We are not a chosen people that I know of. Back then, France and Great Britain acted like the global superpowers. Consequently, many leaders believed that only a constitution, plus a stronger central government, could forestall ruin. When Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay set off to write the famous 85 papers to persuade Americans to adopt the new national charter, pessimism was one of their favorite vocabularies.
It was more than just a rhetorical expedient. These men were convinced that society was actually teetering on the edge of the abyss. At the end of the 18th century, negative campaigning was already widespread. Political candidates and their acolytes criticized their competitors and conjured images of destruction if their rivals prevailed. Political campaigning and statements bordering on exaggeration should not be taken at face value.
However, there are two types of pessimism in America, absolute and conditional — a distinction that political scientist Francis G.
Wilson laid out long ago. For a very long time, Russia had been a chronically sad country. But things are beginning to change, especially in the world of business. Sometimes even without knowing it. Why do they appear in certain places and not others? No reason. Only because one positive-minded and stubborn person decided: I want to build my business right here.
And the whole world will have to adapt. Yuri Uskov is one of these stubborn locals. Yuri was born to a family of workers; his mother and father dedicated their lives to working at the local military plant. During World War II, strategic industries were evacuated to Yoshkar-Ola, turning the backwater Tsaryovokokshaysk into an industrial city. In 60 years, the USSR was gone, leaving behind some factories and a deadend railway. Ever heard of such a town? Founder of Walmart Sam Walton started his empire from Bentonville, Arkansas,» Uskov enthusiastically names companies that have picked a decentralised way of life.
Like there are no other ways to develop. In , Uskov, together with friend and business partner Sasha Galochkin, created a range of instruments for online education and became one of the market leaders in the Learning Management System LMS segment. This product is like a customised corporate online university and iSpring has a wide range of solutions in the area.
The solutions, created and supported by the strong staff of iSpring in Yoshkar-Ola, are used by 53, people around the world.
The unusually high concentration of programmers in Yoshkar-Ola is now obvious to any casual observer in any local cafe with WiFi. Bearded introverted programmers are appearing in the neighbouring villages. Twenty years ago, he was driven by a competitive thrill to develop something interesting and new, and to beat everyone to it.
Later Yuri realized that the energy he has to move forward comes from the very place where he was born and where he chose to stay. The law of conservation of energy dictates that if energy is wasted somewhere, it must go into something. Uskov is trying to give this energy back to Yoshkar-Ola. Yuri has recently become head of the local IT company organization formed from 10 resident companies. A real heaven for a workaholic,» he says. Science tells us that niverses are born.
The psychological method Viktoria Shimanskaya, Skillfolio: «Turning a moaner into an optimist is down to technology» Many children dislike school. Vika was a very good student, but she hated the formality of school, its oppressive tendencies and the lack of creative approach. In fact, Meduza was founded in by a team of exiles from Lenta. The state begrudgingly tolerated us.
Our legal status was murky—a Latvian media company staffed mostly by Russians working out of our second office in Moscow but neither registered with the Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor nor accredited as a foreign media bureau with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In October , our bureau application was finally approved, not that it changed our situation in any way.
Officials answered our calls like those of any other media outlet, and our sources trusted us. Our reportage and investigations won us numerous awards. We built a successful media business and were growing. The bravest of reporters have families terrified after almost daily news of arrests and searches. The results of the foreign agent designation were catastrophic—as they were intended to be. Most of our advertisers—which included Russian state-owned companies and international corporations—have already fled.
Our business was gone overnight. We have launched a crowdfunding campaign that will allow us to keep our heads above water for a little while but not without severely cutting back our operations. We had to close both our offices, cut our own salaries, and abolish the entire freelancer budget. Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Meduza is the first independent news organization without ties to any government to be hit. Meduza does not have that luxury. Ours is not an isolated case of media suppression. The offense in question was an investigative report Anin published in in Novaya Gazeta , another embattled independent newspaper, about a lavish yacht gifted to now ex-wife of Igor Sechin, the CEO of the state-owned oil company Rosneft.
New demands and restrictions on reporting are being introduced on a weekly basis. Now, in addition to having to carry paperwork allowing us to cover only a specific event at a designated time and place, we are also required to wear bright yellow vests with the word PRESS emblazoned on them—the exact specifications set by the state media watchdog.
Safonova was clubbed by a riot policeman at a protest in January while wearing that very same yellow vest designed to protect her.
0コメント