I really appreciate everyone's responses. It shows that it is an important issue.
Thanks Laura, I will watch the above video when I get to the computer with decent Internet connection (Using iPad mostly). If I understand correctly that is Michalkov's junior film - which apart from his father has discredited himself by making BS films for a big screen that failed in cinemas across the country (especially the latest ones, for instance - White sun of the Dessert 2 - basically a parody of the soviet classic movie admired by everyone). During the last elections he was a confide of Putin and persuading the artistic community to vote for him. Those who stood against - were repressed in show business arena. He is the one who decides which film is going to get a budget money. Just for the fact.
Kniall - Yes, the country has indeed changed, but only from the "shop-front" (витрина). The oil/gas revenues led to the big expenditures for non-productive, non-innovative projects which are supposed to be a locomotive of the economy. Yes we have a boom in housing building (the prices though are among the highest in the world (Moscow and all the major regional cities - миллионики) and unaffordable even to middle class- mortgage and credit rates are at best 15-20%). The problem is in the core of the dependent financial system. Russia keeps it's money abroad, for instance receiving approx. 2% from US obligations and in order to be able to fund our own economy Russia borrows back from the West at 7-10%. That is a hilarious situation, is it not?! Kudrin, former minister of finance, a friend of his, invented a ingenious system of withdrawing all the earned money to a special fund previously known as Stabfond (which is kept in the western assets). It is now divided in 2, but this principle has not changed. (For instance it lost more than 100 billion dollars in 2008 when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac funds collapsed). In a normal situation he would be fired, sued and put to prison for such a sabotage. But no, he received a promotion to vice-premier and the international prize The minster of finance of the Year!).
Also they extensively and mostly build shopping and leisure centers. (I visited quite an amount of cities that used to be industrial giants in Central and South Russia). Most factories are now closed and used as shops, warehouses and nightclubs. People can hardly find a job, especially 40+ working class that learned how to create, produce high tech products). Like former minister of education Fursenko and now an aide to Putin who ruined the soviet based (was one of the best in the world) education system once said We don't need a man of CREATION, we need a CONSUMER of the foreign made products! (http://www.odnako.org/blogs/ideal-fursenko-v-debryah-amazonki-o-raznice-mezhdu-kvalificirovannimi-potrebitelyami-i-lyudmi/) . To do that he destroyed special technical education called shortly PTU's, so now we have only managers, sellers, lawyers, bankers, economists. Other professions such as scientists, engineers are not needed and appreciated by the students anymore. So basically russia is heading to a consumer's "heaven". Brilliant!
Yes, according to some stats we hold an 8th place. But that result mostly depends on resources revenue. When the price for oil was around 10 dollars a barrel the whole budget of the country was the size of New York's - 40 billion dollars. Now it is around 400 billion in dollars. In recent years the price was around 100 on average, so very roughly it is exactly 10 times difference correlation.
Kate - yes you are correct about the stealing mentality. IMO it is the result of having small salaries and a lack of confidence in tomorrow. In USSR people earned on average similar not a big salaries, but it was enough for decent living. Homes, education, medic care were provided free by the government. The level of corruption then was much much lower and mostly in form of "presents" like a box of chocolate to a doctor.
And now people are "encouraged" to steal, because they are looking at the bureaucrats who steal the wealth of ordinary people and get no punishment.
Concerning governors(appointed by president), deputats/members of Duma, mayors and even small clerk in police, customs - they ALL pay money to get a mandate. And in order to compensate-they start stealing heavily and of course sharing (откатывают наверх) with the officials who appointed them. It is a vicious circle. Along the way I understand that the greed, as Cs said - is illness and a natural quality of people in our STS reality.
The "pen scene" was an obvious staged Pikalevo event in the light of 2008 crisis. That oligarch named Deripaska - was publicly beaten (Politic technology and PR trick to raise Putin's rating which was falling then). BUT shortly after his company received budget money (taxpayers money) to be bailed out of crisis (PRIVATE banks and companies received billions of unrefundable! credits). And after the time passed that Pikalevo plant is still on the verge of closure http://lenta.ru/news/2014/01/20/pikalevo
Concerning Siberia's example of pipeline - the same example of PR, to show that he is in charge. Environmental aspect in another case was not an issue. In 2008 or the beginning of 09 Deripaska owned Baikalskiy Pulp and paper Mills plant (it is totally hazardous to unique Baikal lake) was allowed PERSONALLY by Putin to function even after the local government tried to close it down because of the dramatic pollution effects on the lake. The plant had to invest a huge sum into "cleaning/filter" equipment...BUT that would inflict big profit loss. Deripaska of course did not want to loose that money and local government decision was overridden. Eventually it closed only in 2013.
Also Siberia, your pictured examples:
Groznyi - good example of restoration after the war. But consider that Chechnya is living on big money issued from the Center producing no added value itself apart from oil.
Vladivostok bridge to the Rysskiy island was build for 2012 APEC meeting with a lot of technical drawbacks and the problem with him and the roads breaking around the place already started to appear (in the Internet there were already reports on those). By the way for that international forum preparation they spent/stole around 25 billion bucks on building the infrastructure from nill. Do we not have other problems in that region to invest in? Good managerial decisions all the way.
Sochi - again total waste of money. I was there on the eve of the Olympics-the only infrastructure build was related solely to the games. The Adler, Sochi area is still in soviet era condition. But yes, we can boast with the most expensive road from airport to Krasnaya Polyana, central stadium, that infamous ski jump hill. But of course the "show" to keep people artificially happy costs a money.
Instead we could rebuild automotive, aerospace and all the contiguous high tech industries from scrap. As you know we still have good soviet developed airplanes that for " some reasons" are not purchased all the years by government owned companies such as Aeroflot. And now we have Dobrolet company precedent, which in case of further, I believe inevitable western sanctions (like in case of Iran - they forbid selling and servicing of Boeing/Airbus planes), will bring transporting of people and supplies in our country to a halt. Good policy.
Vostochnyi cosmodrome is a good enterprise, but it is slowly build with the corruption cases all the way (many reports of those in Internet).
Capitalists care only about profit as Marks said there is no such a crime that capitalist will not commit for the sake of 300% profit.
Dear all, I really hope that I am wrong with all that but as Jesus said judge not by words but by the deeds. And the facts, unfortunately, are not in the acting elite's favor.
