Russia: Crisis? What Crisis?

State-controlled TV in Russia is playing down the global financial mess even as its impact starts to spread through the economy

By Galina Stolyarova

There is a mantra these days, repeated diligently by Russian television: "The Russian authorities have taken all necessary measures to ensure that the global financial crisis does not produce a strong negative effect on the social situation in our country," or "The situation is under control."

The word "crisis" is scarcely used and only to concede that, yes, a crisis is unfolding, but this is happening very far from Russia, so the viewer mustn't worry.

All reports that do touch on the negative consequences of the global banking slump come from abroad. Russian television tells viewers about impoverished Britons unable to bury their dead relatives because the government no longer provides subsidies for that purpose, or about the American businessman, driven mad by the loss of his managerial job, who shoots his entire family and himself. But nothing is said about the clerks of Russian banks living in constant fear of being laid off, or about young families no longer able to keep up with their mortgage payments. Nothing at all is being reported from the regions, and there is no ground-level view of the situation. Only the Kremlin-cabinet view is aired.

It is an open secret that television in Russia – heavily filtered and as unchallenging as possible – is used to manipulate the public or to provide some kind of mass psychotherapy when officials feel it is required.

Journalists working for the state-controlled media admit in Internet forums that whole lists of words and expressions have been banned for use on Russian television, including "panic," "plummeting shares and markets," "market collapse," "market meltdown," "the bottom has dropped out of the market," and "record plunge." Euphemisms like "decrease" are used instead.

No wonder, then, that 20 percent of Russians polled in mid-October by the National Agency for Financial Research said they think the global financial problems will have only positive consequences for Russia. A further 40 percent said they are convinced that there will be no negative impact on Russia.

From watching Russian television, you could easily get the impression that most ordinary people have not been affected. A 10-minute street poll, however, suggests otherwise. While the reports remain positive, the effects are starting to show, and as more people share the bad news, anxiety is spreading. One person told me he had withdrawn his savings from a Western bank. "I felt my money would be safer at home," he said. "I don't have very much, but I don't want to lose it."

Some Russian viewers complain that the mainstream media are no help in getting a clear picture.

"What I find really insulting is that Russian television only broadcasts soothing 'everything's going to be fine' speeches by officials, which are completely irrelevant to our everyday concerns," said Marina, 35, a St. Petersburg resident and the owner of a small printing business. "My clients are cutting their budgets, and I'm getting fewer and fewer orders because I usually print advertising material. I need to decide whether I should close my business or carry on, but it's difficult for me to get a true picture of how the crisis is unfolding and affecting Russia. Why am I being treated like a brainless moron?"

Another participant of the street poll said she had traveled to Norway last weekend, where her MasterCard and Visa, both issued by a St. Petersburg bank, were repeatedly declined, causing her to end up owing hundreds of euros in cash. "I was lucky I was traveling with other people who could lend me the money. It was very stressful. I couldn't use my cards to pay in restaurants or in the hotel where I was staying, and on some occasions I wasn't even able to take money out," she recalled. " 'Your bank does not approve this transaction' was the standard reply, but there hadn't been any warning from the bank."

A survey conducted this week by the Internet portal www.superjob.ru found that 10 percent of Russian employers have already made staff cuts, while another 10 percent are preparing to make them soon.

Most cuts have occurred in banking, consulting, construction, and development companies.