The Russian presidential elections are tomorrow. Probably happening as I type due to the difference in time zones. It's unbelievable to think that during the last presidential elections I was planning my first ever trip to Russia and I barely knew the alphabet. I remember watching Putin take his oath in the Kremlin and paying more attention to the building behind him rather than trying to catch words I might know in his speech.
My money is on Dimitry Medvedev and so, sadly, is everyone else's. His name is very similar to the Russian for a bear "Medvet" and literally translated it means "the one who looks for honey" and I have this image in my mind of him sniffing around in the Kremlin for a big hidden pot of honey that Putin has hidden for him. I would like Andrei Bogdanov to win, purely because he wants to make Russia closer to Europe and wants to make travel to and from Russia easier. If in a parallel universe I was president of Russia, here is what I would do.
Tax cigarettes - They are very cheap in Russia. Everyone smokes and gets the related diseases. Even if it was a little tax, it would still produce a huge amount of money to fund my other ideas.
End racism - It's bad in Russia. Attacks on dark skinned foreigners are rising. I would get foreigners into schools and show them that other cultures are nothing to be afraid of. I would also increase the jail terms for racial attacks.
Let Russians control their own heating- Believe it or not, the district decides when to turn the heating on or off and what temperature it would be. If it is too hot in winter (as it usually is) you are forced to open the window. It's a total waste of energy and very stupid to have open windows when it is -20 degrees outside.
Give the media freedom of speech- A must for any democracy. A London based Russian journalist came to talk to the Russian students and said that 90% of Russia get their news through the TV and that is the media that is censored the most. Apparently there is independent media in Russia, but you have to look for it very hard with a telescope.
Increase child care provision and give mothers financial support- The birth rate is decreasing. Soon there will not be any Russians in Russia.
Send shop assistants on courses to make them more polite and helpful-Shop assistants are the rudest people in Russia.
I can't think of any more at the moment. I doubt Medvedev reads foreign blogs and I don't think that he would adopt any of the above policies if he did. Just have to wait for a few months and see what he really has planned for Russia.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment