Tanks and bananas

The news recently slipped - it was precisely what slipped through - maybe noticed, but not noticeable comments. It concerns the notorious Uralvagonzavod. It was reported that the company is ready to supply its products - in this case, tanks - to Thailand based on barter exchange. In exchange, Thailand can offer rice or all kinds of fruits, including bananas.

Personally, this news caused me a sharp memory, and not even about the Soviet Union, the glorious production of all kinds of weapons, but about the days of perestroika. There was such a moment when the money disappeared everywhere, and the commodity market was supported by a direct exchange. Then the word "barter" appeared in Russia. It has already become a sign of some almost the last disaster, returning to the archaic past-either to Paleolit, or to the flea markets of the war years. There was no war, but the flea market was and was called the correctly sounding foreign word.

In essence, this was a return to some origins, namely, to the project of socialism, which was carried out by Lenin in an era, incorrectly called military communism. The wars - the civilian, soon followed - was not, but the money and the market were canceled, as was required by the scholastic plan for building socialism. So the war was not a cause, but by the consequence of the socialist zeal of Russian faithful Marxists.

The Communists in power could cancel this utopian layout, could return the money and elements of the market (NEP), but still they steadily returned to that already tested, and although the model that had failed, sweet, sweet to their hearts. The Soviet economy that under Stalin, that after was neither monetary nor commodity. What is the money if the cost of the ruble from the ceiling was declared equal to one and a half dollars! What is it commodity, what market, when all the Soviet years were characterized by an inaccessible shortage!

One alcoholic said: if the vodka was iron, I would bite her. Soviet government invited the population to bite tanks

"Where is your treasure, there is your heart." Such a treasure had a dark, unconscious “craving for nothing”, in nothing: their most worldly and murdered project, death instinct, Tanatos. It is clear that rational motivations were looking for him, as always happens with neurosis. Such a motivation was a war - even invented, even real, even expected. Hitler was beaten, so they came up with American bases that threaten the peaceful Soviet Union. It is better to say, they did not come up with, but provoked - by a constant aggressive threat, the seizure of Eastern Europe, the Korean war, an intervention in Asia and Africa. The new rulers who tasted nomenclature guarantees after Stalin could not refuse old ideological habits, did not think of life without an enemy, and increased weapons. And so it happened that the only working industry of the economy was the production of weapons: guns instead of oil and tanks instead of bread. They blamed America, but she was bought bread. This Churchill said this: from the Communists it was possible to expect anything, but that Russia from the global grain supplier has become its buyer - this was not even expected from the Communists.

One alcoholic said: if the vodka was iron, I would bite her. The Soviet government invited the population to bite tanks.

But communism ended. It seems to have a hope for a normal life. Be that as it may - oil prices or something else - but there are more food, and there are fewer tanks. However, it was needed by the regime, still afraid of liberal thoughts and movements, the support of the mythical "working class", and then the nachceha from Nizhny Tagil, memorable to all the Kholmansky, was in time. He was immediately made by the representative of the president in the Urals, and the wagonzavod urgently issued subsidies and orders for tanks.

And it turned out once again that no one needs these tanks, they are not bought. Yes, and logistics is lame, and there are not enough components, and the devil in the stupa. Then the same ghost of communism was identified - even a military man, at least some: this same barter. This is good if Thailand actually takes tanks and goes to the Urals bananas. It is better to exchange this iron for overseas fruits than to threaten tanks by Moscow demonstrations of "creacs". It’s good that the product will fit on something. It’s only a shame that WHO is now there, that the Russian government will not understand, that you can live without weapons and without sanctions - in one way or another. And so: better with a banana on a tree than with a tank in the field.

Boris Paramonov-New York writer and publicist

Opinions expressed under the heading "Law" may not reflect the point of view of the Radio Liberty editorial