Job Discussion Forums

[ComradeBL]

http://russiaprofile.org/business/43217.html

[maruss]

'Life is becoming more joyful' while there were mass arrests,deportations and executions!
The second part of this report sums it up nicely:Muscovites work harder and spend more of their income on basics such as groceries than westerners........of course distorting the truth has been a favourite method of dictatorships world over!Everyone in Moscow knows that the quality of life there is deteriorating due to pollution,overcrowding and extortionate prices of many things,as well as many other factors.But of course the elite live in luxury complexes out in the forests and just switch on their blue lights to clear the traffic when they move around!

[Sashadroogie]

Life is more joyful, Maruss! Listen to this piece and let your heart soar!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYhZVqODYsI

[smithrn1983]

I have to say life is pretty good for me right now in the Glorious Motherland. No complaints here.

[ancient_dweller]

During the year i have been here i have seen noticeable changes - improvements. I don't know about outside Moscow, but in Moscow, they have new air-conditioned buses (granted not all) but there are more and more of them. So, infrastructure is improving and thats making life more comfortable for people.

As for people living tough, I have never seen a 3 series BMW! They only drive 7 series or X5 and X6! So there is clearly a lot of people doing well - millions and not thousands. The amount of luxury housing flying up around the city suggests the wealth is not the reserve of a few in Rublovka.

The companies i have taught in have all had people that seem comfortable. The students i have taught have not seemed to be suffering too much. I have never heard a complaint. Although, most admit, Moscow is not the same as outside. I personally think even the regions are not too bad. Korolov for example has beautiful flower beds on tree lined boulevards and i wouldn't class that area as a wealthy suburb.

As for prices, well, opportunities exist. Business is in its infancy, minimum wage is not a liveable one. I guess ironically, Marx, was right about capitalism from the perspective that it's rough at the start - the period where everyone is rushing to accumulate as much personal wealth as possible, only after this time do things become more regulated.

Also, to which country are you comparing Russia? To Europe, ye, perhaps it's tough, but to the US, i know where i would rather live. I think i'd shoot myself if i realised a live in the richest country in the world but if i lose my job for 20 years (for example), i subsequently lose an entitlement to medical care... if i got hit by a car and broke two legs, sorry, the ambulance won't come for you, you are not entitled to medical care anymore - unemployed scum.

[jpvanderwerf2001]

ancient_dweller: Yep, the average Russian totally rolls in 7-class Beemers and works for companies that hire foreign English language teachers. Millions, not thousands. Really, dead on assessment of the current state of things in Russia.
May your remaining years here be as blissful as your first!

[ancient_dweller]

Jp - for an english language teacher you are no very astute when it comes to interpreting the english language. I am pretty sure i didn't say that life is good for the average russian (which would suggest that i am talking about the entire country). What i did say was that in Moscow there is no sign of hardship. But JP take from it what you will. You a yank and got touchy about my mood provoking anti-american comments? Ligthen up - USA is no.1 so my comments are irrelavent.

[Sashadroogie]

Hey fellas, relax. The Workers' Paradise is a harmonious place and should not be troubled by dissension. Here, have a listen to this and float away...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOZBgKTb4Uk&feature=related

[GF]

[Sashadroogie]

There isn't enough floating away going on here. Perhaps we need to crack open a bottle? Hic!

[jpvanderwerf2001]

[maruss]

Actually,Shostakovitch is one of my favourite composers and I have been researching his life and music for years.....but as most people know much of his music is not like that very entertaining and enjoyable light piece,and for very good reasons-try contrasting it with the third movement of his fifth symphony or the Passacaglia from his first violin concerto for example?
From some of the postings,it seems that the Moscow blues has yet to strike the writers and good on them but beware because when it does they will know it!
So of say a population of around 11 million maybe 10% are very well-off and drive expensive cars etc...estimate possibly another 25-30% who are the Middle-Classes and also buy decent cars and consumer goods,albeit less luxurious than the elite, that still leaves quite a few people who cannot afford even a battered old lada!And don't forget that Moscow is very UN-typical of the rest of Russia,excepting a few cities with oil etc.With the enormous revenue that Russia boasts it is earning daily from oil and gas etc. there is obviously something seriously wrong somewhere and I think most of us know the answer to that question?
Let's open a few more bottles Sasha!

[Irish Lad]

[jpvanderwerf2001]

Irish Lad,
There's little doubt that the US medical care system is broken; you are right on. However, since this is a Russia thread, to compare the health care system here in Russia with that in the States is laughable at best.

[Irish Lad]