Daydreaming is the Russian pastime of choice that causes revolutions and misfortunes
We want to lead a better life, we want more prosperity. However, the opinion polls show that the majority of the able-bodied Russians opt to tighten their belts instead of looking for other opportunities to make more money when the cost of living is on the increase. The people curse the oligarchs yet only 9% of the Russians can take chances and start their own businesses. Unlike the migrant workers from Tajikistan or Turkey who travel long distances to find a job and put food on the table, the Russian men would rather stay in some godforsaken village in the boondocks, drinking homemade liquor while cursing the authorities. The Russian media and politicians ceaselessly debate the horrifying consequences of a demographic crisis in Russia. Still, we do nothing to put an end to alcoholism, the main reason why Russia may become extinct. We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of multiparty political system and pluralism as we sit and watch United Russia finish off the last remnants of political parties. The “party of power” actually leads Russia to another era of political stagnation.
Thing can get better only if the people start working hard. Our standard of living will not change for the better once the streets in this country are given new names, or a new “father of the nations” takes command, or a new political system is in place. One of the readers of Argunments and Facts, a resident of a small town near the city of Chelyabinsk, has recently sent us a letter. An excerpt from the letter reads: “It’s a shame that the hardworking Germans are leaving our region. As for the area I live in, it takes just one look to tell a village populated by ethnic Germans from the one where Russians or Tartars live. Both the Germans and Russian villagers share the same land, and live under the same authorities. Yet the German villages are neat and tidy, there are gardens and good roads in the vicinity. On the contrary, our villages look quite different, the roads are simply impassable due to proverbial dirt, and not a single tree can be seen in the courtyard. We, the Russians, keep dreaming of a beautiful garden. But we’re too lazy to make an effort and dig a row in our kitchen-garden plot…”
Translated by Guerman Grachev
Pravda.Ru
