From: kleinbock-dmitry@math.yale.edu (Dmitry Kleinbock)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Moskovskie zametki
Date: 6 Nov 92 15:05:21 GMT
Article-I.D.: FERMAT.1df4ohINN4lq
Organization: Yale University Mathematics Dept., New Haven, CT 06520-2155
NNTP-Posting-Host: fermat.math.yale.edu



   The following text is a part of a private letter, which, I think, 
will complement nicely margaret@<Patricia>'s Moscow reports. It was
written not more than two weeks ago, and represents only a personal
opinion (and not mine; all comments/complaints/compliments, if any,
would be forwarded to the author). Sorry for writing in Russian, but I
didn't want to distort the author's intonations by translation.

***********************************************************************

   ...poprobuyu dat' svoyu versiyu proishodyaschego. Srazu ogovoryus',
chto vsyo budu opisyvat' nemnogo otstranyonno, t.k. vse seichas tol'ko
i delayut, chto zhaluyutsya, i za granitsei sozdayotsya vpechatlenie,
chto vsto razvalivaetsya i polnaya katastrofa.

   Na samom dele vsya eta sistema absolyutno ne reformiruetsya.
Poetomu chtoby chto-to sozdat', neobkhodimo snachala chto-nibud'
razvalit', a vsyo zdes', nesmotrya ni na chto, bylo ploho, no
prityorto, i kogda chto-to menyayut, vsyo ostanavlivaetsya. Vse
byvshie bol'sheviki posle nekotorogo perioda rasteryannosti postepenno
zanyali vse prezhnie mesta, kotorye teper' prosto nazyvayutsya
po-drugomu. Osnovnaya zadacha u nikh - kak mozhno bol'she nahapat'.
Tak kak u nih nikogda ne bylo ni chesti, ni sovesti, a byl tol'ko
strah, to kak tol'ko strah ischez, oni brosilis' kto v bor'bu za
tyoplye mesta, kto za sobstvennost', kto prosto nabiraet vzyatki.

   Ya schitayu eto vsyo absolyutno normal'nym. Oni dolzhny nahapat',
chtoby obnaruzhit', chto i ih sobstvennost' tozhe taschat. Togda oni
nachnut zaschischat' svoyu, a zaoodno i drugih. Tol'ko togda
poyavyats'a normal'nye zakony po zaschite sobstvennosti i voobsche
vsyo ostal'noe. A seichas polnyi bespredel. Oklad sledovatelei 8,000
rublei, a predlagayut im v desyatki raz bol'she, da i vospitany oni na
nenavisti k sobstvennosti. Poetomu na lyudei, kotorye grabyat
millionerov, oni po-prezhnemu smotryat sochuvstvenno.

   Tem ne menee pervye priznaki togo, chto strana podnimaetsya, uzhe
poyavilis'. Vo-pervyh, za den'gi teper' mozhno kupit' pochti vsyo. U
predpriyatii den'gi ischezli (osobenno gosbyudzhetnyh), i oni nachali,
proklinaya vsyo na svete, dumat' o zavtrashnem dne. Glavnoe - lyudi
nachali potihon'ku uhodit' s gos. predpriyatii, peretekaya v chastnyi
sektor. Eto uskoryaet ih konets, chto v svoyu ochered' ne pozvolyaet
vsem generalam ot promyshlennosti i sel'skogo hozyaistva diktovat'
svoyu volyu. Tem ne menee oni dobilis' svoego i sdelali kolossal'nuyu
in`ektsiyu deneg v gos. sektor. Eto proizoshlo v iyule-avguste, i v
rezul'tate dollar podskochil do 340 rub. 

   Pravitel'stvo teper' pytaetsya prekratit' in`ektsii i dobit'sya
zakrytiya predpriyatii ili ih aktsionirovaniya, chto chrezvychaino
trudno. Ibo zastavit' rabochih vykupit' zavod po proizvodstvu raket
SS-20 nevozmozhno, a imenno takih odnobokih zavodov ogromnoe
kolichestvo; popytki sdelat' na nih polnotsennoe proizvodstvo trebuyut
deneg, deneg i deneg. V svyazi s etim i proishodit v osnovnom padenie
proizvodstva; konechno, est' eschyo mnozhestvo pobochnyh effektov, no
vse oni rabotayut v storonu razvala. Polozhenie usugublyaetsya eschyo
i tem, chto vse eti generaly prodolzhayut nadeyats'a na peremeny
(sil'nuyu ruku) i prakticheski vyzhidayut.  

   Nu a vneshne vsya Moskva vyglyadit kak bol'shoi bazar, gde prodayut
to chto dostali libo v magazinah zdes', libo v blizhnem i dal'nem
zarubezh'e. Proizvodit eto chrezvychaino ubogoe vpechatlenie, no
plodyatsya eti prodavtsy s neimovernoi skorost'yu. Prodayut pryamo na
trotuarah, na yaschikah, na pristupkah domov etc.

   Osobaya stat'ya - avtomobili. Stoimost' avtomobilya podskochila do
predela, kotoryi trudno osmyslit'. Samyi deshyovyi stoit okolo
milliona rublei. Estestvenno, tuda zhe polezli i tseny na zapchasti.
Odnovremenno tseny na benzin za korotkii srok (3-4 mes.) podnyalis' s
40 kop. za litr do 25 rub. i eto ne predel. Stoimost' kilometra v
chastnom izvoze teper' 40 rub., pri srednei zarplate 6-8 tys.rub. eto
otsekaet ogromnoe kol-vo lyudei ot pol'zavaniya uslugami taksi. Tak,
naprimer, proezd ot Sheremet'eva stoit teper' do 10 tys. rub., i eto
ne perevozka gruza. No samoe smeshnoe, chto dazhe po takoi tsene
benzina vsyo ravno net. I chtoby zapravit'sya, ya vstayu v 6 utra i,
obzvoniv neskol'ko zapravok, edu tuda, gde est'. Stoyu obychno 1.5-2
chasa, t.k. is 3-4 kolonok rabotaet obychno odna. Ran'she ya
zapravlyalsya noch'yu, no teper' oni noch'yu spyat, t.k. chtoby
zarabatyvat' bol'she, oni sokratili odnu smenu...  

*********************************************************************

P.S. To vadim@ohio, if you're still around: the guy who wrote this is
a citizen and permanent resident of Russia, who even has never been
outside xSU, so comments like ``Da tebe li razevat' svoi rot'' would
be inappropriate.

P.P.S. To Patricia: this posting doesn't mean that I, as some of scs
readers, dislike the texts you write. Keep posting, it was interesting
to find out how life in Moscow can be seen from a point of view of a
good-hearted, though a bit self-absorbed, American woman. Would be
happy if this letter could help you to widen your outlook. 

Sincerely,
-- 
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     / | /| \/ |_\                 kleinboc@pascal.math.yale.edu
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Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet,talk.politics.soviet