A dose of harsh reality.

On my way from Sergach (where the train station is) to the village (25 km), I got chatting with the taxi driver. He tells me that over 3 years, Sergach's population has shrunk from 25,000 to 20,000: the elderly are dying, and young people are leaving.

The only production facility that's somehow holding on is the sugar factory. Everything else has either already collapsed or is on its last breath.

A good salary is considered to be around 15,000 rubles a month. And people are clinging to that money. If someone's lucky enough to get 20-25k, it means working at 150% capacity.

If conditions are tough or they're forced to do extra work, people just endure it. Few are ready to simply write a resignation letter: it's hard to find another job, and nobody wants to starve.

The only ones doing noticeably better are the managing officials of local authorities (who would've thought).

In towns closer to Nizhny Novgorod, things are better: there are still investors from the big city willing to put money in and actually do something. But here it's complete backwoods. There's no interest.