generalspeaking

Toughing It Out

No doubt about it, Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, is quite right when he bemoans the difficulties inherent in administering the affairs of his country. Onerous and troublesome, causing him to visibly grow older under the limelight weight of national expectations.  But someone has to do it, and he has taken extraordinary steps to volunteer his unique capabilities in service to his country as a patriot and a man of his word.

He has been quoted as once having mentioned that the work involved in administering the affairs of state of Russia was analogous to being a "galley slave".  To paraphrase: some galley, some slave.  As the autocratic ruler of a powerful East European country which at one time practised rigorous hegemonic rule over most of its eastern neighbours he is proud of his heritage, proud of his status, proud of the opportunities that fortune has given him.

The job doesn't pay all that much, at the equivalent of $115,000 annually, so there are most certainly quite a number of corporate heads in Russia who earn far in excess of what their president does.  On the other hand, perhaps they make do with owning one or two luxury wrist watches, not the eleven Mr. Putin owns with an estimated total value of $700,000, but who knows, they may be as given as he is to sporting such prize possessions.

The question is: how can he, ahem, afford them?  On his (relative) pittance of a salary.  Of course, Mr. Putin's appetite for living well is just as fierce as his appetite for being noticed and admired and held in high esteem.  Some among his subjects find it difficult to admire him however: "In a country where more than 20 million people barely make ends meet, the luxurious life of the president is a blatant and cynical challenge to society.  We absolutely cannot put up with this", the ungrateful claim.

The ingrates have issued a report entitled "The Life of a Galley Slave", written by opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, deploring the lavish lifestyle and spending habits of their president, viewing that as an unforgivable affront to the millions of Russians who live in dire poverty.  The Kremlin, on the other hand, bruits it about that the president is a man of simple tastes who appreciates sports and wholesome outdoor activities.


The report in question came complete not only with denunciatory text, but photographs of the various residences that President Putin has at his disposal, the high-end vehicles, the yachts and much more.  During the time of State Communism under the former Soviet Union, the leaders were infamous for their love of costly dachas and luxurious foreign cars.  President Putin appears to have outdone them by a Mars mile.

Two dozen official residences, a dozen in Moscow alone, the Constantine Palace near St.Petersburg built for Peter the Great, ranging to a $850-million Italianate palace built to President Putin's precise specifications on the Black Sea Coast. An estate in Lake Valdai, serviced by a 1,000-person staff, the estate including a "residential church, swimming pool, two restaurants, movie theatre, bowling alley and concrete helipad".
Mr. Putin admits to owning three old domestic cars and a trailer hitch owned by his father.  On the other hand, the report lists a description of a handful of some of the 700 autos at the president's disposal.  Then there's the 43 planes, including an Airbus and two executive jets, 15 helicopters.  One of the planes, an Ilyushin-96, features an $18-million cabin with a toilet costing $75,000 to host his royal bum.

Nice accommodations.  Nice work if you can get it.  Including one of the yachts, 53.7-metres, with a designer interior, a spa pool, waterfall and wine cellar.  "The real diamond of the Kremlin flotilla", according to the report authors however, is a five-deck yacht with a Jacuzzi, barbecue, maple wood colonnade and huge bathroom faced in marble.

Sounds nice, awfully grand, and Mr. Putin believes he has earned these honourable digs and appurtenances.  Who's going to argue with him?  Still wonder why he he spent so much energy ensuring he would be re-elected President, and engineered a change in the country's Constitution to enable him to remain in that position ad infinitum?

Labels: Russia, Social-Cultural Deviations, Traditions, Values

posted by Pieface @ Thursday, August 30, 2012