Stoic Russians

Ikea has claimed that it has been targeted for higher electricity bills and impeded by onerous planning hurdles in Russia for refusing to pay bribes.

It said this year that it was freezing its Russian expansion because of the “unpredictability of administrative processes”.
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Authorities in Russia claimed that an Ikea store could not withstand hurricane-force winds, prompting the Swedish company to conduct research, which found that the area of the proposed store had no history of such weather conditions.
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Nor have any other stores in the area ever been tested for such conditions

This arbitrary bureaucratic behaviour is rampant in all areas of Russian life, everywhere and for everything

Russians pay more for everything because of this rampant corruption

Corruption is endemic across the country

Russia is not alone in this every country has corruption

Just that in Russia it retards the creation of so many things

Throughout history so many talented people have had to leave Russia

In every area of life in every generation

Sadly as they say in Russia "a fish rots from the head" and everyone knows it

Will it ever change?

Can it ever change?

Locals say no

They say that the ruling elite has never cared about the people

They live and rule for themselves alone

While that might be true things are not the same as they were even a few short years ago

Looked at through different eyes we can see new elements that can make a difference

Never in its history has Russia had so much contact with the world

From government to private individuals

Never before have so many Russians lived in other countries

Never before have so many travelled and lived outside of Russia

Nor have there ever been so many companies doing business with the outside world

With foreign business partners moving in and out of the country all the time

The Internet is used by more and more Russians

A new generation who get much of their news from the Internet and each other

A generation is coming into adulthood who never new repression or Communism

The explosion of new life and business activities is greater than most see

While much of Russian life is controlled from the top much is changing at the bottom

Not visible

Not monitored

Not spoken about

All of the above is changing Russia

How this will manifest we do not know

That it will we do know

In my lifetime?
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I suspect yes