When being rich is a source of shame

last updated 8 January 2015

Russia

Anna Arutunyan

Russians like being poor, said Anna Arutunyan in Moscow’s Moskovskie novosti. We’re actually proud of it. According to a study out just last week, nearly half of us are ashamed that the country has so many nouveaux riches, while “an overwhelming majority do not want their children to be billionaires.” It’s not so much about having or not having money as it is “that Russians prize their right to be pathetic above everything else.” Nothing has changed since the days of that old Soviet joke about the man who was offered a wish by a genie. “My neighbor has a cow,” the man says. “Oh, so you want a cow also?” asks the genie. “No,” says the man. “I want his cow to die.” This sentiment explains why capitalism isn’t working here, even after 15 years of market forces. One foreign expert summed it up beautifully. “Russia has always been a lose/lose society,” he said. “Individuals agree to endure suffering in exchange for the right to cause others to suffer.”