📰 The Times published a strange article: 🙄an attack on the Japanese or an advertisement for the high culture of Russian people or something in between. But it looks more like an outbreak of rage from powerlessness.
The editors of The Times noted that demand for "luxury" grand pianos in Russia had sharply increased and accused Japan of secretly smuggling their luxurious pianos to Russians through Japanese manufacturers of musical instruments. They can’t stand the fact that Russian music lovers continue to enjoy high-quality sound, and Western sanctions aren’t working.
Direct trade with Russia has been banned in Japan since March 2022. But since then, the Chinese have started to intensively purchase Japanese pianos, which hadn’t been seen before. Meanwhile, piano sales from China to Russia have greatly increased (from 155 in 2022 to 830 in 2023). And for what do they get paid? 🤦🏻♀️
The Times couldn’t catch Japanese manufacturers in direct smuggling red-handed, but criticized them for their websites and customer support still operating in Russia. The manufacturers defended themselves, saying they couldn’t control the actions of resellers.
〰️ Then The Times tells the story of Russians' love for pianos and a long list of Russian virtuoso pianists. The editors were also impressed to learn that Vladimir Putin, it turns out, also plays the piano, which became known in 2017 after his meeting with Chinese leader Xi.
❗️The authors did a great job: they praised the Russians for their refined taste and love of art and acknowledged that businessmen around the world couldn’t care less about their sanctions, which is why they don’t work.
#skadi
