"Do I like the country I live in?" Russia

Maturity test

“DO I LIKE THE COUNTRY I LIVE IN?”

New Times.ru
September 2006
Source

Last year, four articles under this title written by students were published in “NT” magazine. I gave a series of lectures on “Power and the Press in Russia” at the Institute of Journalism and Literature, and students wrote short articles on the subject. This year I did the same, asking students to express their views on this and related subjects. It’s interesting to learn what young people of about twenty think of the country they live in.
-- Olga Kuchkina


If not diarrhea, then scrofula

It looks like the period when any cook could govern the state is coming to an end. Or she thought she governed it when studying a long list of candidates for an official post at the local polling station before ticking off some name which she liked for some political reason or other.

Thank God, we’re not America; we have another type of freedom. Just as before, any man or woman can come out to Red Square and shout “Down with Clinton!” This is really done in various forms. “Down with gays!” “Long live apiculture!” “Move Alla Pugacheva’s bath-house two meters to the left!” Yes, we want this, because we have the right to demand. In general, our ladies have got completely out of hand, violating the sex composition of this world of ours. Let’s turn everything back!

Indeed, the country I live in remains the same as it used to be, that is, monarchic, whatever is said about it. As history has it, our territories are boundless, and we are genetically convinced of the need to know what our two hands are doing with one head ruling them. However, this head may not be our own, because, as everybody knows, it can be later severed from the body. That is why there must be somebody responsible for all our ills and misfortunes. If there was nobody guilty of our unhappy life, then we would have to admit that we ourselves are guilty, which runs counter to our pride.

And so we take pride in our achievements in the sphere of freedom and democracy. We are happy when one hundred rubles are added to our monthly pension, and that our sons will serve in the army not two best years of their lives but only one. And so we are building the power vertical; otherwise, who will we blame some thirty years later for our unhappy life, who will we denounce for our misery and misfortune? We can not say to our grandchildren that we were light-minded loafers concerned about life just one day at a time. Our grandparents told us about being unable to lay the foundation for our welfare, because times were hard: if not diarrhea, then scrofula; if not war, then stagnation. Stalin was a tyrant and paranoiac, Khrushchev was stubborn and ignorant, and as for Brezhnev, he was completely senile. “We were not guilty of our dog’s life,” our grandparents said to us. “Clearly, it was they…”

It’s difficult and unrewarding to shape one’s own life. For if life turns out to be unsuccessful and unhappy, it’ll be a heavy burden to realize at the end of one’s days that it was one’s own guilt.

Had we only believed in God, we could have repented and asked for forgiveness for our unseemly life and misbehavior, for violating the Commandments, and then died in peace. But since we are fourth-generation atheists, we have no way out. Thus, we will help strengthen the power vertical and then call a referendum and decide that we’re not America, we’re Asia. And we will build democracy Turkmenian style so that we will be able to tell our grandchildren about how we were prevented from living a happy life and who was to blame for that.
-- Irina MELIK-SHAHNAZAROVA



Politics? Fifty-fifty!

Who will we ask about politics? Our girlfriends? But they are mainly concerned with fighting overweight, getting rid of wrinkles, marrying a worthy man, or having their periods on time.

But we’d like to learn more about politics and talk about it not while drinking vodka and asking one another, after several glasses, “Do you respect me?” “I do.” “So we’re both respectable people…” Politics accompanying drinking is alien to me. But when reading one or another article it becomes clear that all reasoning is subjective. My judgments are also quite subjective.

You know, everything is fifty-fifty. For instance, you remember when the twin towers in New York were blown up…We observed mourning at our school, and as an excellent senior student I was entrusted to organize a mourning ceremony in the fifth grade. We prepared everything beforehand, brought a radio set to the classroom, switched it off at noon sharp, and observed a minute of silence. What was the children’s reaction? Some didn’t even know anything about explosions in America; they were restless at their desks and could hardly stay calm during that minute. And what about my behavior? I looked at my watch every now and then and thought about the explosion of an apartment house in Moscow several years earlier, when there was no mourning observed in the city. I myself was in the fifth grade at the time, but no senior students came to our class. I only remember that our neighbor from the 10th floor in our building phoned my mother and in near-hysterics asked her to go out to the courtyard and stay there on duty, as it were. She feared for her life, but I feared for my and my mother’s life. We phoned other neighbors, cooked porridge, boiled frankfurters, and cut vegetables. For whom? For the young soldiers who were placed in twos in every courtyard each day. They had a flask of water and one sandwich, were unarmed, and it was interesting to know how they would manage to protect us from terrorists. How would they be able to report to their commander that sacks allegedly with sugar in them, but in reality with high explosives, were unloaded and taken to the cellar? Do you remember? The word “hexogen,” meaning an explosive, was on everybody’s lips then. It was claimed that if you said it on a mobile phone, men from the secret service, special task force, the mayor, and all the others would immediately arrive. Of course, we didn’t say this word, but cooked porridge cut salads, boiled frankfurters (later we added cigarettes to the list), and gave sedatives to neighbors to calm them. But we had no day of mourning to honor the memory of the innocent people killed by terrorists.

Then there was Nord-Ost and sleepless nights. The uncle of my closest girlfriend was an orchestra musician there. He died of suffocation caused by gas, although the death certificate given to his widow said that it was a heart attack, obviously connected with nervous tension. But there was something else in that document, and his wife, a doctor, understood that his death resulted from gas suffocation. At that time, official sources didn’t mention this as the cause of death.

