Comment by guard-of-terra | Hacker News Reader

Comment by guard-of-terra | Hacker News Reader

My perspective as a someone who was raised and lives in Russia and doesn't realy remebmer USSR and is of a target demography of news.yc:

I am much less impressed of stories where someone who had a lot of money killed or harmed rather than of stories where someone "socially unprotected" killed or harmed.

Reason: That organized crime you all referring to was on the rage in early- and mid-90s. And they practically killed themself out. If you go to some cemeteries you would find a lot of expensive monuments to mobsters aged 30-40 yrs. There are much, much less organized crime now (you don't hear about it even if you know where to listen), partly because some of it legalized, partly because most of it killed itself. They just could not help it.

Levels of high-profile corruption vary in Russia, but everyone would agree that real estate is the apex of it. If you got there and got killed, it's like if you gambled with borrowed money and lost it all and then got your legs broken. Happens everywhere if one is stupid enough. (rem took the debt-legs breaking concept from US popular culture).

So while for someone with US/European background this story reads like the crime of the century, Russians would instead focus more on issues which can hurt ordinary people more likely (hint: list of issies which can realistically hurt you in Russia if you're an ordinary person does not include mafia, not at all).

  (hint: list of issies which can realistically hurt you in
  Russia if you're an ordinary person does not include 
  mafia, not at all)

Hint: this kind of behavior affects ordinary Russians very directly, in two ways.

1) Foreign companies are not investing in Russia because of this behavior. Billions of dollars and euros could be flowing into Russia, but aren't. Such investments would reduce unemployment significantly and a normal share of the money could reach the ordinary Russian.

2) Every ruble extorted from a rich Russian or foreigner by the mafia cannot trickle down to poor Russians. Corruption cannibalizes an economy. Poor or unemployed? The corrupt government officials and their henchmen mafia are directly to blame.

It sure does affect ordinary Russians, but it's hardly a "crime of century". Real estate involved crime and corruption is old news here. Nothing particularly interesting or new. The event in question several years old.

I'll try to mirror it: Let's assume we would find an article about how Russian girl came to USA, was dragged into prostitution, drugged, abused and eventually killed. This is a terrible story, but you would hardly name it "Crime of the Century". While it's basically the same thing: come to foreign country, do unsafe things, get murdered.

It's sad that real estate development in Russia is corruption-ridden violent disaster, but this fact is neither very new nor very important to average Russian. Probably not even in top 10. There just are more urgent matters.

> ... this fact is neither very new nor very important to average Russian. Probably not even in top 10. There just are more urgent matters.

Out of curiosity, what are some of the top issues (of governance) that are important to the average Russian?

Keep in mind it's hard to separate imaginary threats from real threats. The list is unordered and I try to gather points from different demographics, and of course I'm biased.

- Alchoholism and the sorry state of health. There are too many people in Russia who seem to drink too much. Which kills them slowly, but also increases crime, decreases health and life expectancy and certainly isn't benefical economically. Male life expectancy is comparable to poorer African nations.

- Degrating infrastructure - most of out infrastructure (houses, roads, power grid, but also schools, hospitals) is inherited from USSR, and it got no love during 90-s. Presently it is unclear whether it is improving or still degrating - of course some things are getting done, but some other things break as well. There are fears that (any) health care or education reforms detoriate their subjects.

- Some smaller towns and most of countryside aren't viable economically, some people leave, most people basically rot there.

- The combination of declining core population (low birth rate, bad health) and influx of immigrants from Russian Caucasus and asian CIS countries surely create some tension.

- Political system is stuck. It's debatable how bad it is, but it's certainly non-transparent and not too efficient.

- Culture and education tank. TV is awful, radio is absolutely horrible. Soviet high level of cultural involvement mostly vanished, people don't care about anything. Some okayish films got produced from time to time, there surely are some bright spots, in bigger cities you can find any leisure you can possibly imagine, but the average cultural level stinks bad. The church seems to like the idea of derailing education and promoting obscurantism, and government just does not care.

The list goes on and on, seriously.

> Russians would instead focus more on issues which can hurt ordinary people more likely

Or rather, Russian TV would focus more on ordinary folk issues, because reporting high profile crimes is a taboo.

Therefor when you skim through ORT news, it's mostly hood crimes, house fires and Chechen insurgence.

Rather, I would focus more on ordinary folk issues, despite not watching TV by not having one.

Some other people of my demographics (not TV watchers, can read international information sources, young and educated) would have the same focus.

So please, do not underestimate our own inherent bias against "high profile" and towards "ordinary people".

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