Today, a common question haunts many: how should people live in a world that feels both ordinary and endlessly demanding? The everyday has settled into a routine that masks deeper political and ideological divides. This landscape is about relationships where ties between people shift and sometimes fray beyond repair.
Faces drift apart. Not only lives are lost but connections once taken for granted with family, friends, and neighbors. The drift did not begin yesterday; it became clear years ago. In 2014 loyalties shifted as money and possessions began to weigh differently, and conversations at gatherings grew tense. Around tables with gleaming glass and salads, factions formed between viewers of certain channels and readers of alternative sites, making mutual understanding harder to sustain. Fathers grew distant from sons, grandfathers from grandsons. Young people chase new trends, while adults recall a different era of gatherings and old friendships. The questions rise again: what about geopolitics, what about countermeasures?
Years passed and the intensity seemed to fade. It appeared the worst was over, not fatal, not beyond repair.
Then a new danger appeared, initially met with disbelief. Even bright minds doubted its reach when it touched daily life. And then a surprising shift occurred: people began to stay indoors. Remember those weeks in spring when public transit halted, streets emptied, and traffic vanished? In that quiet, a strange sweetness and a peculiar magic began to emerge.
What did this period give? Certainly, thousands of lives saved, relief for the health system, and a reorganization of work and business. But what did it take from people? The loss of daily interaction. Colleagues stopped meeting in person, and what seemed convenient at first gradually disrupted communication. When there is no need to talk to anyone, the habit of dressing for the day can slip away. This shift is dangerous because external validation helps shape self-perception. Without it, one risks losing momentum in speech and presence. Strong voices differentiate a person from a mere creature.
It turned out that most face-to-face meetings could be replaced by emails, and many emails by instant messages. Did this make people happier?
Plans for travel faded, experiences grew smaller, new friendships dimmed, and chances to visit distant relatives dwindled. Yet life moved back to the surface: stores filled with shoppers, the subway hummed, and housemates crossed paths as they had before. Yet beneath the routine lay a quiet, existential loneliness. One cannot be alone away from people; one can only be alone among them.
A further blow arrived as the world grew more intricate and twisted. Those who managed to sustain relationships after the mid-decade shifts faced harsher judgment. With the circle of communication narrowing, emotions tightened around a small, intimate group. People watched different channels, and disagreements became a daily habit. Blame spiraled, and festive memories faded into the background.
What steps can ease the strain? Perhaps small, frictionless moments of connection where conversations are welcomed by everyone, without conditions.
For example, many Russians or those steeped in Russian culture share that classic stories by Anton Chekhov resonate at any age and in any situation. Opinions may diverge on games, yet there is often common ground for peaceful disagreement. Reading Uncle Vanya together and then watching a film adaptation with loved ones can spark lively yet respectful discussions. Expect passion and emotion, but keep the exchange calm, harmless, and respectful. The most debated figure might be Sergei Bondarchuk as Astrov.
Rereading War and Peace, especially as a group activity, can feel exhausting. Yet viewing Bondarchuk’s film saga followed by a BBC series can reveal how the text echoes through many interpretations.
These times are challenging, with no immediate relief on the horizon. A universal need for connection exists, and culture has the power to bind people when divisions run deep. Culture can hold conflict without letting it turn hostile, offering essential support for anyone who faces separation today.