He who has the weapons, makes the rules!

We must all remember the GOLDEN RULE. He who has the gold makes the rules. This is the first law of special interests and banksters.

The statement that file sharing has destroyed the film industry in russia is only half the problem. I know from direct experience that 80% of the money the government gives to promote the russian film industry goes into 1 pocket (a very small proportion of which is then distributed to a favoured few. Very few). This in itself excludes most new or independent producers, directors, crew, actors, composers, etc from the opportunity of bringing their creative material to life, unless they're one of the very few on the inside, and in 'favour' with that one pocket. And even then they get very little return for the being one of the "privileged few". Get this sorted out, and more russian films will get made, a much wider variety of people will contribute to the industry, more russians, and those beyond, will watch and pay for quality output. The internet is a great way to get publicity for relatively little outlay. When you consider that against the massive costs of an old fashioned paper and TV marketing drive, and the restriction of the "1 pocket" which exists here, the viral nature of good content on the internet is a compelling argument as a modern business model. If the content is good enough, and people enjoy it enough, a percentage will pay, will make the effort to turn up to concerts and cinemas, and the those who create the content will get a better return. But none of this will ever come to fruition if the local "1 pocket" isn't removed first, and available funds from government and private sources are distributed on a much fairer basis, across a much wider range of creative potential, including those just coming into the industry.

This is sad. Russia is selling its soul just to get into the WTO.