Old Rutherford was right...

Today I went to post office to fax an agreement for funding my research by Human Capital Foundation (I happened to win a grant for this year, here (in Russian)). The woman, which was faxing the agreement, saw either the grant sum or just that it was a funding agreement and said (very quietly, but I could heard that!) about "raskulachit'" me. This is a word from revolution in October 1917, which means that I am bad and mean person, because I earn too much money while other people live hard, and thus some good and honest people should take my money away and beat me. But I'm a scientist in Russia, I can not be reach, it's a kind unnatural here.

At first I wanted to say her everything that I thought about this garbage of hers and that that was honest money, and I worked hard for this, and that she thinks so mostly because I'm a Korean (nationalism in Russia has spread wide during last two decades, and this is really annoying), and that even Robin Hood would not agree with her etc. But then it just came into my mind that it wasn't her fault from the very start (although I'm in no way approve her), it's that brainwashing politicians which:
 (1) Keep saying that Russia has enemies everywhere and that the whole world wants to bring Russia on its kneels. It's a rather popular tool (or should I say weapon?): when some politician needs something he says that this something will make Russia stronger, and when he doesn't he simply says that our enemies want this something. It's ridiculous, but it works and is applied very often. And a typical enemies for the casual citizen are either some non-Russian bastard, who is more prosperous then he, or a mean emigrant from a 3rd world country. Communism's legacy enforced by snobbery. Somehow it reminds me of Jehovah Witnesses which think that this world is hostile towards them because it belongs to Satan.
 (2) Trying to unlearn people from thinking by their own (it's enough to watch any newscast or analytical weekend program on major channels to understand this). The motivation is simple: when someone thinks independently he is not that easy to control. And here is a devilish contradiction with the (1): strong country consists of strong people, but not from a bunch of zombies.
And that woman just thought so because she was "forced" to.

Anyway, I'm still angry with that faxing woman... (oops, that was on the verge of foul ;)). At first I wanted to start with a story about Ernest Rutherford, who had the following policy: When a new assistant applied for job in Rutherford's lab, he submitted a research task for this assistant. If having the task done the assistant came for the next one Rutherford fired him, because to become a good scientist one should start analyzing, and thinking, and understanding what should be done further by his own. This is an essential for scientific maturity process. And I planned to make some sort of a good story about not being a bad assistant. But that faxing woman...