The prediction was made by a great Russian writer and visionary
Anton Pavlovich
Chekhov in a short story “Psyhopates”.
Chekhov published this story in "Peterburgskaya Gazeta", 1885, No.
275, October 7, p. 3, section "Flying Notes".
PSYCHOPATHES
Excerpt
The titular councilor Semyon Alekseich Nyanin, who once
served in one of the provincial commercial courts, and his son Grisha, a
retired lieutenant, a colorless person who lives on the bread of his father and
mother, are sitting in one of their little rooms and having dinner. Grisha, as
usual, drinks glass after glass and speaks incessantly; poppa, pale, always
alarmed and surprised, timidly peers into his face and freezes from some
indefinite feeling, similar to fear.
“Bulgaria and Rumelia are just flowers,” says Grisha, fiercely
picking his teeth with a fork. - This is nothing, rubbish! But you read what
is happening in Greece and Serbia, and what a conversation is going on in
England! Greece and Serbia will rise, Turkey too ... England will stand up for
Turkey.
- And France will not tolerate ... - Nyanin remarks, as if
hesitantly.
- Lord, we started talking about politics again! - coughs in
the next room tenant Fyodor Fedorovich. - If only they would feel sorry for the
sick man!
“Yes, and France will not
stand it,” Grisha agrees with father, as if not noticing Fyodor Fedorovich's
cough. - She, man, has not yet forgotten five billion! She, man ... these
French, man, are canny! They are just waiting to stage Bismarck drubbing and put hellebores in his snuffbox! And if the Frenchman gets up, the
German will not wait - kommen sie her, Ivan Andreevich, sprechen sie deutsch!
.. Ho-ho-ho! Austria follows the
Germans, then Hungary, and then, look, Spain follows about the Caroline Islands
... China with Tonkin, Afghans ... and off it went, and went, and went! That,
man, will happen you never dreamed of! you mark my word! You will only spread
your hands ...
... The old man usually surrenders to fear silently, Grisha cannot do without irritating
himself and his father with long word torrents; he will not calm down until he
scares himself fully.
- You will see! - he continues. - You will not have time to
gasp, as in Europe everything will go topsy-turvy. You'll get yours. Let’s assume that you don’t care, no matter what, but for
me - please go to war! However, I do not care ... with our pleasure
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