Messy 243, tell me why so many old people begs on St.Petersburg/Moscow streets ?
Because Soviet Union collapsed. People lost the little savings they had, many were foolish and sold their small apartments (which they got from the state during Soviet era) in the 90's for oligarchs to make quick money...
Russia had to create whole new system from the scratch. It's not a socialist state anymore. People are responsible for their own living. Alone getting used to that if you have lived 50 years in totally different world can be very tough.
Plus Moscow and St. Petersburg are relatively expensive cities to live in because there is the new generation which are making good money and live well. For old farts living on minimal pensions, it's too expensive.
These are things you can't fix in a decade. It takes a generation at minimum
But hey, at least Putin's government actually pays the pensions for everyone and has even raised them. Compared to 90's that's huge improvement.
OBW, whats happen to those who demonstrate against midget & co.,
Usually nothing.
Yesterday 5000 people protested against Russian media coverage on Ukraine. Right in heart of Moscow:
About 5,000 Russians, some waving Ukrainian flags, rallied in central Moscow on Sunday to protest at what they say is a government crackdown on independent media intended to stifle debate about the crisis in Ukraine.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/04/13/russia-protests-idINDEEA3C09K20140413Month ago they protested against Russian military action in Ukraine.