Russian liberalism is taking on more aggressive outlines and is taking to the streets, Instagram, and YouTube. “We will definitely win” — the main slogan of those fighting against injustice. So far, their main weapon is peaceful demonstrations, thousands of likes, and professionally edited video channels. Many of them are even likable to us. However, it is their directors who deserve genuine applause. In the uncompromising cyber war, they manage to defeat the armies of “Kremlin bots”, turning mediocrities into popular heroes. It seems that Russia is awaiting its own Maidan, a transfer of power, redistribution of property, amnesties, arrests, and … the final victory of good over evil. It is expected that “we will win”, and corruption along with bureaucratic lawlessness will disappear forever. Maybe they will “win”, but will they disappear?
“Corruption” — evil! A bright slogan. It guarantees a place in the stands. It is easy to inspire the masses with it, to rally them to fight, and to bring them to the streets. Who has never encountered bribes, kickbacks, bribes, and blackmail from officials? Everyone has. Statistics help: according to Transparency International’s data, Russian authorities are one of the most corrupt in the world (136th out of 180).
Who are these enemies of the Russian people who take bribes and hinder us from living? These are Russian citizens who have been lucky enough to hold government positions. There are approximately 140 of them for every ten thousand people in Russia. What do the other 9860 people in Russia do? Who do they work for and what do they produce? Let’s listen to the statistics and count.
In 2018, Russia exported goods and services worth $450 billion. Of these, only $125 billion (about a quarter) is so-called non-raw non-energy exports, or everything that is not oil and gas. That means three-quarters of the country is involved in extracting minerals and selling them abroad, or as the father of the peoples, Joseph Stalin, aptly called it, “trading with the Motherland.” It is completely logical that with a corrupt state apparatus and the state as the largest shareholder of major oil companies, the main beneficiaries of trading with the Motherland are officials and security forces.
The rest of the population is largely engaged either in extracting these minerals (only 2.2% of the total workforce), or in serving the aforementioned officials (over 70%, according to the Federal State Statistics Service). They need to be clothed, fed, housed, and entertained.
In order for an official to be able to steal, they need help. They must be clothed and fed. They need electricity and hot water in their apartment. They need good roads, quality food, and medical care. The working population of Russia is largely responsible for providing all of this. Officials extract oil and sell it abroad, and the population helps them in this endeavor, dreaming of being as close to the state as possible, and if lucky, holding a position near valuable minerals.
This is what modern Russian neo-feudalism looks like.
Anyway, Russia is a country with huge reserves and centuries-old corruption, in which the majority of the population is involved. I dare to suggest that corruption in Russia has always been attempted to be fought, but never tried to be defeated. For example, five centuries ago, Tsar Ivan the Terrible introduced the death penalty as a punishment “for excessiveness (!) in bribes”. Note, not for bribes, but specifically for excessiveness.
Thus, producing little of value, we mainly serve officials who “trade with the Motherland”.
And in these conditions, we hear the slogan “we will win”. The question is, who exactly do you want to defeat, gentlemen liberals? And what will we do after we imprison those who are currently pumping oil? In their place, we will have to put new officials and entrust them with pumping the same oil, in the same volumes. Simply because we all do not know how to do anything else yet, and do not really want to.
We either know how to steal, or how to serve.
The European or American model may suit us, if implemented gradually, over a period of about a hundred years, gradually replacing oil and gas production with furniture, cars, phones, building materials, and meat production. Gradually replacing thieves and their servants with builders, programmers, peasants, and machine builders. Gradually replacing respect for the uniform with respect for calloused hands. Gradually replacing dreams of the greatest country with dreams of the richest. Gradually!
Today’s “our” one-time victory on Maidan Sakharov Avenue will only lead to one thing: the replacement of one officials with others. The essence and structure of the Russian economy and social order will not change. They cannot be changed in one day. Nor in one year. And certainly not by one person.
It is absolutely obvious that to the authors of the slogan “we will win”, it is absolutely obvious. They are not talking about our victory, but about their personal one. They will win, and we will remain who we were - servants of the people’s servants.
Translated by ChatGPT gpt-3.5-turbo/42 on 2024-04-20 at 14:36
