Fewer and Fewer russians Believe the kremlin’s “Fairy Tale Tellers”

The kremlin continues to wage cognitive warfare against its own population. After the “russian bogatyrs”, “grey wolves”, “cheburashkas”, and other fairy-tale creations, the authorities have once again set out to promise russians a bright future – this time through longevity.

Academician gennady onishchenko has become the chief propagandist for “fairy-tale life in russia 2.0”. According to him, modern medicine and virology will one day allow russians to live to 150 years of age. But the wait will be a long one. The short-term plans are more modest: life expectancy is set to rise to 78 years by 2030 and to 81 – by 2036. Currently, this figure stands at 73.7 years, and for men – only 67.5.

There’s just one problem: to live to the promised 150 years, russians seem to be expected to work hard first. The government is once again discussing a six-day workweek, round-the-clock operations at enterprises, and three shifts. In other words, the kremlin’s recipe for longevity is simple: work more, rest less, and wait for a better future.

However, russians themselves aren’t exactly rushing to build this fairy tale at home. In the first half of the year, they spent $23.3 billion abroad – a record amount over the past 11 years and by 14% more than a year earlier. While kremlin academics paint a picture of a happy future for russia, its citizens are voting for it with their own money – by leaving the country with their suitcases.

The outlook for medicine itself – which is supposed to give people a 150-year lifespan – looks even bleaker. In early August, russia’s leading medical universities were unable to fill even their state-funded spots. At the sechenov first moscow state medical university, 198 spots remained vacant; at the pirogov russian national research medical university – 289.

The reason is entirely practical. State-funded education effectively binds graduates to a mandatory five-year service obligation. Against the background of the country’s militarization, this no longer looks like an opportunity to pursue a prestigious profession. For many young people, it’s a risk of ending up in a system that increasingly serves the needs of the state and its military adventures.

That is why the kremlin’s fairy tale about a 150-year lifespan has one significant fault: it is unclear exactly who is supposed to ensure it and at whose expense. There is a shortage of doctors, young people do not want to pursue medicine, while the authorities, instead, are proposing that they work six days a week. In a russia like this, a 150-year lifespan sounds less like a medical prognosis but more like a death sentence.