So what if Russia is not moving up in the competitiveness rankings. So what if we rank 123rd in property rights protection, 117th in intellectual property protection, 95th in judicial independence, and 103rd in the burden of government regulation.
Who cares that by some indicators we have already fallen below African countries: Russia ranks 106th in adult AIDS prevalence, 88th in tuberculosis, and 97th in life expectancy.
But the 70-meter (230-foot) yacht of Russian billionaire Vagit Alekperov, Galactica Super Nova (the largest aluminum yacht in the world), triumphed at the Monaco Yacht Show, winning awards for Best New Yacht and Best Interior Design!
We may suffer from tuberculosis and die at 60, but at least we will know that somewhere in some beautiful place sails an award-winning yacht, bought with money from Mother Oil flowing out of our land.
And no matter what the yacht’s helipad is turned into—a dance floor or an open-air movie theater—somewhere in a corner, tied to one of the structures, there will обязательно be an inconspicuous St. George ribbon (a Russian military remembrance symbol).
We will endure every hardship and withstand any difficulty for the sake of that ribbon.