Every time I return from any of the other former Communist countries, I am enchanted by my own country, the Czech Republic, and I make a promise to myself that I will never criticize it or my government again. This resolution usually lasts for about as long as it takes me to go from the airport to the nearest Metro station. T he reality of Russia is shocking. Unlike the states that became part of the Soviet bloc only after the Second World War, Russia completely lacks the experience of a civil society, a healthy political culture and even the capacity for spontaneous civic activity or autonomous organization.
People often forget that today s Russia is only a successor to what has existed for centuries.
The general impression is that the teacher took the children to the forest and then abandoned them. Now the children wander aimlessly, sometimes receiving advice on which direction to take, but soon they choose another path. Somehow they survive. But when somebody wants to give them something, instead of extending the palm of their hand, they present their wrist or their elbow, so the money falls where it is least expected. This poverty is probably not a consequence of the global economic crisis or the fall of the ruble.