The fridge will strike back
14/2/18 21:13![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fridi posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
talkpoliticsBuilding castles in the air costs nothing. But maintaining them could be rather expensive. Putin is promising more money for education and health care after his re-re-re-election, and higher salaries too, and economic growth, and fighting corruption, and legal stability, and improved infrastructure. In other words, he's reiterating his promises from previous elections. All promises that he failed to fulfill. Now he's promising to wave the magic wand and do some miracles again. But will anything change after his imminent victory?
Hardly. The snake-oil sales will continue. And it costs the Russian government a lot of money to sustain the illusion. Because, while real reform remains a mirage, re-Sovietization continues in full force. 3/4 of the Russian GDP is produced by companies under state control, and Putin-friendly. The consequence is inefficiency, gargantuan bureaucracy, and lack of competition. This is best seen in the banking sector. In the meantime, the central bank is calling the shots in many major financial institutions. Whenever these get in trouble, they run to the central bank for help. And it keeps funding them at the expense of the tax-payers.
Here's another example. In the sectors considered to be of primary importance by the Russian economic doctrine, there's no place for foreigners. Which is why no one is surprised that more and more foreign companies are turning their back to the Russian market. A fact that the lobbyist organizations and the foreign-trade groups are trying to conceal from the public.
For years, Russia's growth has been meager. The Russian economy has practically been in a state of stagnation since 2013. A new push could be expected to the economy if the state allows more competition and tackled corruption and bureaucracy. It's also important to stop pressuring the judicial system. But that of course is a mirage too. Because anything of the above would be a threat to Putin's power. And it couldn't be otherwise, since many of his political proteges, friends and supporters are viewing the state as a bounty.
Navalny's popularity (mostly among the youth) is exactly because of his clear stance against the corrupt political elite. But in all fairness, with his narcissism Navalny is anything but a true alternative to the powers that be. Not to mention that he doesn't really have a viable economic program.
So don't expect anything but a landslide win for Putin on March 18. The majority of Russians will still choose him, although their incomes have been dwindling for years, and the food prices have been skyrocketing, and there's no improvement in sight. So why do they keep voting for him, you'd ask. Well, because the state-controlled media are brainwashing them that they're standing at the following choice on this election: Putin or chaos. They're also feeding the fear that things could get even worse without him - so much worse that the 90s would look like a fairy tale to them. And this is how the TV in the living-room still has the upper hand over the fridge in the kitchen. But the fridge is just biding its time - sooner or later, it'll strike back with a vengeance. And things will get ugly then.
Hardly. The snake-oil sales will continue. And it costs the Russian government a lot of money to sustain the illusion. Because, while real reform remains a mirage, re-Sovietization continues in full force. 3/4 of the Russian GDP is produced by companies under state control, and Putin-friendly. The consequence is inefficiency, gargantuan bureaucracy, and lack of competition. This is best seen in the banking sector. In the meantime, the central bank is calling the shots in many major financial institutions. Whenever these get in trouble, they run to the central bank for help. And it keeps funding them at the expense of the tax-payers.
Here's another example. In the sectors considered to be of primary importance by the Russian economic doctrine, there's no place for foreigners. Which is why no one is surprised that more and more foreign companies are turning their back to the Russian market. A fact that the lobbyist organizations and the foreign-trade groups are trying to conceal from the public.
For years, Russia's growth has been meager. The Russian economy has practically been in a state of stagnation since 2013. A new push could be expected to the economy if the state allows more competition and tackled corruption and bureaucracy. It's also important to stop pressuring the judicial system. But that of course is a mirage too. Because anything of the above would be a threat to Putin's power. And it couldn't be otherwise, since many of his political proteges, friends and supporters are viewing the state as a bounty.
Navalny's popularity (mostly among the youth) is exactly because of his clear stance against the corrupt political elite. But in all fairness, with his narcissism Navalny is anything but a true alternative to the powers that be. Not to mention that he doesn't really have a viable economic program.
So don't expect anything but a landslide win for Putin on March 18. The majority of Russians will still choose him, although their incomes have been dwindling for years, and the food prices have been skyrocketing, and there's no improvement in sight. So why do they keep voting for him, you'd ask. Well, because the state-controlled media are brainwashing them that they're standing at the following choice on this election: Putin or chaos. They're also feeding the fear that things could get even worse without him - so much worse that the 90s would look like a fairy tale to them. And this is how the TV in the living-room still has the upper hand over the fridge in the kitchen. But the fridge is just biding its time - sooner or later, it'll strike back with a vengeance. And things will get ugly then.
(no subject)
Date: 15/2/18 02:23 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 15/2/18 07:17 (UTC)