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“The distribution companies and online services are giving users a lot of choice. But at the same time they are controlling this choice. It is a top-down situation disguised as bottom-up. […] people are blinded by: ‘Oh my God, I have so much choice!’. But they do not really recognize the control that is required for such choice. It can be scary sometimes”
“Like the Russian government, which is currently using the Snowden disclosures to justify bringing global online platforms and services under Russian jurisdiction, many countries are beginning to support the concept of national sovereignty in cyberspace”
Clare Lyster
Andrei Soldatov
interview with Daniele Belleri, Slon Magazine, April 2014
Investigative journalist, March 2014
“The domestic industries, some of which are dependent on foreign supplies, will receive the necessary support from the Government” Dmitry Medvedev Prime Minister of Russia, 22 April 2014
Conclusion: Russia, 2064
Where is Russia heading to? Can the schizophrenia between political ideology and business reality be somehow reconciled? Until now, we have seen that many important retail sectors, such as food, clothing, and durable goods, might be more resistant to a top-down conversion to national independence, as this objective is increasingly invoked by Russian politicians. This difficulty is due to a couple of interrelated reasons: insufficient domestic production, and the commonly perceived prestige of for-
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R E T A I L
eign brands. Changing both factors might require decades of efforts, regardless of any political will. But what if an unexpected guest would suddenly come and overhaul the game’s rules? What if the pace of change could be accelerated, acting on a retail sector that in 2014 is still relatively negligible, and therefore more mouldable? The conclusion of this chapter is envisioning a scenario of this kind. Dealing with the future, the following narration can’t but be a fictional one. However, in the urban routines of 2064’s Russia, the spirit of the time is dictated by e-tail.