Hi everyone,

First off, I'd like to thank @k00b for creating this amazing platform and honestly to be one of the only places in the world where I dare to lurk and read about what is going on in the world.

Almost every media outlet out there is trying to lure you into clicking more, getting you more scared, and especially more addicted through complex algorithms that please fat fiat investors or greedy pockets. SN is a haven for me.

Summer is one of the most pleasant times to be in Moscow, this year particularly we were blessed with lots of sun and warmth... maybe a bit too much of it, since it was 30 degrees Celsius for most of the summer.

Before I came to Moscow, my only image of this city (or Russia as a whole) was this god-forsaken place where it was always gloomy and cold. And of course, making eye-contact was a big enough reason to get you in trouble, is what I thought.

Such is the power of media, and such the foolishness of me. I cannot blame anyone but myself for this ignorance, but I know some people profit from keeping me foolish.

There are enough stories about me and Moscow to fill a whole book, but today I would like to talk about the dacha.

The Dacha is a plot of land, far away from the city where many Russians enjoy a touch of nature, farming, and honestly one of the best places to relax. I will never forget my very first trip, the endless trees, standing tall as pillars, blending in with the horizon on the road to the dacha.

As a math guy myself, I kept wondering: just how many trees have I seen in this single trip? I must have seen thousands, or maybe even millions of trees.

Most of our summer was spent on the field, in nature, and enjoying food. I don't handle jetlag well, but after one weekend in the dacha, pulling weeds, I found myself dead asleep. All the endless thoughts about what will happen tomorrow simply vanished into sleep.

My weekend trips to the dacha quickly became longer, as I stayed longer and decided to not bring my work with me.

Very little talk about what is going on happened in summer, because many Russians have found unity in accepting that everyone is allowed to have a different point of view, and that this should not be a reason to stop being a family, to stop enjoying time with friends, or to get yourself cancelled from your community. But honestly I think it was just the good weather, the dacha, and the fructuous harvest.

But summer has finished, and the Earth, spinning around non-stop, brings in autumn, rain, and reminds us that with every summer, a long, cold winter is coming our way.

Deep inside, whether we talk about it or not, we all have points of view, and we will forever have.

I like to piss in the shower and you think it's disgusting. Whatever. If we lived in the same house and you asked me at gunpoint if I pee in the shower, my answer will always be a big No. Same answer that I will tell you if you asked me how much bitcoin I have.

I find it amazing that those who are affected -- from the "good" or "bad" side -- focus on what we all have in common: what foods we like, which dad has the strongest arms to carry children and which mum has the most stamina to play with children.

Because this is what is going to matter at the end of the day:

Are we, the people, in this together or are we going to lose the fight against those who want to oppress us by doing exactly what they want: to separate us even more? To hate us to the point that we lose our values? To use hate and fear to slowly chip away more and more of our privacy and liberties?