Russians more concerned with ruble than Obama
Posted: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 11:37 AM
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Moscow, Russia
By Yonatan Pomrenze, NBC News Producer
MOSCOW – At Papa’s Place Bar & Restaurant in Moscow, inauguration night was in full swing. Red, white and blue balloons hung from the ceiling, while a steady supply of hamburgers and pizza gave the mixed crowd of Russians and expatriates a little taste of America as they gathered to watch Barack Obama’s historic inauguration.
"We decided we had to do something for our American friends…and for us Russians….It’s not just great for America, it’s great for the whole world," said Ekaterina Yezdina, director of the Executive Language Center, who hosted the event.
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| Max Avdeev / AFP - Getty Images |
| Russians and American expatriates watch the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama on big screens at an American-style diner in Moscow on Jan. 20. |
Other partygoers agreed. "By looking at this now, I have…a feeling of hope that something might actually change. For the better," said Igor Budantsov, 33, a lawyer sporting an American flag in his lapel.
But for Moscow, this gathering was the exception rather than the rule. Unlike elsewhere in the world, there was no sense of urgency here to watch the inauguration or groups of people gathering to watch in homes and bars.
"I don’t plan on watching it," said Alexander Moroz, an 18-year-old student, while on a cigarette break outside of the European Shopping Mall in central Moscow hours before the inauguration.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise. The political instability during the 1990s here, followed by the stable but de facto one-party rule of the Putin era, has left many in Russia disillusioned and apathetic about politics, whether domestic or international. Pre-election polls showed that while Obama consistently topped McCain, both candidates were easily beat out by those saying they simply had no preference.
More concerned with the financial crisis
Igor Sinebok, a political science student whose class stayed up all election night, said they had no plans to gather for the inauguration. For his part, Moroz said he started becoming more interested in politics late last year, but "only domestic politics, and that was because of the financial crisis."
Russia has been hit hard by the crisis, with the stock market collapsing and ongoing devaluation of the ruble. For many people, this translates into salary cuts, wage deferments or losing their jobs at a time when jobs are becoming scarcer each week.
This doesn’t mean that Russians are not interested in the new U.S. president. But with the economic crisis weighing heavily on people’s minds, for many here the focus is less on the history of the moment and more on how it will affect the economy.
"I hope that Obama will improve the American economy, which will then improve ours as well," said Irina Dorofeyova, 43, a Moscow hairdresser.
And if the media is a reflection of the general public’s interest, this morning’s Kommersant newspaper, a leading Russian business daily, had the Obama inauguration on page eight while the cover story dealt with the fate of the ruble.
