http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/88/351 ... ussia.html
Russian government suddenly worries about the lack of patriotism in Russia
11/12/2005 16:54
Was the collapse of the USSR the greatest tragedy of the 20th century (according to President Putin) or the act of salvation from the communist lies?
The government allocates 500 million rubles for "patriotic education of citizens." Patriotic holidays are introduced. Patriotic channels are opened on TV. Spin doctors dust off Minin and Pozharsky after writing off Stalin and Dzerzinsky. Have the authorities become suddenly concerned about the state of mind of the Russian people?
Both the Left and Right seem to be itching to play patriotism these days. Gennady Zyuganov, the leader of the Communist Party of Russia, hands out membership cards to young Muscovites who just joined the Komsomol - the Communist Union of Leninist Youth. President Putin awards "For Services to Fatherland" to Nikita Mikhalkov, a well-known Russian film director and a monarchist. Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov puts paragraphs of the national anthem onto the advertising boards in central Moscow. Patriotic columnists frown on Halloween and St. Valentine Day. Long live our own Baba Yaga!
In actuality, the government has goods reasons for concern. Latest public opinion polls show that only 7% of Russian citizens accept the national flag, anthem and coat of arms as symbols of a new Russia's. We do not need a sociologist to see our Duma deputies and ministers trying hard to lip-synch when they have to partake in the singing of the national anthem. Their lips are moving. But the sound is pre-recorded and comes out of unseen loudspeakers. ...