Confession… A fairy tale in the style of sentimental cynicism

…No, no, not quite because, – Porphyry replied, – The thing is that in their article all people are somehow divided into “ordinary” and “unusual”.

…that there are some such persons in the world who can… that is, not that they can, and have every right to commit all sorts of atrocities and crimes, and that for them as if the law is not written…

F. M. Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment”

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Ken Kesey, Miloš Forman, Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher.

Country, in which traffic officer can earn with the help of bribes on the road 100 times more than by his main job, and an elementary school teacher, by her main job, earns 10 times less than working part-time as a prostitute….

Unfinished folksy wisdom.

© Evgeniy Limanskiy, 2020

© Alexander Afanasiev, 2020

ISBN 978-5-4498-5223-6

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have a prepared ending to this epigraph, but I suggest you finish this sentence yourself. It may be easier for you to do so if you read this text.

CONFESSION…

A fairy tale in the style of sentimental cynicism.

Preface from Alex

What I want to tell you happened ten years ago and today, probably, does not matter for those who participated in these happenings especially since I will try to minimize the recognizability of the main characters. Over the prescription of the years, perhaps they even will not remember these events because of insignificance in their lives. But this story is interesting in that it tells, in my opinion, about a certain phenomenon worthy of being fixed in some way. These events are sometimes painted in dramatic and even tragic tones, but have a happy ending, at least for the heroine of my narrative. This story, in my opinion, also may be of interest for creating a cross-section of the modern Russian society, in a certain aspect, of course. Due to the breadth of interests and the opportunity to be present in various social strata, the main heroine created a certain club that unites people who, under ordinary life circumstances, should never meet.

As Irada Zeynalova usually said:

– We are interested not only what happened, but how and why it happened.

To some extent, this story can be called the story of “Cinderella” and “Dowerless Bride” in one face in Russia in the first quarter of the twenty-first century with all its problems, horrors and specifics. The heroine found her prince. And the prince was lucky even more. In addition to elite dogs and a chic house on Rublyovka, he, being a widower and already overripe, acquired for himself also a young elite wife with a beautiful exterior.

Yes, the lucky guy with this marriage outdo to many, even began to claim the championship with Jupiter himself. By chance, I was lucky to meet fifteen years ago and spend a few hours in the company of the future Europe at the sports ground in Luzhniki stadium. I, just like everyone else, was fascinated by her beauty, simplicity and charm, and this event was forever imprinted in my memory. But, having collected all my objectivity into a fist, because I consider myself as an objective person, regardless of the circumstances, I want to say, nevertheless, that “ours”, although she was not an Olympic champion, but has so many talents that she can compete on any Level. By this rather familiar “ours” I want to indicate my direct involvement in the club created by the main heroine of my narrative.

And in this connection, I have another rhetorical question, if it is allowed to the Bull, what is allowed to Jupiter. That is, I want to understand whether the Bull is the final point in the history of Eva, or whether he is also one of the stages in the fate of my heroine, just like me and hundreds of other men. By the way, here is a nickname for one of my heroes is found, the “Bull”. He will appear near the end of this story. Our Bull, of course, is a millionaire, but also only. In general, I think, after all, not Jupiter.

The question arises, why do I need all this, and frankly speaking really what for?

The fact is that by the will of fate I have witnessed and participated in events that unambiguously went beyond the ordinary life of an ordinary person. I actually think that the case that we are considering is indeed phenomenal and, I would even say, a textbook one from the point of view of purposeful promotion of an individual up the social ladder. That is why it is worthy to subject it to a more thorough analysis to study the technology of achieving success. After that, it can be fully used as a guide to action for girls who have decided to conquer the world. God save, I do not call anyone to follow the example of my heroine, but these notes can really serve as a training tool for all who aim at forward movement up. I myself really want to fully understand the secret and technology of success in this particular case.

