“At the beginning of August, the director of the Patriot park near Moscow, V. Akhmedov, was detained...

“At the beginning of August, the director of the Patriot park near Moscow, V. Akhmedov, was detained. Guess three times for what.
This is a clear confirmation of the fact that the official patriotism of Putin’s Russia is, first and foremost, a money grab. And the last one too. Because without budget funds allocated for “development”, no one needs all this.
Somewhat exaggeratedly, but nevertheless accurately, this idea is illustrated in the animated series "Rick and Morty", in the 1st episode of the 3rd season. The main character of the series, Rick, brings down the financial system of his enemies - the galactic federation, after which its leaders discuss a response plan. The military adviser laments that now there is nothing to pay the soldiers, to which the political adviser immediately responds with a pathetic speech that they will go into battle out of a sense of duty alone, but he breaks off mid-sentence and asks himself who will now pay him for broadcasting all this propaganda.
Our authorities have their own understanding of the connection between material incentives and what they call patriotism, and a very pragmatic one: at the end of August, in the convoy room of the St. Petersburg City Court and in paddy wagons, I saw propaganda posters with the inscription “The hero city has its own heroes” and - in large print - the number “21,000,000,” which now amounts to the amount of a one-time payment to all St. Petersburg residents who signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense. That is, the authorities understand that no matter how much budget money you spend on all sorts of “patriotic” parks, you will still have to pay extra for “heroism.”
Yours Vasya N., pre-trial detention center-1, St. Petersburg"