Many have not seen a paycheck for months. And so, they go on strike, organize marches to the capital, complain to local authorities, and criticize the government. But, the need is pressing everywhere. Architectural monuments need to be maintainted, leaking water pipes and city sewage repaired, streets paved, miners paid, palaces rebuilt, highways built so that cars do not clutter and pollute city centers, the infrastructure of towns and villages maintained when local factories shut down. Health and love, but also, the absence of war were the most frequent responses of Russians interviewed.
War is ever-present and feared.
Two blockade are still alive. Militant mothers keep marching to protest the harsh two-year military service that orders their sons to Chechnya, Azerbaijan and Tadzikistan. Intelligentsia keep meeting in kitchens discussing art and literature with the same gusto as ever. Those coming as tourists and visitors may be impressed by the proliferation of goods, Western advertizing and building activity. They do not notice that ads are attached to buildings in a deplorable condition.