In addition to the technology of success, there is one more question, to which, I think, there is no answer at all. How can a person, daily floundering deep in shit for several years, kept the purity and morality of the soul and have no one more or less noticeable bat in the belfry? On the contrary, she managed to preserve all the best human qualities: mercy, honesty, disinterestedness, generally the ability to feel, at last. She as Botticelli’s Venus rises daily, but not from sea foam, but from the most that neither is dirt and manages to remain pure and immaculate at the same time. This is directly some mysticism and Dostoevschina (Dostoevsky scale) turn out, right as a la Sonyechka Marmeladov of the 21^st century. The only reasonable explanation that I find is the presence of such inner strength of mind, which, it seems to me; this fragile girl has enough for ten strong men.

There are also two additional, but no less, in my opinion, significant reasons. The first reason, quite mercantile, is that, the person in question is really worthy to be imprinted in history. I, as a person close to her, want to be her first biographer, regardless of whether these notes will be known in the near future or some archivist will discover them in many years. In that they remain in history, as also heroine of these notes, I have no doubt. Manuscripts, as you know, do not burn. In addition, directly on the basis of the first condition, I want my notes to have the right to life and primacy, because they are the most truthful narrative of the short but intense biography of my heroine. Here nothing particularly supernatural as if is happening. She simply lives, does acts, sometimes wrong, but at the same time she persistently and steadily moves towards her goal. That is why a later and deeper analysis of this miracle and phenomenon will be needed. The great is seen more clearly from a distance. And this is the second reason. Everything that no doubt will be written about her later will be already sleek, combed and wrapped in a beautiful package. But I just reproduce what I have witnessed or received first-hand.

And another note, I think, at times this text will be very similar to pornography, just cannot do without this. Therefore, in order to minimize the similarity, I think I will sometimes replace specific words with more neutral and not related to the sphere of intimate relations. For example, instead of the word penis you can use the word doll, remember as in the last movie about Bridget Jones, and instead of the word orgasm the similar word explosion. And to further avoid the resemblance, I will, perhaps, sometimes replace the odious word sex when it is too much. With this word it is quite the easiest. Our heroine usually used to define the word “sex”, a synonym invented by her, very accurately characterizing what she herself could create in this area of human relations. The word is “magic.” So we’ll just follow the original source.

Perhaps, one more half-joking remark, since I am engaged in sociological research at my own expense, then I can pretend to an objective evaluation of my work (possibly posthumously) from the point of view of sociology as a science. Therefore, in addition to the main title of this text, I add one else and more detailed:

Amateur prostitution as a typical social phenomenon in Russia in the first quarter of the 21^st century and as a means of reaching the highest level of the pyramid of human needs that is self-realization (a special case).

Thesis for a candidate’s degree in sociology.

Scientific specialty 22.00.08

Well, something like this.

So, we proceed and start, perhaps, with purely theoretical reasoning, as far as vertical displacements in the social environment are possible, and, if possible, to whom they are available.

Long ago, in the early seventies of the last century, when I was still in high school, I was fond of books on politics, preparing myself for international economic activity. I, like many, adored the books of international columnist Valentine Zorin. His books were like a window into an alien world, into which we, simple Soviet people, could watch the life there behind the iron curtain. Of course, the information presented in these books was hundreds of times checked and re-checked for political correctness, but against the backdrop of socialist realism and slogans like “Five Year Plan in Four Years!” his books were a revelation. In one of his books, it seems “Misters billions” I found classification of American society. Of course, it was not his classification, but rather, it was borrowed from some American publicist, or forgive me my ignorance, maybe it is a classic and everyone knows it. Anyway, at that moment, for a Soviet schoolboy who knew firmly that there were only two classes that have the right to life, workers and peasants, well and a small layer of the intelligentsia was permissible, that the other classes and gradations of society existed, was a complete revelation. According to Zorin, there were three classes in the US: the Low, the Middle and the Top. Each of the classes in turn is divided into subclasses with the similar names, I e, for example, there are Low-Low, Low-Middle and Low-Top subclass and the same, in Middle and Top classes. If with the Low and the Middle classes everything seems to be clear, at least, I with my high school education immediately determined that my family is likely to belong to the Middle-Middle subclass. Accordingly, as it seemed to me then, there was no Top class in the Soviet Union at all, although a bit later, when I was still living in the USSR, I realized that there was a Top class in our country also. Otherwise, where, then, we should refer the entire political, economic and artistic (creative) elite of society on the one hand and the Underground guilds and Thieves in Law on the other hand. They formed our very diverse Top class.

When I was in the first year of university, my classmate Kiev Jew Yasha Brotsman invited my friend Andrey Panin after a winter session to stay with him in Kiev. The thing was that Andrey’s mother, a teacher of mathematics at our University at the time helped Yasha to enter the University. And then she supervised him almost the entire period of study, because to protect Yasha constantly it was much necessary. The fact is that Yasha, despite his Jewish origin, was slacker and was constantly on the verge of expulsion from University.

Well, and Andrey of the friendliest motives decided to take me with him. Yasha, after a short hesitation and, apparently, negotiations with his parents, agreed. So, we flew to the glorious city of Kiev for the winter holidays. Yes, I will tell you, dear sirs, I did not have such a grandiose vacation neither before nor after. The fact is that in Kiev, just on the eve for a reason; that I still have not understood, Kegelbahn or as we call it now Bowling on 4 tracks was opened. Now it is difficult for anyone to surprise with this, for example, I go to bowling, very rarely, if my friends drag me in. But then, in the mid-seventies of last century, it was the highest delight and indescribable pleasure. By the way, this very Bowling alley was not officially opened yet, and the only we played this bowling. Yasha invited his local friend Marek and we together with Andrei spent whole days, as we joked between us, were fighting against the Jews in this very bowling alley. The theme was topical, because at that time with variable success there was a permanent Arab-Israeli war, and we certainly were for the Arabs. Once, when the game was in full swing, the members of the Supreme Council of Ukraine were brought for viewing Bowling alley, and we, with the air of connoisseurs, explained to them the basics of this bourgeois game. A responsible Jew from bowling explained to the deputies that we were experienced experts on the game of bowling from Moscow, and we behaved accordingly, especially since in four days of continuous play we actually became such.

In addition to bowling, we watched the play in Russian Drama Theater with the incomparable Ada Rogovtsev, naturally in the first row, visited the concert of Sofia Rotaru, again on the first row. All the rest time we studied the Kiev restaurants. On rare evenings at Yasha’s family home, we got drunk Muscat champagne Abrau-Durso.

– Yashenka, run down to the shop, bring the champagne, our beloved one, – usually said Yasha’s papa Abram Samuilovich before dinner. And Yashka, one foot here, the other there, in three minutes was coming back with 3—4 bottles. Well it was short way to go down to the shop from the second floor to the first in their two-story house.

Before that I did not even know the name of Muscat champagne and I tried it for the first time then and I adore it until now, however, now, mainly in Italian performance. And the secret of providing of this entire VIP rest was that Abram Samuilovich had a private wine shop in the Podol area. That is, just only imagine, in the middle of the seventies, in the midst of socialism, a private wine shop. First, how? Secondly, can you imagine else what a gold mine it was?!

Then Yasha and I crossed closely once more at military training after the fourth year of the university. I, as person with artistic abilities, was sent to the headquarters to draw visual agitation, and Yashka simply bought for himself a place for a clerk at the headquarters. Our comrades trained to dig trenches and shoot from the tank, and we in the breaks from exhausting labor of “rear rats” reminisced with a bottle of port wine that wonderful vacation at the first-year study.

A few years later, in the early eighties, their entire family successfully immigrated to the United States of America, and, as I heard, they even very much there thrive. Apparently, Yasha’s father was able to take out those considerable assets that they had. Let me remind you that the dollar in those days cost sixty kopecks at the official rate and three rubles at an unofficial rate, that is, they had a lot of these dollars. How he managed to do it, a mystery covered in gloom, but on this account in those years among the people the fable was prevalent that it was relatively simple to do. Let us say you have a million dollars. You invite to your home or other place where you keep these dollars two representatives of the American Embassy and with the registration of the relevant act, you simply burn these very dollars. Then, if you have a visa for permanent residence safely depart to sunny America. And there the Ministry of Finance or the Federal Reserve Bank, or who is authorized there, give you another million new crunchy dollars on the basis of the act of burning.

Actually, with all this, I just wanted to say that, even on my unenlightened opinion of the Soviet schoolboy and then of the student of the 70^th of last century, the Top class in the USSR, after all, was.

I remember that I was struck by the gradation in the Top class. The Top-Low subclass includes all millionaires. You earned a million dollars and you are already in the elite of society. Further rudely Top-Middle subclass, I do not exactly remember, but let us say it started from 100 million dollars of personal capital, well, and to one billion. However, the most interesting thing is that becoming a billionaire does not mean getting into the Top-Top subclass. The Top-Top subclass according to Zorin includes the families of the Rockefellers and Kennedy, but the upstart Howard Hughes is a representative only of the Top-Middle class, despite all his billions. That is, the Top-Top class includes the families with centuries-old traditions of billionaires, at this level there is already a complete fusion of capital and power. The Kennedy clan is, in this sense, a textbook example.

Zorin also argued that if movement within the class is still possible, then moving between classes, and even more moving up, is more an exception, and quite rare and deserves a separate study in each case. Zorin gives an example of the talented student Henry Kissinger, whom the Rockefeller’s collector remarked and provided him with a successful start, appointing him a Rockefeller scholarship, made a dizzying political career and ended up in the political elite of American society and the world.

To modern Russia, in my opinion, this classification according to Zorin can be attributed in full, well, maybe with some reservations, for example, regarding the Top class. Of course, the Top class is now in the process of formation and the merging of the power and capital is only still taking place, and there is no possibility to speak about any traditions in this area. In my opinion, taking into account the depreciation of the dollar from the time of my youth to the Top-Low subclass, it is possible to include all those who have personal capital from 5 to 100 million dollars (of course, we are talking about the ruble equivalent). Accordingly, to the Top-Middle subclass we include all those who own from 100 million Up to 1 billion.

It is not very clear what to do with the Top-Top subclass. On the one hand, there is still no such subclass in the classical sense, because there are no traditions, but on the other, what to do with those who have a billion or more dollars. My suggestion is to simplify and to include all these people to the Top-Top subclass. As a commentary to the existing status quo, it can also be added that, in my persistent conviction, at least 80 percent of the origin of the present Top class is directly related to crime or violation of the law to a greater or lesser extent. The remaining 20% owe their origin to talent, diligence and banal luck.

When I reread the previous paragraph, after a while, I realized that it was a rather amateurish way of looking at things, and everything is actually very clear with the Top-Top subclass in Russia, and is as follows. It was in the US it took several centuries for a Top-Top subclass born and has formed, but in Russia this subclass was formed in about 10—15 years starting from 1987—88 years. Because it was formed very simply. The most energetic and active representatives of the highest bureaucracy simply divided the wealth of the country among themselves, and by the end of the specified period the freshly baked Top-Top subclass simply just was born. It is clear that bureaucrats shared the country’s wealth by the billions, and so these senior bureaucrats have become after all our new Top-Top subclass. Of course, in the process of sharing of billions someone was trampled. But those who survived the sharing just got a billion or more dollars and took the highest point in the socio-economic structure of the society. Next a smaller division of wealth was. Regional bureaucrats held a similar local dividing of that is not useful Moscow officials, and respectively formed a Top-Middle subclass. But the previous paragraph should remain as an example of inexperienced and superficial look at the issue.

As a general measure of the gradation of classes and subclasses, of course, money or income level is. With the first two classes, everything is clear. The income of Low class is accordingly for subclasses approximately 0—10, 10—30 and 30—50 thousand rubles of per person per month. The Middle class is respectively 50—100, 100—500 and 500—1500 thousand rubles. With the Top class it is a little more difficult, because I don’t fully know the information about this class, but nevertheless it is, for example, 1500—5000, 5000—25 000 and more than 25 000 thousand rubles a month.

