How do I feed from the hands of power

Natalia Gromova, writer

Here writes priest's wife poet Olesya Nikolayeva, how many times she saw her at the evenings of the liberal "Banner". But her hand does not grow thin to slap the damned Russophobes.

“Disagreement with the actions of the authorities often covers up deeper feelings, namely Russophobia. Now, after all, no one doubts that such a phenomenon exists. But it’s vile, of course, when a person lived and worked in Russia, was in the service of the authorities, fed from her hands, and suddenly, having left and ended up in the camp of the enemy, begins to find fault and slander her. It’s even more disgusting when he does it out of selfish motives in the hope of getting some kind of bonuses for it.

I thought about how all my life I "fed from the hands of power". She has been working since the age of 16. First, in the Historical Library - 62 rubles. 50 kopecks. - salary. Then she taught at the school. The salaries were small, but the 1990s were coming and I was living on humanitarian aid. A pack of rice a week, butter and beans. Then, in the 2000s, she worked at various private publishing houses, editing books about mushrooms, tomatoes, pregnancy, and much more. I didn’t earn much, but I already processed the archives of different people, absolutely free of charge. Museum of Tsvetaeva - z.p. 20 thousand Exhibitions, archives, excursions. Fees for books are always no more than 50 tr. further, GLM (State Literary Museum, editor's note) - curator of exhibitions, excursions, work with archives. Ceiling - 50 tr. although the entire management received 10 times more. And finally, a pension of 10 tr. - the ultimate dream.

Who in Russia fed whom? Skinned like sticky, such amazing Russophobes - enlightened, took out lost names from oblivion, taught.

And everyone asks us, why don't you also want to kiss the hand of the authorities?