MOSCOW -- By normal standards Russia should be a happy and contented country. Moscow is awash with money, mostly flowing in from the giant energy sector and hugely boosted by the doubling in oil prices the past year. Shops and restaurants are booming. Cinemas and theaters are multiplying and play to packed audiences in expensive seats. Glittering new buildings go up everywhere, and cars jam Moscow's wide streets.
The Russian economy is said to be growing 5 to 7 percent annually, far faster than the sluggish European economies to the west. The currency is healthy and inflation well under control. It is true that not all of this wealth reaches out to the poorer and more distant regions, but even in some of these, such as Tartarstan, 650 km to the east, the same spirit of economic and cultural vitality is bursting forth.
For millions of Russians life is good and, equally important, free, with the bad old days of Communism just a faint memory. Yet all is not well. A pall of pessimism hangs over Russia, with a mood akin to a mixture of injured pride and humiliation permeating the public debate.