Just as in the US, vertical upward movement is a rather limited phenomenon. The majority of the population happily spend their lives at the level at which they were given the happiness to be born. Of course, each of us dreams of a better life, but natural laziness and the resistance of the environment jammed these dreams in the bud. Sooner or later in 90% of cases individual calms down and safely exists at the level at which the force of counteraction of the external environment becomes stronger than the inner aspiration to a better life.

In addition to the upward movement, there is also a downward movement, and classic examples are alcoholism or drugs that deprive a person of human image and are a powerful press that moves a person to the lowest layers of society. In addition, of course, all cases associated with crime; as a result, a person either loses all his movable and immovable, or simply loses the status of a free man and, at least, deprives himself of the opportunity to move up. But this is enough about the downward movement, because, the most interesting is it moving up, and each case of such movement is a unique phenomenon and it is the more unique, the more layers of society the individual managed to overcome as a result.

If we consider different ways and possibilities of moving between classes, I personally I am most interested in talent, as the basis for vertical displacement. Undoubtedly, each case of such displacement deserves a separate consideration. By the word talent, I mean any human abilities developed much more than of ordinary people, and is the main driver in the development of a particular individual.

I have such an example and would like to consider it in more detail, first of all to understand for myself what the secret of success of an ordinary girl who emerged from the Low-Low, and by the age of 24 reached the Top-Low subclass, I recall, by my classification this is level from 5 million dollars.

Before going directly to the main narrative, I would like to draw some parallels between this narrative and some historical and not very heroes. And the first parallel, as it does not seem ridiculous (strange), I will call the story of the famous naturalist Seton Thompson “The Slum Cat”. I read this sincere and touching story in my childhood, and it impressed me so much that I still consider it to be a model of truthful narrative and example of author’s real love to his hero. And although this is just a story of a homeless she cat, but first, my story has similar points with the history of this remarkable cat in terms of meteoric rise of her image and status (both the cat and my main heroine), and, most importantly, in her ability to confidently settle in and get comfortable in this new status. And secondly, God grant me to portray the story of my heroine so truthfully and with such love, as the famous naturalist managed to do.

But jokes aside and now I would like very briefly to consider some really historical characters that had fate similar to the short biography of our heroine.

But before this, we will borrow from Wikipedia two definitions that apply to all the characters listed below.

Hetaera (from Greek ἑταίρα – friend, companion) – in Ancient Greece, a woman leading a free, independent way of life, a public woman, a courtesan. Originally mainly from slaves, later also free women. Famous Hetaeras were, as a rule, well educated.

Courtesans are not just prostitutes; they are such women who are capable of captivating a man not only with beauty, but also with their minds. Courtesans had power when all other women could not even dream about it. The key concept in the definition of the courtesan is that not men already choose her, but she chooses herself.

Aspasia, 5^th century BC.

Extraordinarily beautiful, with an ideal figure with the best education at that time, perfectly mastered musical instruments and danced beautifully. She was a famous Hetaera and owned one of the largest houses in Athens, in which it contained an elite brothel for especially respected citizens. There, she got acquainted the famous statesman, commander and founder of democracy Pericles. In collaboration with her, Pericles founded a philosophical school, wrote a number of philosophical and social treatises. Thanks to the active participation of Aspasia in Athens of that time, science, culture and crafts developed vigorously.

Epithets: clever, extraordinarily beautiful, the standard of sexuality, educated, determined, charming.

Thais Athens, 4^th century BC.

She was a temple prostitute, dedicated to the goddess Athena, revolved among the elite of ancient Greek society and once made close acquaintance with Alexander the Great and his friend and adviser Ptolemy. She managed to charm both of them and, as a result of close relations, secured the favor and support of the first and became the wife and faithful companion of the second, future ruler of Egypt. Being the wife and co-ruler, she made a huge contribution to the development of statehood and culture of ancient Egypt.

