Where the dollars at
Westerners have gotten used to the idea of responsive government. When a parliament or congress passes a law, it almost always means that it will be enforced. Whatever voters think of America’s health reforms or Great Britain’s tuition increases, they do not actually think they can avoid them.
This tendency to expect results from government often translates into bad reporting about Russia. Sloppy journalists with little local knowledge regurgitate the Duma’s press releases as if that had any relation to reality on the ground. Their assumption is that since the Kremlin is authoritarian, it must also be effective.
The latest example of this type of naïveté comes from RFE/RL. Following the passage of a law outlawing independent currency exchange offices, Kevin O'Flynn dutifully reported on the loss of an “icon of the 1990s.” All remaining exchange booths, he declared, would have to either add new banking services or go out of business.
As anyone who knows anything about Russia expected, this has not happened. Unlicensed currency booths continue to flourish along most of the country’s main avenues without any sign of government opposition. The only visible change is an occasional hand-printed sign offering unspecified ‘financial services.’
Why has this ‘icon’ survived? One big reason is corruption. Across Moscow, exchange offices have long offered bribes to local patrolmen and politicians to stay in operation. For both the police and city officials, this represents a valuable source of revenue that they are loath to part with. The fact that Mr. O'Flynn did not even mention this connection shows that he is clueless.
Mr. O'Flynn's article also misjudges Russia's relationship between state and society. Contrary to popular perception, modern Russia is more anarchic than authoritarian. Whether it comes to taxes, conscription, or traffic rules, Russians do everything that they can to avoid the state’s influence. This, after all, is the grand bargain of the post-Soviet system: The government does not interfere with the people unless the people interfere in politics.
Until 'observers' like Mr. O'Flynn venture a bit off Tverskaya Street or Nevkskii Prospect, they will never understand this.
This tendency to expect results from government often translates into bad reporting about Russia. Sloppy journalists with little local knowledge regurgitate the Duma’s press releases as if that had any relation to reality on the ground. Their assumption is that since the Kremlin is authoritarian, it must also be effective.
The latest example of this type of naïveté comes from RFE/RL. Following the passage of a law outlawing independent currency exchange offices, Kevin O'Flynn dutifully reported on the loss of an “icon of the 1990s.” All remaining exchange booths, he declared, would have to either add new banking services or go out of business.
As anyone who knows anything about Russia expected, this has not happened. Unlicensed currency booths continue to flourish along most of the country’s main avenues without any sign of government opposition. The only visible change is an occasional hand-printed sign offering unspecified ‘financial services.’
Why has this ‘icon’ survived? One big reason is corruption. Across Moscow, exchange offices have long offered bribes to local patrolmen and politicians to stay in operation. For both the police and city officials, this represents a valuable source of revenue that they are loath to part with. The fact that Mr. O'Flynn did not even mention this connection shows that he is clueless.
Mr. O'Flynn's article also misjudges Russia's relationship between state and society. Contrary to popular perception, modern Russia is more anarchic than authoritarian. Whether it comes to taxes, conscription, or traffic rules, Russians do everything that they can to avoid the state’s influence. This, after all, is the grand bargain of the post-Soviet system: The government does not interfere with the people unless the people interfere in politics.
Until 'observers' like Mr. O'Flynn venture a bit off Tverskaya Street or Nevkskii Prospect, they will never understand this.
