By Arthur Solomon
Russia and the United States have many things in common, and they are not all good.
That’s my opinion after speaking to Russians during a recent visit to the once communist power. I don’t profess to be an expert on the former Soviet Union, but at least my opinions are based on first hand seeing and talking, which is more than I can say about the TV talk show pundits, who are experts on everything without leaving their studios.
Social Similarities:
Russia has a drug problem. So does the U.S.
Russia has a serious alcoholic problem. So does the U.S.
Russia has people who cannot afford rent. So does the U.S.
Russia has people living on the streets. So does the U.S.
Russia has people who cannot make ends meet. So does the U.S.
Russia has a widening gap between the rich and the poor. So does the U.S.
Russia has a crime problem. So does the U.S.
Russia has a small middle class. The U.S. has a shrinking middle class.
Russia has a two-class medical system, one for the rich, who can afford the best that private hospitals can offer, the other for those who cannot afford the best medical care; so does the U.S.
Russia has an uneven higher education system; it takes a lot of money to get into prestigious universities. The same is true in the U.S.
Russia has a divorce rate of close to 50%. So does the U.S.
The above problems have some Russians ambivalent about the change from communism to a market-based (but closely controlled) economy.
As two Russians told me, they had little under communism, but the government provided food, shelter, jobs and a small pension that was enough to help people keep their heads above water. Now that safety net is gone. (The U.S. also is trying to shrink the safety net for the needy, while the super-wealthy get richer.)
Also, homelessness was unheard of under communism, I was told. And, there was no drug or crime problem. These are serious problems now.
Pluses Since the Fall of Communism
Despite the above problems, Russians talk about the following pluses:
Freedom of speech without fear of retaliation.
Election of most representatives.
Checks and balances, modeled after the U.S. Constitution.
Privatization of businesses and property.
Since it’s a relatively short time since privatization was allowed, most Russians have not been able to usefully make the transition. Thus, only the few that had a “head for business” have been successful in the new economy. Also, some Russians, I was told, are still afraid to express their true political beliefs because they don’t know which way the political winds will blow and who is listening.
Russians think their TV shows are terrible and a waste of time. I think a lot of Americans would think that of our TV shows.
Media
Russians are suspicious of what political pundits says. One young Russian told me she reads a variety of newspapers, listens to different TV news programs and also uses the internet to get foreign takes on political views. Then she makes up her mind.
Newspapers and political commentators are free to express their opinions without fear of government retaliation, I was told by a pro-democracy, anti-government individual, who is upset with the current political situation. There are privately owned papers and state owned papers. I was surprised that TV shows like Voice of America, Bloomberg Business News, CNN, CNBC and BBC can be seen by
anyone who has a dish.Other, “outside the country” views can be learned from the internet. The question is, “How many Russians have a dish?” From personal experience, I was able to get unfiltered internet access during my journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow, except for one 12-hour no-where period.
Political Similarities
Russia has a White House. So does the U.S.
Russians have a saying that it doesn’t matter who you vote for, what matters is
who counts the vote. Many Americans feel the same way.
Russia Has Putin pretending he plucked amphorae from the Black Sea, Americans have Sara Palin pretending she’s an avid hunter of Alaskan wildlife.
Russia has a voting problem. So does the U.S.
Certain states, and especially the Republican Party, have for decades tried to keep African-Americans and Hispanics from voting in our elections. We also have Gore v. Bush.
The Russians I spoke to take what their politicians say with a grain of salt. “We can now talk freely, but no one listens,” said one person. That is being said by Americans about our elected leaders.
The Road to Democracy
When the speed to democracy was the subject, there seemed to be a split.
I witnessed a spirited discussion, in English, between an individual who thought the path to true democracy was being blocked by the political powers, and a person who believed that things are very slowly getting better at the proper pace.
I was told that most of the anti-Putin holding-back democracy sentiment is based is Moscow and is not representative of the entire country’s thinking.
Old Russian Proverb
One Russian told me that there will soon be elections and hopes people follow an old Russian proverb when voting: “If a sailor makes a mistake, it is only a mistake. But if the captain makes a mistake, it can result in a tragedy.”
American voters should remember that proverb next year.
During and after my nearly 25 years at Burson-Marsteller (where I traveled internationally as a media consultant to Korean and Australian government and Olympic
officials and played key roles on a variety of significant national and international sports and nonsports accounts), I witnessed various levels of freedom:
When in Vietnam, an anti-government individual told me that the communist government would give people a little more freedom every few years to give the impression that the country was on the road to democracy. But the government kept a tight grip on important matters.
In Cambodia, I was told that since the Khmer Rouge was gone, “we now have the freedom to do whatever we want, as long as the Vietnamese government likes what we do.”
In China, I was told not to “waste my eyesight” on reading the English-language newspapers that the hotels provide; they were government propaganda sheets.
The stores in Moscow are filled with expensive designer clothes and electronic equipment. Restaurants are everywhere.
As in Moscow, St. Petersburg roads cannot handle the number of privately- owned automobiles. There are privately-owned businesses in the big cities and smaller towns. No one was afraid to express their opinion of the government.
Stalin, particularly, seems to be the anti-hero.
Putin appears to be very popular. But the boulevard to U.S.-style democracy is evidently stalled, as the Putin and Medvedev "After You, Garcon” ritual reveals.
Admittedly, the above is based on what is an unscientific report. But it is probably as valid as our political reporter’s analysis about those always changing daily ubiquitous polls during our election campaigns: ‘It’s only a snapshot of the moment.” And my observations, and conversations with both young and older Russians, were formed over a much longer time span than a fast telephone call.
Russia, as was Vietnam, China and Cambodia, is a nice place to visit. I wouldn’t want to live there.
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Arthur Solomon is a former senior VP at Burson-Marsteller, where handled national and international accounts. He is available at [email protected]. |