Then planes began to explode in mid-air and plunge to the earth, but our government would issue statements that “…there was no subversive act and the plane went down due to…” It’s not important what caused it – put in any word; the main thing is that there were NO terrorist acts, although you know well enough that anything is possible in Russia. We buy old second-hand planes from Germany, which the poorest of poor Germans will not board. You know how they care for their health and security; they are very pragmatic people. I once flew to Egypt on a Boeing bought from Germany. The door handles in the toilets were broken, but a pamphlet describing the plane and its main characteristics (although in the German language) was supplied to each passenger. But it would be impossible to leave the plane at the very last moment before takeoff under the pretext of feeling bad, you may land in the nearest police station as a suspected terrorist. But here, we may be grabbed and thrown into police dungeons at any moment. But for a bribe of 100 bucks may be released and board the same plane.

What else can I mention? Thank God, I didn’t go to Tushino. The police were efficient enough and didn’t let the terrorists inside, so the explosion took place at the entrance. As our government reported at the time, there could have been more casualties. This has always given me joy. Since there could have been more victims, then we got along relatively well in our country. One part of Moscow has only been scared, whereas the other part began to collect money for tombstones at the graves of their sons, daughters, mothers and fathers, and friends (because people of different ages go to various festivals).

In November, we went to the Transvaal recreation center; and in February some people went there to mark St.Valentine’s Day, after which they were going to get married, live their whole life together and die on the same day. The latter has already happened, may they rest in peace…

Some people may say that terrorism has become a worldwide phenomenon. But here it is very cheap. Pay 100 bucks and you will be allowed to pass a police checkpoint, and for 200 bucks a truck loaded with explosives passed off as sacks of sugar will be delivered to the place you indicate. I don’t blame the government; let it be. I realize that it’s probably better than its complete absence. But if one has undertaken to do something, one should bring it to the end. One shouldn’t say that corruption should be well-measured. What measure should be used? Perhaps terrorism should also be measured: five living persons for each person killed…

Fifty-fifty. Returning home in the evening you never know who you will meet: a skinhead or a Nazi, who will take you not for “his own,” but for a Russian, if you’re lucky. They call for ending interethnic discord and violence, but, for some reason, they’re growing.

Watching TV, I saw that at last Russia put forward a worthy candidate for the Eurovision award. I don’t like Dima Bilan; yet, like millions of Russians, I don’t go to bed and shout swear words when I see the panel of judges lowering marks unjustly.

“Russia is the chairman of the European Union this year,” my neighbor Tolik says. He likes drinking, but is well-versed in politics.

Yet, I like my country, you know why?.. For its people. They are courageous and patient. They stand aside and watch. There is a person in each company of friends. He analyzes, remains silent, listens to the arguments of his friends, and suddenly says something very clever that cannot be denied. And everyone will take their possessions and follow him. I think something like that will happen to Russia. It will say and do something so significant and weighty, that other countries will realize that it is meaningless to object and will follow it meekly.

But I only hope that my children will live a better life here. I cannot be sure (one can never be sure of anything, especially of the morrow; in Russia, one can only hope).
-- Anastasia SOLOVYOVA



I choose kvass

The level of relations between the state and society can be determined, in my view, by the form of the dialogue between them. At an English lesson in the third grade I remember our teacher telling us about the various types of interrogative sentences. For example “Pepsi or Coca-Cola?” is an alternative question. And simply “Pepsi?” is a general question. The choice of one of them depends on which answer is preferred.

Alternatives are, of course, more democratic and noble. There is complete freedom of choice: if you’d like to have traditional Cola, please have it. And if you want the new and ambitious Pepsi, who would object… It’s healthy competition; everything depends on your desire. Take everything from life; the main thing is not to think too long. Everything should be like at an exam. You enter the classroom and grab the first ticket your eye falls on. If you wait for a couple of seconds, thinking feverishly which piece of white paper is better, you risk taking something awful and fraught with failure. There are various methods of training to spend less time in choosing anything, for example:

Dosya or ordinary detergents?
Zlato or ordinary butter?

Tide or ordinary laundry detergent?

If I prefer the first, I’ll get a successful husband, obedient kids and a decent mother-in-law, to boot. The second will usually be accompanied by a constantly grumbling husband, naughty kids, and a grey sky overhead. Have you learned to choose properly?

All this happened quite recently. But lately the scheme has changed. Today, the best question is the one that can be answered with a simple Yes or No.

Are you thirsty? – Here’s a Pepsi.

Do you want to be protected from terrorism? Here’s restriction of the freedom of speech.

You don’t want an Orange revolution?.. The answer is obvious.

The gravest result of such questions is our eternal silence as a sign of consent. You couldn’t hear properly (because they spoke in a low voice), you didn’t understand (they explained inadequately), you didn’t see (they didn’t show) – and you’re automatically For. Quite a few important laws are adopted in this manner, without broad explanation and publication. The state leaders have adopted the position of benefactors and loving parents. Examples of their love and concern are always here, as if from a cornucopia: bird flu, Georgian wines (and mineral water), etc. – they know what we should drink, eat, and see and are ready to do everything for us. Thanks a lot. We know, we have already passed through this stage. Jesus Christ, already crucified, was not refused a drink either. The question is what was in the mug offered him.

Many people maintain that the situation will develop as follows: Pepsi? – Pepsi. – Pepsi! This is quite possible.

Do I like such a turn of events? Not likely. However, the guys I see on the TV screen at home have nothing to do with this. We have chosen them, and they do with us what we allow them to do. And if we want to like our country, it’s high time to learn to choose kvass instead of the Pepsi and Cola offered us.
-- Anna KHROMOVA