHL when drafted/first development camp etc."

Egor was like, "I knew I would play in the NHL even when no-one drafted me... I was better than most of the WHL already and simply was played minimally."


Kid has a real "presence" too. Despite being like 180lbs or so aha.

 

[deadhead]

Yeah, watching him in a few AHL games, he has "wiry strength." Held up better than I expected, could teach Sanheim a little about holding your own as a "stringbean."

Question I'd have is how amendable is he to coaching.

 

[Beef Invictus]

You geosplaining Russia to a Russian is certainly something

Zine is all in on the pro-Russia Kool-Aid, for what it's worth. I mean, he is Russian after all.

No matter what the truth is, if it's bad he's gonna defend it or deny it.


Edit: To be fair I expect he would be far more critical of Russia with fellow Russians, but goes into defense mode on us dirty foreigners. Like Philly fans with Gritty when he debuted.

 

[deadhead]

Zine is all in on the pro-Russia Kool-Aid, for what it's worth. I mean, he is Russian after all.

No matter what the truth is, if it's bad he's gonna defend it or deny it.

Russians don't see things like Americans, they have a very different history, European culture has always been a thin veneer.
Catherine the Great wanted to modernize the nobles, but the peasants, that was another story.
The Russian Orthodox Church is an offshoot of the Eastern Orthodox Church, with strong Nationalist influences.
So Russia is Russia, neither European, Eurasian or Asian.

Born out of the remnants of the Mongol empire, too far north to be heavily impacted by Arabs or Turks, too far East to be closely tied to Western culture and economics, but impacted by all these influences, Vikings raided and traded down Russian rivers, Islam penetrated the Caucus mountains, Siberia forced Russian into relations with China and Japan.

The Enlightenment never really took hold in Russia, Democracy was a foreign import, there is a long tradition of Authoritarian government going back millennium. When I was in Georgia, I visited Gori and noticed there were fresh flowers at the base of Stalin's statue, many in the Russian empire are nostalgic for the reign of "strong men." Russians abroad bring that with them, what people don't understand about Israeli politics is that it has been shaped the last few decades by a combination of Russian Jews and Jews from Arab nations, both who see the "strong man" leader as the norm. Which explains how Netanyahu has survived politically.

I think Dostoevsky captures the Russian soul better than anyone that I've read (though I'm no expert on Russian literature).
My favorite book however is Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, one of the classics of literature.

 

[CSKA1974]

Zine is all in on the pro-Russia Kool-Aid, for what it's worth. I mean, he is Russian after all.

No matter what the truth is, if it's bad he's gonna defend it or deny it.


Edit: To be fair I expect he would be far more critical of Russia with fellow Russians, but goes into defense mode on us dirty foreigners. Like Philly fans with Gritty when he debuted.

I have a close family in Russia on both my wife's and my side. Unsolicited patriotism is very high in Russia and so is Russian supremacy propaganda.
Listening to Russian TV only, one would think that Russia is a very small country completely surrounded by hostile Ukraine and USA.

 

[CSKA1974]

Russians don't see things like Americans, they have a very different history, European culture has always been a thin veneer.
Catherine the Great wanted to modernize the nobles, but the peasants, that was another story.
The Russian Orthodox Church is an offshoot of the Eastern Orthodox Church, with strong Nationalist influences.
So Russia is Russia, neither European, Eurasian or Asian.

Born out of the remnants of the Mongol empire, too far north to be heavily impacted by Arabs or Turks, too far East to be closely tied to Western culture and economics, but impacted by all these influences, Vikings raided and traded down Russian rivers, Islam penetrated the Caucus mountains, Siberia forced Russian into relations with China and Japan.

The Enlightenment never really took hold in Russia, Democracy was a foreign import, there is a long tradition of Authoritarian government going back millennium. When I was in Georgia, I visited Gori and noticed there were fresh flowers at the base of Stalin's statue, many in the Russian empire are nostalgic for the reign of "strong men." Russians abroad bring that with them, what people don't understand about Israeli politics is that it has been shaped the last few decades by a combination of Russian Jews and Jews from Arab nations, both who see the "strong man" leader as the norm. Which explains how Netanyahu has survived politically.

I think Dostoevsky captures the Russian soul better than anyone that I've read (though I'm no expert on Russian literature).
My favorite book however is Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, one of the classics of literature.

