In 2007, the popular Russian rock group DDT released a provocative album that featured, among other things, a song called “At the general’s house.” The song, written mostly from the point of view of a drunken general at the FSB (the Russian Federal Security Service) surrounded by his stolen wealth, mocked the corruption and cynicism of Russia’s security forces. You might think this caused the band problems. But they remain as popular as ever.
That’s because everyone in Russia knows that the FSB, and other security agencies, are insanely corrupt—and also often massively incompetent. It’s a fact of life under President Vladimir Putin, as mundane as the weather. Russian state media may not like to dwell on it in order to protect its budgets, but Russians don’t need the newspapers to tell them something that’s already being rubbed in their faces every day.
