“There is Putin means there is Russia”
It’s very difficult to tell what really is happening in Russia.
Government controlled media consistently present very optimistic pictures of a happy and prosperous country. Democratic opposition newspapers and Internet portray Russia as a country on the verge of a complete collapse.
To get at the truth, I speak as often as possible with people I know in an attempt to learn their opinion about the latest events and their view of the general situation.
But even these personal contacts are not necessarily candid. A lot of Russians, even well educated, are not about to share their real feelings with an old friend now living in the U.S.
It’s obvious that surveys showing 85% support of Putin’s actions are not reflecting reality. Some observers ascribe these results to the fact that Russians are afraid to tell the truth. In many cases it is a correct explanation. But very often Russians’ support of government has a more complicated reason.
A women I know, a film critic, very witty and an openly dissident person, likes to provoke pro–Putin people in Moscow streets. She publishes her provocative conversations on the Internet and her publications often get thousands of likes.
Here is my translation of one of her latest reports about a conversations:
I’ve spoken with an elderly female clerk in a grocery store.
The woman said: “Everything is okay in Russia. And prices are not rising. ”
I said “Your job is to know the prices?” ’The proud answer was:
“I’m local. I was born here and I love my country.”
“And what pension do you get for this privilege?”
She answered “Five thousand rubles a month. (Less then $100. V.T.. ) It’s enough for me.”
I respond: “Well, yes, it’s probably is enough to cover your rent.”
She answers aggressively: “Get out of Russia!”
I answer “Yes, I’ll leave it. You’ll stay here.”
She starts to say “When all people like you will go away…”
I interrupt: “What will be than? They’ll increase your pension?
Silence. She is frowning. I keep talking: “There are about 120 million of disabled, children and the elderly in Russia. All the hard work is done by migrants.”
Suddenly, she agrees: “Well, that is a given.”
“Well, if they’ll leave, then what?”
Her answer (with tears in her voice) struck me:
“I love my country, I love my President, and you are trying to confuse me! Get out of the store, you have spoiled my day, ahhh…”
Suddenly, a younger clerk popped out from behind of the counter. She said to the older one: “Luda, stop bull shitting, huh?”
And to me: “She loves to cry, especially while singing a patriotic song. Yes, Luda, is it true?”
Luda is wiping tears with a handkerchief: “Uh-huh.”
Younger one, suddenly changing her mood: “We never lived well, why to start it now? We’ll survive!”
Clerks in a Russian grocery store.
Most of ordinary Russians do not distinguish between their country andtheir government. For them a government is not an elected group but rather an intrical part of their God given country. It is the best part of their motherland, the brain of the nation. If you are a patriot you should love your government. And if you criticize your government, you are a traitor, an enemy.
In 1960s I was a very young film director in one of Moscow’s studios. At that moment the main talk in Russia was the trial of the two writers Siniavsky and Daniel who published their dissident books abroad.
One morning when I arrived at the studio, I encountered one of the set decorators. This worker was known to me as a very nice middle-aged man, a WWII veteran, who had lost an eye in a battle. This morning the man was in a rage..
“I would kill them with my own hands!” – he yelled. “Whom?” – I asked. The man was surprised by my question. “Of course I would kill Siniavsky and Daniel.”
I asked: “Did you read their books?” He answered: “No.”
“Can you imagine that their criticism of our government is any worse than the things you are saying to me every day?”.
“Of course not. But I’m just telling it to you and they have published it abroad! They dishonor their motherland to our enemies! They deserve death!”
This type of thinking is still wide spread in Russia.