So is mine. It's more satiric and not as philosophical as Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky was more about Russian soul, Bulgakov was sarcastic about Soviet soul (if any).

 

[Beef Invictus]

Russians don't see things like Americans, they have a very different history, European culture has always been a thin veneer.
Catherine the Great wanted to modernize the nobles, but the peasants, that was another story.
The Russian Orthodox Church is an offshoot of the Eastern Orthodox Church, with strong Nationalist influences.
So Russia is Russia, neither European, Eurasian or Asian.

Born out of the remnants of the Mongol empire, too far north to be heavily impacted by Arabs or Turks, too far East to be closely tied to Western culture and economics, but impacted by all these influences, Vikings raided and traded down Russian rivers, Islam penetrated the Caucus mountains, Siberia forced Russian into relations with China and Japan.

The Enlightenment never really took hold in Russia, Democracy was a foreign import, there is a long tradition of Authoritarian government going back millennium. When I was in Georgia, I visited Gori and noticed there were fresh flowers at the base of Stalin's statue, many in the Russian empire are nostalgic for the reign of "strong men." Russians abroad bring that with them, what people don't understand about Israeli politics is that it has been shaped the last few decades by a combination of Russian Jews and Jews from Arab nations, both who see the "strong man" leader as the norm. Which explains how Netanyahu has survived politically.

I think Dostoevsky captures the Russian soul better than anyone that I've read (though I'm no expert on Russian literature).
My favorite book however is Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, one of the classics of literature.

And that draw for the rule of "strong men" dates right back to that Mongol era; nascent Russian society and culture were built upon consolidating wealth in few hands to more efficiently pay tribute to the Mongols. It was simply the best way to work, it spared everyone a LOT of discomfort, and once it took root it was hard to root out; had the Mongols reached further West I imagine those societies would have come out far different than they did, too. On top of that the Russian lower class has long tended to trust the upper reaches of power (or at least trust them more than the lower rungs), while blaming the corrupt officials they directly deal with for problems. "The system is fine, it's that jerk who demands bribes from me that's the problem" sort of thing. (Or so I read, lol)

That they've developed and maintained a system unique to their experiences over the years while recognizing typical Western methods don't fit probably serves to increase loyalty to Russian-ness.

 

[Appleyard]

I do think the Cold War caused such twisted perceptions of "Russians" in the west because of the propaganda and trying to make the "enemy" seem like "aliens".

It is one of the most "romantic" and "hospitable" cultures that I have ever had close interactions with. I also love the general communication style. Super emotional but also quite direct. Stereotypes... but ones in general I have found pretty true across a decent sized sample!

I always found it ironic that a lot of the US/UK middle aged men sat in countryside bars spouting about "Russian commies" would probably get on like a house on fire with a lot of the Russian middle aged men sat in countryside bars spouting about "capitalist western pigs" if they somehow did not know each others origin... they would kind of complete each other in a bizarre way.

 

[Beef Invictus]

I do think the Cold War caused such twisted perceptions of "Russians" in the west because of the propaganda and trying to make the "enemy" seem like "aliens".

It is one of the most "romantic" and "hospitable" cultures that I have ever had close interactions with. I also love the general communication style. Super emotional but also quite direct. Stereotypes... but ones in general I have found pretty true across a decent sized sample!

I always found it ironic that a lot of the US/UK middle aged men sat in countryside bars spouting about "Russian commies" would probably get on like a house on fire with a lot of the Russian middle aged men sat in countryside bars spouting about "capitalist western pigs" if they somehow did not know each others origin... they would kind of complete each other in a bizarre way.

Even prior, Westerners have long struggled to understand Orthodox societies mostly because they've ignored them and looked down on them. Half the work of Byzantine history right now is correcting a ton of misunderstandings that have just been accepted and handed down for generations.


Edit: Also, our new neighbor just moved here from London and they have a pitbull named Zeus. Zeus is now my best friend.

 

[Cootsfanclub]

Having spoken to Egor in person...

to say he is sure of himself is an understatement. Aha.

Every other NHLer I have ever spoken to have pretty much said (paraphrased):

"ah, I only realised I was good enough for the NHL when drafted/first development camp etc."

Egor was like, "I knew I would play in the NHL even when no-one drafted me... I was better than most of the WHL already and simply was played minimally."


Kid has a real "presence" too. Despite being like 180lbs or so aha.

Everything I'm hearing about him makes me want him to succeed. I love the attitude even if it's off putting to most.