More Than a Hot Dog Stand in Moscow
by Rev. Peter E. Bauer
I’ve always had a fascination with Russia. My great, great, great grandfather and namesake Rev. Peter Bauer came to the United States at the turn of the twentieth century, from Worms, South Russia. He entered the country through Ellis Island and spent twenty years as a German Reformed missionary pastoring German Reformed churches as a circuit rider in North and South Dakota. I also studied Russian history in college and marveled at historical figures like Peter the Great who modernized Russia in the eighteenth century. The Winter Palace or the Hermitage in St. Petersburg also was a marvel to me as it showcased an incredible collection of art, including works by Matisse and other post-Impressionists.
Russia has never been what could be described as a Western democracy. Despite all of the capital (i.e., hedge fund and otherwise) that is now being funneled into the country, I would be surprised if there were a hot dog stand in Moscow that would be comparable to one found in New York or Chicago.
Yet, presently there are reports of lots of business deals going on between Russian oligarchs and people connected to the current administration. Of course, it was revealed that family members of №45 have a net worth of 700 million dollars and, as one family member reported, substantial financial holdings in Russia. One wonders why there would be all of this attention to a country that has a history of political secrecy, totalitarian leadership and aggression aimed at other neighboring countries and areas (i.e., Ukraine and Crimea).
Economist Joseph Stiglitz has observed:
“Once one of the world’s two superpowers, Russia’s GDP is now about 40% of Germany’s and just over 50% of France’s. Life expectancy at birth ranks 153rd in the world, just behind Honduras and Kazakhstan.
In terms of per capita income, Russia ranks 73rd (in terms of purchasing power parity) — well below the Soviet Union’s former satellites in central and eastern Europe. The country has deindustrialized: the vast majority of its exports now come from natural resources. It has not evolved into a “normal” market economy, but rather into a peculiar form of crony-state capitalism.”
So, what is the allure regarding Russia for us? Is it their oil, natural gas, the caviar or the Chrome Dioxide? Do we want to study them and find out how they got so good at cyber-espionage? Are we forging a new alliance with them, “frenemies” at best, as a leverage against China?
All of this remains to be revealed, but I must admit that it feels rather unsettling to know that significant amounts of capital are flowing back and forth from both countries. Also, it is unsettling to wonder what other hindrance and interference on the Russia may be happening in France, Germany, etc.
The first family also has a significant amount of debt owed to financial institutions like Deutsche Bank, an estimated 500 million dollars. How do these realities not effect foreign policy and decisions that will have economic consequences for our country?
I would like to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg and perhaps see the area of South Russia where the ancestors originated. However, I am enough of a realist, and not a romantic, to know that the reality of Russia would not be like the idealism of Boris Pasternak describing the physician poet Yuri Zhivago.
The recent demonstrations in Moscow remind us that democracy is still a long way off, if it is ever to be realized in Russia. Maybe in the future, there will be a change, a movement way beyond détente or Perestroika. Perhaps, the Chicago Cubs will one day play in Moscow and Muscovites will dine on Chicago Hotdogs with Sauerkraut.
Anything could be possible, right?
May it be so.
