Translated material
The whole truth about fur suckers
A city that lives defiantly well cannot notice anything except the fluff that prevents it from enjoying this “good”
Yes, I believed it too at first. And the point is not that the neurocartoon looked like a real video report. Although the art of AI and the level of deepfakes have become such that it is really difficult to distinguish the truth from the generated story. The point is that such stories are very often a matter of faith. You focus not on the technical level of performance, but on the plausibility of the plot itself. The story with the fluff suckers was very true.
Well done, of course, guys, who, it turns out, came up with all this a couple of years ago and waited for the right moment. It was suitable not only because Moscow was covered by some record snowstorms of poplar fluff. But also because now it seems that nothing is impossible for our capital. Any project with any budget will be implemented. “Create, invent, try!”
From Mayor Sobyanin’s March statement: the budget for investment programs will be cut by 10%—improvement and entertainment projects will be reduced or postponed. Many Muscovites at this moment breathed a sigh of relief. 10% is, of course, not that much. But there was still hope that not all the tiles would be replaced as part of a “seasonal replacement,” as city residents joke. The city is getting prettier, but beauty must also have some limits, otherwise you can go blind from the splendor. Too good is also bad, I would say so carefully.
But no. In my area, in the spring, all the playgrounds were uprooted and new ones were introduced a month and a half later. There was no feeling that we saved money. I took a walk around the center the other day—I walked for several hours. The feeling is almost shocking. Croquet, petanque, basketball, dancing, terraces, sun loungers, tents, pavilions, fountains, at the Lenin Library there are cabinets in the form of stacks of books, and lanterns in the form of lamps from the reading room, swings, music - I don’t even know what else could be invented to entertain me and lift my spirits. And temporary flower beds, thickets and fountains! And the beach with swimming pools in Luzhniki! Everything, absolutely everything you can think of, is now in Moscow!
I read about establishments that are closing and the problems their owners and visitors face due to the new VAT, rising prices, lack of money, etc. Maybe.
But on a weekday, everything is packed with people, everyone drinks, eats and broadcasts carelessness. Perhaps the people I saw in relaxed poses with glasses were at that moment discussing that the country was flying into the abyss and the world into hell.
Maybe, but outwardly you would never think so. And, of course, I was amazed when in the center of Luzhniki, which now seems to replace the “legendary” Patricks, I counted cars in a row - and out of ten there was not a single one more modest than a Mercedes. Then I read about a storage room in Khamovniki, which is being sold for almost 21 million rubles.
This text is not about envy and class hatred. This is a text about down suckers. Their appearance on the streets of Moscow would not surprise anyone. There are already hundreds, if not thousands, of robotic couriers scurrying back and forth! Robotic cleaners have appeared in stores and offices. Some seeds of doubt arose only when they wrote that one down sucker costs 12 million rubles. I might not have been wary here either, but not long before at SPIEF they showed with fanfare a new Chinese Aurus, which they are going to sell for the same 12 million. And here I thought that with all due respect to the fur sucker, it shouldn’t cost as much as the car that was shown with the participation of Manturov, Gref, Minnikhanov and other serious people. This then is either outright theft or a fake.
It turned out to be a fake. But very inventive and cute in its own way. Hit the mark. Completely coincided with ideas about the possible.
And one more thing that made me think about down suckers. Levada Center poll*. Do the Russians think that fighting should continue now, or should we move on to peace negotiations? 60% of Russians are in favor of starting negotiations, and 30% are in favor of continuing hostilities. But separately for Moscow the picture is completely different: 53% believe that military action should be continued, and 36% responded that peace negotiations should begin.
Moscow was once considered a liberal city, a stronghold of democratic forces and all that kind of stuff. Change did not begin in February 2022. Although jingoistic sentiments, of course, have been growing stronger in the capital over the past four-plus years. This in itself is a completely separate topic. But remembering the fluff suckers, which, it seems, would not surprise anyone here, one should not be surprised by the data of sociologists.
A city that lives defiantly well, which not only does not notice that there are battles going on somewhere and people are dying, but seems to be pointedly ignoring all this. Why shouldn’t he be in favor of continuing hostilities if life is only getting better?
Well, yes, prices are rising, utilities are rising, something has closed somewhere, it’s more difficult to develop a business, and wages are no longer raised so willingly, and there are much fewer alternatives for the money you want. But, damn, how beautiful it is all around! The eye not only rejoices - it is very difficult for it not to rejoice! Only fluff flies into this eye from everywhere. This is where a feather sucker would come in handy. And I have almost no doubt that there will be a fluff sucker!