Persian Rugs

russian_carpet_on_the_wall

Antrr Ra
Facebook
January 2, 2018

For several days, Iranians have been openly protesting the corrupt system in their country. They have been protesting not only in the capital Tehran but also in at least fifty other cities. They had been promised more freedom and openness in terms of how the country’s budget is spent, and prices for food have been skyrocketing.

In Russia, the authorities have not promised anyone anything for a long time, and people have been staying at home, looking forward to the upcoming presidential elections.

Translated by the Russian Reader. Thanks to Anatrr Ra for their kind permission to reproduce their remarks on my website. Photo courtesy of correctlydesign.com

Oleg Dorman: The One Hundred and Two Point Seven Percent

This comment on his Facebook page by film director Oleg Dorman suffers from many of the clichés and falls into many well-worn tropes of recent Russian “intelligentsia vs. ordinary people” discourse (including the suspiciously popular device of getting the skinny on what “ordinary people” think from taxi drivers). Unfortunately, his explanation of why Putin has been enjoying sky-high ratings sounds more plausible, given our own experience discussing politics (with lots of people who are not taxi drivers) than many others out there, and that is why we felt like translating and publishing it here. And in reality, Dorman’s remarks apply equally or even more so to the so-called intelligentsia, middle classes, and creative classes, something he probably doesn’t need us to tell him, given his wonderful film about renowned translator Liliana Lungina.

Thanks to Comrade ASK for the heads-up.

__________

Oleg Dorman

A little more philistinism.

Eighty percent support, ninety percent support, one hundred two point seven percent support. This means one thing: mass man has understood that the authorities have him by the apple again. When a Gelendzhik cabbie explained to me that “under Putin” salaries were paid punctually, “and if they don’t pay you for two months, you can go to your boss and threaten to sue,” he thus unconsciously meant his salary depends on Putin. Gelendzhik is an ugly city, like most newish Russian cities, that is, everything manmade is ugly, the houses first of all, despite the fact they are private homes. I think the reason is simple: everyone knows that your home is not yours. They can take it away at any time. They can take away everything. To fuss over the beauty of your lawn, you must be sure your great-grandchildren will inherit it. Otherwise, everything is temporary, accidental: a piece of gray slate, propped up by a rusty headboard. A clear understanding—or rather, animal instinct—that your life is totally dependent on the authorities is what makes mass man watch television continuously. He is not “fooled” at all; on the contrary, he knows that his salary, pension, and the lives of his children and grandchildren depend on what Dmitry Kiselyov says on the tube. And today’s overheated airwaves, which cause the thinking person to rage and protest, evoke a correct understanding in mass man: dangerous times have come again. If you mouth off, you’re a goner. That is why he fiercely replies “Yes, yes, yes!” to a question that essentially should be worded, “Do you support the TV?” It is the fury of a cornered, disenfranchised, scared and soundly beaten person. There is nothing else to the ninety percent approval ratings. Nobody will lift a finger “for Putin” when they come to stuff him back in his bottle. No one will defend the current “state of affairs,” because people defend their executioners only while the executioners are in power. No one cares the slightest about Ukraine, the Crimea, the Americans. It’s even sad in its own way, but it’s true. There is pity for the victims, but this makes TV viewers even more scared for their own children, who are helpless before the authorities. “Nationwide support” is a fatal symptom. Now, like an animal tamer at the circus, the authorities would be wise not to turn their backs on their charges.

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Art Criticism

The best critique of the recent desperate bit of performance art on Red Square has been this brief analysis, by Leonid Bershidsky, of Russia’s dismal economic prospects and the state’s seeming indifference to this state of affairs:

Pavlensky, however, may have been on to something. The apathy and fatalism he so dramatically depicted is clear in the Russian economic ministry’s long-term economic development forecast. The forecast, which stretches through 2030, is a major strategy document meant to serve as the basis for policy decisions — though in this case the most probable scenario does not require much action at all.

In March, when the previous version of the forecast was adopted, the basic scenario was a moderately optimistic one that had the Russian economy growing at an average of 4 percent a year, noticeably faster than developed countries like the U.S. and members of the European Union. The current version is based on a “conservative” scenario, with average growth limited to 2.5 percent annually and a drop in Russia’s share of global output to 3.4 percent in 2030 from 4 percent in 2012. In other words, despite consistently high energy prices — in 2030, the forecast sees oil at $90 to $110 per barrel in 2010 prices — Russia will keep lagging behind other developing nations, especially China and other Asian countries.

While the previous version of the forecast envisioned a net capital inflow of 1.5 percent gross domestic product, the current one says capital flows will be “balanced” — an improvement on the $80 billion capital flight expected this year but not an overly ambitious goal.

Other parts of the forecast look just as dismal. For example, private investment in research and development is not expected to make any contribution to economic growth. Russia will only be able to increase productivity by importing technology, which by 2030 will allow it to reach 66 percent of the U.S.’s productivity level, up from the current 39 percent. There will be more income inequality; incomes and domestic demand will grow about as slowly as the economy as a whole.

“The expected trends in global raw materials markets will not be able to re-emerge as prime drivers of economic growth,” the forecast says. “At the same time, structural constraints to growth have significantly increased. They include undeveloped infrastructure, obsolescent equipment, unfavorable demographics and a growing deficit of qualified personnel. That means in the next 20 years, the Russian economy will not be able to return to the 2000-2008 growth trajectory and even keeping up a lower growth tempo will require significant reforms.”

Such depressing reading gave rise to frustrated and angry comments. “A new strategy for Russia: we have lost the last shred of conscience and we are too lazy even to pretend that we are doing something,” money manager Yulia Bushueva wrote on Facebook. “Don’t bother us, we are busy stealing.”