Publication in Russian on the Zen blog
https://dzen.ru/a/aeTHsY-JajxszMk7

The greatest country to live in.

A dystopia based on local folklore with working titles: "The Foundation of Silence", "Stability of cracks", "Design features", "Everything works. Do not touch", "A house that cannot be repaired", "The city inside the walls", "The quiet sound of the foundation", "When cracks become the norm", "How to live in an ideal house with a leaky roof", "The best place to live (according to documents)", "Instructions for comfortable self-deception", "A house where you can't talk loudly," "A building with perfect reporting," and so on, I suggest the reader choose the name they like from the list or come up with it themselves.

Imagine an old building. The exterior is monumental: columns, flags, coat of arms on the facade. The walls are thick, made of rare stone — they say they can withstand both time and the blows of fate. There are strategic supplies in the basement, and special—purpose lightning rods on the roof. Pride, not a building.

However, the foundation has long been cracked. But these are small things — they are not visible from the outside.

The utilities are clogged, the water is running rusty, the wiring is sparking — but the only renovated room is warm, cozy and the TV is playing. The owner lives there. He genuinely doesn't understand why the other tenants complain: everything works for him.

The elevator doesn't run, but you can walk, right?

The taps are running, but there is water, and this is already an achievement.

Leaks should not be discussed loudly in the entryway, in case someone hears and spoils the atmosphere of stability. Then the concierge will come. He's polite, but he has a good memory.

It is impossible to change the management company: the locks on the doors have long been melted down into commemorative plaques about the great past of the building. The new tenants tried to change things, but they were told that the main thing was not to rock the stairs. The staircase, by the way, has been cracking for a long time, but this is considered a sign of its strength.

Sometimes residents' meetings are held in the house. They all unanimously agree that the house is the best. Those who disagree either do not come, or suddenly find themselves on the list of "potentially emergency structural elements."

By the way, you can make a career. It's fair: either take the stairs or the elevator... if you have a key to the dashboard. And the concierge has the keys. And his relatives. And those who know how to smile properly. Others are encouraged to be inspired by success stories on TV.

But these are all small household details. The main thing is how great the official description of the building sounds.

The yard is also landscaped. There are new benches and surveillance cameras. Benches to sit on, cameras to avoid getting up without permission.

Everything works here.

The rules are followed here.

There is safety and order here.

It has the best water (according to reports), the fastest elevator (on paper) and the quietest entrance (because no one makes any noise).

The laws here don't just exist—they're perfect. They are so perfect that they are sometimes applied selectively so as not to overload the system. Same concern.

Freedom of speech is unlimited here — you can say anything you want. Inside to myself. Sometimes even in a whisper in the kitchen, if the water is not too noisy.

World—class medicine is here, especially in presentations. In reality, treatment begins with finding a working outlet and ends with philosophical acceptance of it.

Here, the social system takes care of everyone — it's just that some people feel this care more than others. Usually those who are closer to the shield.

The economy here is independent — so much so that sometimes it seems as if it exists separately from reality. But it is stable: it does not grow up, it does not fall down — it keeps in the eternal balance of expectations.

The courts are independent. So much so that sometimes their decisions can be predicted in advance — independence from the unexpected is also a form of stability.

The media is free. They freely talk about how good it is to live in this building. Especially from that renovated room. Sometimes the entrance is shown, but after the decorations are repaired.

And the tenants... that the tenants. They've adapted. Someone has learned not to notice the cracks. Some consider them to be a feature of architecture. Someone wants to cover them with carpets and slogans. Someone rents out their room and moves to other buildings, simpler, without columns, but with working pipes. But someone remains and hopes that one day the overhaul will begin - not in reports, but in reality.

Sometimes the house is redecorated: walls are painted, signs are changed, doors are reinforced. It is not customary to touch the foundation at the same time, as the historical authenticity and stability of the cracks will suddenly be disrupted.

And the most amazing thing is that the residents are shown the project of the ideal building all the time. It has glass elevators, transparent walls, a green courtyard and clean water. This project is regularly updated, improved and demonstrated. You can't live in it, but you must be proud of it.

And here you are standing in this house.

Look at the cracks, hear the creaking of the stairs, smell the damp — and at the same time listen to how they tell you that everything is perfect.

And at some point, the main question arises.:

what is more dangerous for a building — cracks in the foundation

or the habit of pretending they don't exist?

Because buildings usually don't collapse when the first cracks appear.

And then, when they have been called design features for years.

And perhaps the quietest sound in this house is not a whisper in the kitchen.

It's the sound of a foundation slowly sinking.,

which everyone is already used to.

I write and shoot. Join me

Author's video content
https://www.youtube.com/c/ViolettaWennman

Political trash
https://www.youtube.com/@Ship-Shard

I invite you to the telegram channel
https://t.me/shipshard

Highly Social on Zen
https://dzen.ru/shipshard

To buy caramels to ruin your teeth
https://dzen.ru/shipshard?donate=true

My hobbies are history, philosophy, psychology, music, economics, politics, and sociology. I write about this and much more. Professional model. She has performed at international music festivals (vocals, dancing, imitation of vocalists). I am studying at the Academy of Arts - the film and art industry, I am a producer and the owner of a video studio.

I am glad to see all of you in my blogs.

I'm waiting for you here so I don't get lost. https://t.me/shipshard