In Riga there is a black box in the middle of city hall square, both ugly and disturbing. Made of concrete, it looks like a parking lot, but in fact it is the Latvian National Museum of Occupation, 1940-1991.
There seems to be an architectural trend for ugly buildings dedicated to grave events. You will find the Monument of Shoah in Berlin a daedalus of tombstones, leaving future generations wondering the purpose of those erected stones like at Stonehenge.
And yet the purpose of this writing is not architecture, but occupation. What does it mean to be occupied, and especially to occupy, as invader, conqueror or persistent guest?
Invasions are like winds. Some endure for days and weeks, and will rewrite maps or destroy armies. Others are brief and have the brutality of unexpected storms. But ultimately a peaceful morning will let us wonder about this urge of invading, and leaving behind some statues, perhaps generations of blond children.
Thinking of Latvia, there have been two winds, one brief and violent, and the latter relentless, which left the country divided over its true future and belonging. Its statue of liberty is indeed holding in her outstretched hands, three stars, and it is an exerting task, as Russians of Latvia are stirring.
German invasions have the quality of their defects. Meaning that unlike the French ones, which leave women dreaming of gallant officers, trees of liberty and civil laws, with the Germans, there is no such a thing. Germans are bad invaders, because they don’t last and have a manic habit of destroying instead of creating.
German invasions are brutal and stupid. They have the violence of today’s youngsters who would knife a man for a smile. Fortunately German eagle is too heavy to fly for a long time, so that armies are routed, leaving local populations wondering what happened. Of course this is only part of the story, as Germans tend to invade again as tourists, in motorised columns of cars and buses.
With Russians, it is altogether different. They invade brutally, but with a romantic quality. Their deep nature has the quality of their opera and dances. Both energetic and wild, Russian culture is about embracing rather than punching, even if some embraces lead to unpleasant places north of the polar circle.
Russians are playing chess, drinking and smoking, all in a dazzling combination of invasion and natural catastrophe. They will leave Soviet architecture buildings behind, which are recycled in European Economic Community business centre, as for example, the Communist Party headquarter of Riga has been renamed World Trade Centre with humor.
But they will leave remarkable achievements of education, knowledge and hygiene. The credo of Communism is indeed education, sport and hygiene. Some can argue that the price is heavy, as Communism has forgotten breakfast, lunch and dinner. But nonetheless only Russians can have that quality of culture and endurance.
Being an invader is not difficult, but Romans have taught us that what makes a great invader is culture and long-term project. Romans invaded brutally, but erected marvelous cities with running water, and assimilation of local population was rapid, but for Egyptians. With time we have lost that quality of invasions.
The last great invasions were perhaps the Crusades, as some went there not only for gold, but for redemption. Spirituality yet played a role. Later invasions, like conquest of Africa by France and England, lacked that subtlety. Industrialised countries conquer territories as potential markets, not for spiritual or romantic reasons.
T.E. Lawrence argued in his Seven Pillars of Wisdom that the French were extremely bad invaders, compared to the elitist British. French are unruly, brutal bastards, but they have Republican values, and armies of devoted leftist teachers. They build great things, and have local elite contribute actively to a kind of foreign French metropolis, for example Saigon or Algiers.
German colonial past is small, but striking. Who but a German would build in Namibian desert a factory of sausage and beer? There is that obstinate typical German need to export a life style, to stamp it with Made in Germany. Today they invade the world with their cars, at least something more useful than pigs in a desert.
What truly makes for a great invader, and a better quality of occupation, is cultural flexibility. Romans did not argue about religions as long as the tax were paid. With the Jews the problem was that for reasons of money and monotheism, Roman laws could not work their magic of integration. And yet apart from the example of Egypt and Judea, Roman laws made citizens out of hundreds of million foreign people.
The European Community is an invader of sorts, with armies of commissioners and lawyers, building a tower of Babel, but with limited success so far. One cannot conquer without a cultural ideal, and the EEC has only the culture of profit.
The American Empire had the potential to invade and last, but alas, since the late 50s its military industrial lobby has grown so powerful, as a state within the state, that instead of exporting only movies, candy and personal computers, there is that urge to export bombs and missiles, and to use them liberally on civil populations. This is really too bad, because American people are so likable, but being invaded by them is like Disneyland, you have to run for shelter which is made difficult by the gross consumption of MacDonalds.
We are experiencing a new invasion of Chinese. The Empire of the Middle has become factory of the world. So far, its invasion of African territories and industrialised countries markets has been relentless, but not harmless. Again to be likable, Chinese invasion would have to be more culturally flexible. Instead of manufacturing only goods, China should propose a real alternative to European 19th century industrial values. So far, there is nothing like that.
Invasions are like winds, they can turn you into a fool, or make you dream about vast oceans and green forests.
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