It is impossible for the screaming crowd to call out Barabás one more time, while the individual whispers the name of Jesus - we talked with historian Károly Szerencsés, a teacher at the Faculty of Arts at ELTE, about the causes and consequences of war and how beautiful life is from the perspective of death.

The war broke out on February 24 last year. We know that Russia attacked Ukraine that day, that's a fact. But did the Russian-Ukrainian war also break out then? And will the historiography call this war with an unknown end 5-10 years from now as the Russian-Ukrainian war?

Yes, it will be called the Russo-Ukrainian war if it is still going on, but even if it might end by then. I see little chance of the latter. The situation today is that someone has to win. The parties have included themselves in this, and a significant, vocal part of the world is also shouting this. The globalized "West" - including the USA, the European Union, Japan, Australia, and South Korea - is in a serious crisis with consequences that are still unforeseeable. In a demographic, cultural-identity and economic crisis.

He is looking for a solution to this, and like normal empires in general, he sees this in expansion.

It is a well-known cliché that history is always written by the victors. of the exhibition entitled "The New World was born - 1914-1922" presents reports from the press products of the time. The media on both sides was harsh and biased, of course, but the Allies specifically demonized the enemy. deja vu justified ?

That's exactly what it's about. You could ask me what kind of western expansion I am talking about when Russia is expanding, occupying and annexing territories. And that cannot be doubted. Every state has the right to self-defense, including Ukraine.

But he has no right to discriminate against his own citizens, and when they resist, he terrorizes him with weapons. This is what happened in the Donbass. Something like this has already happened many times in Europe in the modern era, precisely to the detriment of the Hungarian people, just as it was also on the secondary stage of this conflict, in Transcarpathia.

After 2014, it became obvious to the Russian leadership that, after the three former Baltic republics, the "West" would also include Ukraine in its economic, political and military sphere of interest. The Russian leadership could no longer tolerate this, and started the Special Military Operation citing the atrocities against the Russians in Ukraine. The "West" stepped in and fully supported Ukraine, because it feared that Ukraine would come under clear Russian influence. This was exactly what the Kremlin was aiming for, and I think that if we don't end this war quickly - it will stay that way. All this also represents a serious threat to Hungary.

It is now clear that neither side can win militarily. Paradoxically, this only increases the danger.

That is why we stand for peace, essentially the only one in Europe.

If we look at the map, Hungary is in the same place where it was a thousand years ago, it may have collapsed like Samu's pants, but its geopolitical situation has not changed, so neither have the challenges that come with it. This time do we have a real chance of missing out?

I see a chance for Europe to avoid another war that would set the whole continent on fire. Because today's Europe is significantly different politically from the Europe of the previous World War eras.

I believe in the elementary power of the will of the people, which we have the tools and institutions to express. These did not exist, for example, in the German National Socialist Third Reich, nor in Kaiser Wilhelm's "second empire". Today's Russia is also different from Stalin's Soviet Union, and the USA is also different.

Of course, the incitement of individual politicians is disappointing, and the scathing attitude of a significant part of the press towards the conflict is very thought-provoking.

Everything is given for another "big" war - weapons, pretext and reason, the hated enemy - but the most important thing is missing. Man.

People can no longer be herded to the slaughterhouse of war. This is one of the most important lessons of the current conflict.

The people always want peace. It is impossible for the screaming crowd to call out Barabbas one more time while the individual is whispering the name of Jesus.

Bringing the real will of the people into line with the decisions of the "legislators" is the really important task. The media's too.

The unified Western communication says that the current "allies" are willing to fight to the last Ukrainian. What comes next? Whose life becomes expendable? Is the life of an (Eastern) European worth less than that of a Briton or an American?

Many of the current "legislators" may think so. But neither Central nor Eastern Europe is what it once was. Rightly proud of its past, Hungary is a vanguard of change. This is logical, because Hungarians have gone through many trials, and these trials have trained them and armed them with knowledge that resists manipulation.

That is why we are not willing to get involved in a conflict whose outcome and development we have essentially no influence on. Remember: when we wish peace to Ukraine and Russia, we also wish it to ourselves.

All this does not change the fact that radical geostrategic changes are taking place in our region. We have to come out of this well, this is the top priority for us. And this is my answer to the question of whether we can stay out of a pan-European conflict.

Can there ever be a national consensus in this country, at least in a crisis situation?

National consensus yes. This exists, for example, in the issue of war and peace.

But a political consensus is unlikely to emerge. Dislikes, hatreds, desires for revenge, and greed have become too deeply entrenched and personal for that.

It's true, nothing in this world is forever. Everything that is human is subject to change. Even in a good direction.

You were in the hospital, again, between life and death, again. From that point of view, how do you evaluate the pages and days of your life?

The bar goes to me. Two pneumonias within a year, and then some strange, fatal chain of bad currents, decisions, movements. The blood pouring out of my veins made me almost incapacitated for a few days. I hardly saw him for days. I experienced the joy of returning to the "urgent", "intensive", and "ward". The first free breath without oxygen masks and tubes! The first bite of food that I could taste! The first step after a week, the first shave, the first bath. The first hope, the first life-affirming thought. The first peaceful night, the first day at home. The first walk in the little star street. Now I can be at the cathedral again, among young people.

Life is beautiful from the perspective of death. But I hope not only from there.

Everyone should find a corner in the world where you can see the beauty of life. The best deposits are in the corners of love, and I sincerely wish that we find them.

Featured image: Viktor Krĉ