No money, but you hold on

During Medvedev's visit on May 23, 2016 to Feodosia , pensioner Anna Buyanova approached him ^[5] , who said that she had a pension of 8 thousand rubles and asked:

You said there will be indexation, where is it in the Crimea, this indexation? What is 8 thousand? This is a minuscule. Feet wiping about us here! It’s impossible to live on retirement, the prices are crazy.

Medvedev replied:

Her [indexation] is nowhere to be found, we did not accept at all, there is simply no money now. Find the money, do the indexing. You stay here, all the best to you, good mood and health!

- ^{[6] [1]}

The next day, the Pension Fund of Russia announced that Crimean pensioners receive a pension either in the saved amount or in the amount calculated according to Russian laws - the option with the largest size is chosen. At the same time, saved pensions are not indexed until they are equal to pensions calculated under Russian law ^[6] . President Vladimir Putin spoke on May 28, saying that he didn’t see what Medvedev was talking about and said that “you can always take a phrase from a context or take a phrase from a general conversation. According to the words, everything can coincide, but in spirit the meaning can somehow look different if you look at the whole context of the conversation " ^[7] , but specified that" the Russian Government is aimed at fulfilling all social obligations " ^[6] . At the same time, Putin actually confirmed the prime minister’s words about unclear budget prospects and did not speak about guaranteed fulfillment of legal norms on the full indexation of pensions for inflation : “if the economy allows, if we have funds, then we are looking for ways to help people” ^[6] .

A video with this phrase was posted on the Internet on May 23, 2016, and within two weeks it gained nearly 3.5 million views. “ Deutsche Welle ” writes that the video has gained “viral popularity”; in RuNet they have responded to it with “thousands of jokes.” Russian showman Semyon Slepakov dedicated the phrase to the phrase “Appeal to the People” ^[8] .

The British newspaper Times wrote that the phrase provoked a negative reaction ^{[ Chew? ]} to the government ^[9] . According to the Financial Times , the phrase itself became a meme, and the public reaction to it demonstrates the way of thinking of a population accustomed to economic hardship - humor and stoicism ^[10] .

The phrase was used on Alfa-Bank's social networks (it was later deleted) ^[11] and the Tele2 operator (later refused) ^[12] .

During the “ single voting day ” on September 18, 2016, which included elections to the State Duma , Russians who did not want to vote and spoiled ballots used this phrase as well ^[13] .

The company “ Medialogy ” on its Facebook page called the popular saying “There is no money, but you hold on” the most mentioned meme in the media for the year from June 2015 to June 2016. (4.4 thousand references to the media) ^[14] and the main meme of 2016 ^[15] . According to the results of 2016, the meme took the second place in the Russian top 10 in the category “Memes of the Year” according to the Google Trends service ^[16] .

The phrase is used as a precedent text that serves to assess difficult situations in Russia, from which the authorities find it difficult to find a way out. Examples include derivative constructions used in the headings and text of journalistic materials, such as “There is no money, but you study” or “There is no treatment, but you hold on” ^[1] .

In December 2016, Dmitry Medvedev gave an annual interview on the results of the work of the Russian government in the program “Conversation with Dmitry Medvedev”. When asked about the indexation of pensions in 2017, Medvedev said: “There are no frosts, everything is unfrozen. Money for this purpose is planned, there is money! ” ^{[17] [18]} . In January 2017, during the 2016 Russian Government Prize Awards ceremony in the field of media, Medvedev joked about the lack of money, saying: “Life is a difficult thing, as you know, there is no money. I know this ” ^[19] , and on November 30 in a traditional final interview stated that there is money for the payment of pensions ^[20] .

In May 2018, the author of the question, Anna Buyanova, said in an interview with Novaya Gazeta that there was no indexation of the pension, instead of 8058 rubles a month in 2016, she receives 8500 rubles at the expense of a living wage supplement and added: “I must say, when It was easier for Ukraine . The hryvnia was hard, and the ruble ... turned out to be somehow empty . ” ^[5] In March 2019, Anna Buyanova gave an interview to the BBC Russian Service . Among other things, she said: “ First of all, of course, we thanked him for such a warm, joyful meeting. And then they asked him to say hello to our loving father. At first he was at a loss and said: “To which father?”. And we say to him: “To our beloved Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich!”. And now, I say, the most painful question is from pensioners of Feodosia and Crimea: “Why do people who have worked for 40 years or more on the earth receive such a small pension - 8500 rubles?”. And he says: "There is no money, but you hold on." <...> You know, honestly, life has become better. That is, we are calm, protected, we believe in our president and Medvedev. We are waiting for improvements from the future. Because, firstly, the pension is small, but you have to pay for everything. This transition to the Russian Federation and these everywhere payment cards ... They impoverished us. They rip off the last from us. Because wherever you stick - everywhere you have to pay, pay, pay. We are getting the impression that in the Russian Federation they love money very much and everywhere only money, money, money is needed. But how and what do people live on? ". In the first two weeks, more than 200 thousand users watched this story on YouTube ^[21] .

• Life has become better, life has become happier
• Sveta from Ivanovo
• We wanted the best, but it turned out as always
• Go to business