Epithets, which the history titled her: outstanding beauty, sexual talent, charm and sharp mind, vengeful, daring, impregnable. By the way, she was in sexual relations with Alexander the Great not for gold and wealth, on the contrary, she prophesied to Alexander that the possession her would bring him conquest of the whole world and eternal glory in the ages.

Frina, 4^th century BC.

This Greek Hetaera was famous for her beauty. In addition to prostitution, she earned as a model. From her ancient creators sculpted and drew the very Aphrodite. For this she nearly paid her life. She was accused of blasphemy for the creation of the statue of Aphrodite herself in her image and likeness. But, in the controversy of the dispute, Frina’s lawyer pulled off her clothes, and this was the best proof of her innocence.

Epithets: extraordinary beauty, perfect body, femininity, charm, shyness, sincerity.

Cleopatra VII Philopator, 1^st century BC.

The last queen of Hellenistic Egypt from the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty (Lagids) is the direct descendant of Thais Athens. As it was customary to say in the days of my youth “working dynasty”, for the sake of accuracy we only add the word “sexual”.

The amazing, refined beauty of this woman was combined with the rare convincing speeches, with a huge charm that was showed in every word, in every movement. The very sounds of her voice caressed and delighted the hearing, and the tongue was exactly a multi-stringed instrument, easily tuned to any harmony. Well educated, she spoke practically in all languages of the Roman Empire. In contrast to other famous courtesans, Cleopatra did not need to achieve the power. She inherited it. But to retain this very power was the task is no less difficult than to get it. A fortunate opportunity first arose before her first in the form of Caesar, and then Marc Anthony and Cleopatra did not miss both these cases, and used them wisely for her own good and for the prosperity of Egypt.

Cleopatra had a rampant temperament. According to various historical sources, she is attributed from several thousand to several tens of thousands of lovers. It is also known that the queen’s lovers paid their lives for the night with her.

Epithets: a fatal beauty, a sexual diva, a scandalous mistress, resolute, intelligent, superbly educated.

Roksolana, 1502—1558 years, the Ottoman Empire.

The legendary Roksolana is one of the most famous and at the same time the most mysterious women in the Ukrainian history of the late middle Ages. Her path from an unfortunate captive to one of the most influential rulers in the world amazes not only with her drama, but also with dizzying vicissitudes worthy of an adventurous novel. Roksolana was the first and only woman in the history of the Ottoman Empire, who received an official title. Ukrainian girl managed to become the Sultana of Haseki, which meant that she was the co-ruler of the Brilliant Port, and Sultan Suleiman shared his power with her. European ambassadors were speechless when Roksolana with an open face was sitting on the throne next to her husband. She did not at all resemble a submissive eastern woman, reminding, rather, the ancient Egyptian Cleopatra. Numerous transformations in the Turkish capital were connected with the name of Roksolana. She tried, as far as possible, to engage in enlightenment, devoted much time to charity. During the time that Roksolana was in power in the Ottoman Empire, she did her best to prevent the predatory raids of the Crimean Tatars in her homeland – Ukraine.

Epithets: the legendary beauty, resolute, intelligent, perfectly educated, owned several languages. This is what her husband Sultan Suleiman wrote to her: “My dear goddess, my amazing beauty, you are the Lady of my heart, my brightest moon, companion of my deepest desires, my only, you are dearest to me than all the beauties of the world!”

Nell Gwyn, 1650 – 1687, Great Britain.

A native of the London suburbs devoted her life to theater and prostitution, which eventually earned her money, fame, recognition, and her son from King Charles II of England – the title of duke. Young Nell Gwyn appeared in the theater, trading oranges, and, being red-haired, noisy and sharp on the tongue, was quickly remembered by the public as a “girl with oranges.” Gwyn was uneducated, but getting a chance for small roles, she showed incredible discipline and zeal, having achieved as a result to the main roles. There, on the stage, King of England noticed her and made Nelly Gwyn one of his mistresses.