Re: 2012 Photo Thread
It seems a shame that the livliest discussions of late revolve around the dawning on us guys from the western world at least - that our worst fears about MArat are being confirmed ie :his innate sexism - (or, as we in Australia have just re-defined the modern useage of the term thanks to our PM finally kicking the ass of our insufferable Leader of the Opposition) - his mysoginy - and what appear to us to be ultra-conservative political views - something I still find intriguing since he spent most of his life - literally, boy to man - happily making the most of his life travelling the world as free as a bird - and of course,making millions of dollars that provide him the freedom he now has - something not within the reach of the huge majority of his fellow countryfolk - not that that is a criticism - he deserves all of his success of course - he worked hard to achieve it .....but somewhere between the extremes, I think lies the 'truth', and here's how I see it:
I think we know Marat was always patriotic - in the way (and speaking of an ex-pat myself) many of those who live long periods of time away from their country of birth often are - in a rather... shall we say, nostalgic way - I remember how, when questioned about why he played Davis Cup he replied "I have to"....as though he was expressing a sense of obligation...
when he finally gave up on the circuit ( easily a season later than he really wanted to) he had a genuine sense of being, for the first time in his life, one suspects, unsure about what he was going to do next...and I think there were a couple of false starts...
(remember his odnoklassnikki updates like: "Moscow - where dreams die" and..."for sale - going cheap" (or words to that effect) I know mer will correct me if I am wrong..)anyway...I think he found that first year or so quite tough...
Then, when Marat first started talking about his aspirations in going into politics - after the initial "I want to give back to tennis for what tennis gave to me" sentiment wore off - and the brevity of his involvement with the Olympic committee and the RTF indicated to me that he rapidly realised (with the failed attempts in regard to tournaments and generating revenue for tennis specifically etc)- that he was backing a loser in the overall scheme of things there- and he soon transferred his enthusiasm to NN and the concept of promoting the healthy lifestyle and the sports centres generally - with all the attendant chatter about starting a family and "paying for the things he had done wrong in the past"....or words to that effect....at this point it's all a novelty and He's still full of the idea that he can 'help' people - make life better for them somehow - and there's the fun of going out and about meeting people and doing tennis 'workshops' - playing with the kids...these were all part of his 'introduction' into the life of a local party representative - all nice friendly stuff well inside his safety zone - remember his comments in Zurich about political systems...how there's no one way to run a country etc.... but then the bigger , harder issues such as alcoholism and other social problems get onto the agenda and the REALITY of the machinations of the Party and the Duma and the sheer enormity of the tasks is taking it's toll...he has been absorbed into the Party machine, it's true - and no doubt he SEES things from the "Party" perspective more and more - but nothing changes the reality that he is a multi millionaire moving in political circles awash with people of influence and money - and when he wants to, he can jump on a plane and spend his summer in Ibiza - or anywhere else he fancies, a long, LONG way away from the ugly, grubby reality of life and the concerns and experience of so many of his constituents - with whom Marat has little, if anything, in common regardless ofhis claims to have been brought up 'on the streets'...lol - yeah - the treadmill of the pro tennis circuit really prepared him well- and I am not arguing that that makes him an exception to the rule - I suggest that is true and almost inevitable for ALL politicians regardless of where they are in the world or what views they represent...I just contend that the contrast is starker in Russia due to that nation's political and social history....
Ultimately...we never heard Marat speak about anything political during the entirety of his tennis career - apart from the rather droll - or, it being Marat we are talking about here - ironic observation about the players union and the arguments that went round and round there - I can't remember now but it was responding to something Andy Roddick said and Marat basically said something along the lines of "that's what I said months ago"...or whatever - but there was no indication that he took a particular interest in player politics - so I guess his emergence into the much bigger and potentially dangerous pool of Russian politics has come as a shock to us - AND, I would suggest - to HIM....now that the "honeymoon" is over....
For me, its just the cumulative effect of everything he has been saying for -probably ever - but certainly the last couple of years.... all the quirky little asides, the quips about women in particular, going back(and I am paraphrasing here) to the old days of "the wife who is never happy..." to "the more beautiful a woman is ,the more money she needs"...to the 'classic' ..of course I clean my own floors..."I am not some stupid blonde who does not know how to do".....right up to the stupid attention seeking girls....taken together they just don't make an attractive package...especially if you play them back against the backdropof what we know about his relationships with women (which I KNOW is very limited but nonethless seems to vindicate his stated views) which, IN CONTEXT - probably aren't as extreme as they appear to us - and that goes for his political views as well..but which even so seem to hark back to 50 odd years ago in the west, at least - that the womans place is in thehome and men should be the dynamic ones making a living and supporting the '5 kids'....(no wonder the trophy wife is looking a bit haggard these days,although it is unforuunate they caught her while she was -I dunno - blinking - or maybe just had a headache - or was tired and having a nap - or bored out of her brains - anyhow, anyway you look at it - those pics are a minefield of innuendo if you want to read between the lines...but one thing is for sure -there have not been too many pics of her smiling have there ..and they are light years away from last year's Kremlin Cup photos..but that's another story and I have to stop ranting and get to the gym ....