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How Russia May Send Cosmonauts To the Moon After All (examiner.com)
MarkWhittington writes: When Russia decided to abandon its drive to land cosmonauts on the moon, the reasons were not so much political than they were fiscal. The low price of oil and the costs of Vladimir Putin's imperial adventures in the Ukraine and Syria had crowded out funding for Russia space missions. It did not help matters that the Russian Space Agency was rife with corruption and mismanagement that seems to prevail across much of Russian society. However, Popular Mechanics suggests that Russia is still thinking of landing cosmonauts on the moon when that country's fiscal situation improves.
Mr. Putin and his PR team does a great job of portraying Russia as a superpower however the sad truth is that Russia is slowly becoming a country of the poor where even most basic human needs are not met. According to the recent polls over 50% of the Russians living in Russia cannot afford buying normal food, like fruits, meat, fish or vegetables. No one is talking about caviar or exotic things.
Other areas where Russia is behind almost all developed countries of the world: medicine, economics, science, and even education. Cancer patients mortality rate is ten times higher than in most other countries of the world, because equipment is totally outdated and doctors' salary is so low, they don't bother to work professionally. Corruption runs so rampant no one even bothers any more - watch the movie "Chaika". Seen by 4 million people, it contains the facts which are impossible to refute, yet how many people from the state apparatus have been fired? Zero. In the past rabid Russian patriots, called "vatniky", claimed that Putin is clean and it's only his people who steal, bribe, and do all sorts of nefarious things. After this movie many of them changed their minds.
Don't believe the hype - even if Russia flies to the Moon, it will be done at the expense of the budget sphere or new insane taxes will be introduced (like the recent tax for long-haul truckers). Russians have already paid dearly for the annexation of Crimea and for the war in Ukraine (most countries in the world understand that this war is indirectly financed by Putin).
This country is doomed.