This week the director of the Department for Youth Politics Olga Galtskikh gave a bizarre interview in which she claimed that the ‘state owes [young people] nothing’. Not only does such rhetoric undermine her own professional position. It also highlights a deep lack of understanding on part of the director: without government infrastructure any state would fail. Ms Galtskikh believes that parents should take full responsibility for their children. In this vein, perhaps it would be smart to extend the responsibilities of PTAs to cover road building and other infrastructural projects usually undertaken by the state. After all, it appears that the current Russian regime is incapable of fixing potholes, let alone mange nationwide projects.

The most likely explanation for Ms Galtskikh’s ignorance is the fact that government officials seldom rely on state institutions to provide education for their children. They frequently opt instead for Swiss or UK private education institutions.