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There are many people who would welcome a discussion as to why
are we clever, but not rich. They would gladly speak about the
uniqueness of Russia and its special path of development. I believe
that our poverty is attributable above all to society's attitude
to business people, who are the engines of economic growth.
In Russia success has always been symbolised by glory, fame,
the post
at
the end, but never money. Since socialism, money has always been
considered
as something vicious and dirty, in contrast to the West, where
wealth is
the
first sign of a human being's self-realisation.
We look for idols in the spiritual sphere – among poets, artists,
even
politicians,if you want, but never among businessmen.
Welcoming perestroika, the minority sighed with relief: at last
it is possible to develop businesses and new ideas will be realised
for the well-being of society. The majority adopted democracy
in a socialist way: equalling and levelling living conditions:
anybody who prospered provoked envy and even hatred. Here Pyotr
Melikhov from Sholokhov’s “The Don” comes to mind: “We don’t need
freedom, slaughter will begin.” For the past ten years of reformd
forty thousand entrepreneurs have been murdered, including many
really talented people among them, who could have brought glory
to the nation.
it is high time for us to understand that Russia is not a unique
country. The laws of life are universal. What we call democracy,
a civil society and morality – all these things are universal
for mankind. We will only become clever and rich, if we realise
this fact. But this will not be achieved through a Messiah, or
a sudden “economic miracle”, but through the creation of a new
system of education and legislature, in other words another way
of life, a life that respects wealth and the people who know how
to create it.
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