Russia's Vladimir Putin and wife Lyudmila divorce

[OlgaH]

Kazan ranks 174th (highest in Russia) in Mercer’s Worldwide Quality of Living Survey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazan

So here is the story.  All that Vasilisa has told us about recent advances and modern life in Kazan is true.

However,  this only applies to Kazan.
The rest of Russia is total crap.

Sorry Vasilisa, just an attempt at humor that I couldn't resist.   

ML, to understand your joke about the rest of Russia one must be friendly with the math, understand how the vertical power with the bureaucratic apparatus that is 2,5 times is bigger than it was in the USSR operates, understand the iceberg of taxation, how corruption effects all the spheres and the cracks in the new buildings appear and under the new facings they spread more and more literally.   

The RF government spends the money on the different social programs all over the country, repairs roads and buildings (and of course on investigations how the money actually were spent  )  but still fails to fight inflation... with  raising the wages, pensions and different kind of social subsidies   

During five years people live in the building built in 2008 fearing for their lives

[Eduard]

Who are they, and are they married to each other?     The gentleman's appearance and hairstyle are eerily reminiscent of a ventriloquist's dummy.

The guy is a famous singer - Joseph Kabzon. He is for the FSU what Frank Sinatra is for the US. He was famous even when I was still living in Russia in the 1970s. Then he decided to get into politics. He's been a representative in Russian Duma for some time. He should be in his late 70s now I think.

[Ooooops]

Hmm, he lived in then Leningrad at that time, in fact, the year Putin married.  He said showing up late was not unusual for men.

I got married first time in Moscow only 2 years after Putins and no, showing up late was not usual for men.   At least men I knew.         Pfffff, I'd never wait hour and a half for a guy (or a girl) - not then, not now!       Of course, back then there were no cell phone, so there was no way to call and warn the waiting person...     

[ghost of moon goddess]

ML, to understand your joke about the rest of Russia one must be friendly with the math, understand how the vertical power with the bureaucratic apparatus that is 2,5 times is bigger than it was in the USSR operates, understand the iceberg of taxation, how corruption effects all the spheres and the cracks in the new buildings appear and under the new facings they spread more and more literally.   
....

I thought that loving Pushkin's poetry would be enough to get ML's subtle humor and what he was poking fun at: "the story's false; but in it lies some truth, seen but by inward eyes"
No? 

[OlgaH]

I thought that loving Pushkin's poetry would be enough to get ML's subtle humor and what he was poking fun at: "the story's false; but in it lies some truth, seen but by inward eyes"
No? 

In the light of the joke and love to Pushkin 

"Of course, I despise my homeland from head to toe - but I'm annoyed when a foreigner shares this feeling with me."  from A. Pushkin's letter to P. Vyazemsky (1826)

PS. I should admit since Pushkin's time some changes took place 

[Misha]

Misha, let's not forget what Kazan looked like in early 80-ies, 90-ies and early 2000.

So it was obviosuly an oil republic back then, how come with Putin stealing so badly it became what it is now?!
Maybe Putin is stealing from particular regions only avoiding some big  cities.

Here is a little graph borrowed from Wikipedia.


You will see prices spiking in the 1970s which corresponds to Brezhnev's stagnation as the USSR used it growing export of crude oil following discoveries in Siberia. It could sell enough oil to subsidize the economy, which did not grow, but kept stable.


Then in the 1980s with the discovery of the North Sea oil and greater energy efficiency prices crashed. The oil monies drying up, stagnation no longer viable, Gorbachev had no choice by to experiment with Perestroika.


Prices continued dropping in the 1990s, explaining Russia's 1998 default before bottoming out at the end of the 1990s.


Putin came to power, oil prices shot up, money flowed in, the rest is history.


The big question is what Russia would be like today were it not for the corruptions, the growth of the siloviki sector of the economy, and all the other features of Putin's Russia.

[Belvis]

I thought that loving Pushkin's poetry would be enough to get ML's subtle humor and what he was poking fun at: "the story's false; but in it lies some truth, seen but by inward eyes"
No? 

Hah, you made me think again about ML's joke. It's dumb thing to analyze jokes but to be honest I have not discovered any connection with Pushkin's poetry  Just plain teasing of Vasilisa.
But again, I can be a bad expert on Pushkin 

[ghost of moon goddess]

In the light of the joke and love to Pushkin 

"Of course, I despise my homeland from head to toe - but I'm annoyed when a foreigner shares this feeling with me."  from A. Pushkin's letter to P. Vyazemsky (1826)

PS. I should admit since Pushkin's time some changes took place 

"What a Pushkin, what a son of a bitch"! 

Good strike, Olga! This famous exclamation taken out of context is a perfect example of how to create the false impression ... in the minds of the ill-informed audience, so I would not venture to use it, unless in sloppy rhetoric on a "crappy life" in Russia 

Seriously, to understand the meaning hidden behind his words one must carefully read the full text of the letter.

JIC: Nothing particularly personal intended !!!

Hah, you made me think again about ML's joke...

Sorry, that was intentionally unintentional 

[OlgaH]

"What a Pushkin, what a son of a bitch"! 

Good strike, Olga! This famous exclamation taken out of context is a perfect example of how to create the false impression ... in the minds of the ill-informed audience, so I would not venture to use it, unless in sloppy rhetoric on a "crappy life" in Russia 

Seriously, to understand the meaning hidden behind his words one must carefully read the full text of the letter.

JIC: Nothing particularly personal intended !!!

ghost of moon goddess, the quote  is not so much out of the contest of the crappy life.  Because the crappy life in modern Russia also created by the same "барщина" of the "sad century"  Pushkin was talking in his letter. You know he spent some time in exiles for speaking the truth in his free-thinking writing about the sad realities during his time. 

[Vasilisa]

Kazan is definitely my second most favourite city in Russia (sorry, but St Petersburg is in a class of its own).  When I was there, Vasilisa, there was a huge group of apartment blocks being built near the new Hippodrome.  That was a few years ago, so I imagine that they look a bit better than in the picture.  Just along the road from them was what I thought was the best-looking apartment block that I saw on the whole of my first trip.
 
Bauman Street is definitely the best pedestrian mall anywhere that I've been, and the Kremlin is fantastic.  As for the Metro - the stations may be smaller than in Moscow, but some of the architecture and decorations is just as good.

Thank you for the kind words, Anotherkiwi, I don't go to this part of the city often, I've only been there once since my arrival,  and yes, the buildings are finished now

[Vasilisa]

Hah, you made me think again about ML's joke. It's dumb thing to analyze jokes but to be honest I have not discovered any connection with Pushkin's poetry  Just plain teasing of Vasilisa.
But again, I can be a bad expert on Pushkin 

Let them tease the way they want.
I've seen plenty of teasers that could only tease and jokearound  trying to look cool instead of having a productive conversation. I've heard that cheap bars are famous for this category of people.
I was blamed for believing propaganda, I proved that I don't care about beautiful speeches and slogans and believe what I see around me.
Let the teasers look cool now trying to impress each other. That's pretty much all they can do.

[OlgaH]

Putin came to power, oil prices shot up, money flowed in, the rest is history.

The big question is what Russia would be like today were it not for the corruptions, the growth of the siloviki sector of the economy, and all the other features of Putin's Russia.

Due to my job in Russia I had to work with the departments and institutions of our city and regional administrations, with the small and large business. In 2000 I voted for Putin expecting the changes, but in 2004 I did not vote for him and his United Russia Party, because the Soviet "барщина"politics were back with one party ruling, the number of bureaucrats started to grow and corruption as well, development of agriculture and industry was on almost zero level, the businesses were straggling between taxation, paying salaries, paying bribes to the different inspections and the orders by the government to fund the government's programs. And not too much changes since 2006.

As you say the "Potemkin's villages" of new buildings and roads along with raise of salaries, pensions and social subsidies during inflation are costly though it helps to create a cheerful mood "жить стало лучше жить стало веселее." 
Russian Public debt grew 14% up since 2012 and since 2007 it is three times bigger. Pension fund is bankrupt, the reforms are needed urgently. Since 2000 Putin and his party had enough time... but it all comes to the big question in your post.

[Misha]

Russian Public debt grew 14% up since 2012 and since 2007 it is three times bigger. Pension fund is bankrupt, the reforms are needed urgently. Since 2000 Putin and his party had enough time... but it all comes to the big question in your post.

Yes, and if I am not mistaken that is only public debt and does not include the debt of quasi-public companies such as GAZPROM that are tens of billions of dollars in debt...

[OlgaH]

Yes, and if I am not mistaken that is only public debt and does not include the debt of quasi-public companies such as GAZPROM that are tens of billions of dollars in debt...

Yes, Misha, it is only public debt.

In to months December 2012 and January 2013 about 6 thousand sole proprietors closed their businesses down in Sverdlov region, and  207 thousand all over Russia for the same period. Since January 1, 2013 the Government doubled the insurance premiums they have to pay. Now the government is going to increase the pension premiums the businesses have to pay to Pension fund.

In the developed countries small business generate about or more than 50% of the GDP, in Russia only 17%.