But what struck me most was the reasons, according to the author of the article, which gave rise to demand. In addition to the threat of war and natural disasters, this list includes riots. It turns out that the shelter customers plan to hide in them from their fellow citizens and neighbours, and not just hide: these shelters come with weapons and ammunition along with a fair supply of food and water. The only thing the author modestly kept silent about is that the demand for such shelters has grown all over the world, and Russia is far from a leader here.
The trouble is that now not only moneybags, but also ordinary citizens feel uncomfortable. Massive fear has become the most serious consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.
The familiar world, based on consumption and permissiveness, on self-aggrandizement and bragging, on greed and selfishness, was not ready to face the first relatively serious challenge. It was obvious for a long time, the coronavirus only became that straw that broke the back of a camel.
The Israeli historian and sociologist Yuval Noah Harari described the situation as follows during the January Davos forum: “Well-being is illusory: people forget how fragile the world’s structure is in reality. The world resembles houses whose inhabitants simply sleep in it, but do not repair it. It will last a few more years, but one day, if we do not change anything, it will collapse. And we would have to return to jungle. "
That is no future we expected. It is not known what to prepare for, it is not clear what to strive for. And the unknown is the worst thing that can happen to a person. This is what torments and scares the poor and rich around the world, regardless of the level of intelligence, gender and skin colour.
There are many forecasts. Some reassure: the night, they say, cannot last forever, the old habits, values and norms will return.
Another sort of forecasts is less rosy: the separation of countries and the atomization of society, the war for diminished resources, reappearance of castes and new feudalism. And this scenario has a chance of implementation, if we wouldn’t take care of our future.
Over the past one and a half to two centuries, states, nations, and society have learned to negotiate with each other, find common values and develop common rules and norms.

I am sure that today, for the first time in history, we can jointly create a new system of human values and determine priorities. In a word, to create a new image of the future attractive for everyone and start moving towards it.
But such a concept can only be based on the will of the peoples. Therefore, it is so important that people themselves recognize this need.
If you think this sounds too naive, I will not agree with you. The revival of Russia began by the end of the nineties when our fellow citizens realized that they did not want to live the way they lived under the Soviet regime.
But despite the fact that the pandemic is receding, our wealthy fellow citizens acquire individual shelters with no less enthusiasm than their overseas counterparts . Therefore, as in other countries, we still do not have an acceptable image of the future.
Incidentally, the Russian-American sociologist Pitirim Sorokin warned that it was precisely us, the inhabitants of the 21st century, who would have to develop a new type of life to overcome the global, previously unknown crisis. Realizing the problems, he called for a harmonious planetary society. Unfortunately, they did not hear him then.
The fact is that not a single person - especially at the modern level of technological development - lives on his own, in an abstract vacuum. Each of us is only a part of society, city, country, and planet. I will say more: humanity as a whole is only a small part of a single organism of the Universe. But can an organism be called healthy when one part of which devours another? Could a society be prosperous, some members of which prosper at the expense of others?
Pitirim Sorokin was one of the first to recognize the inevitability and necessity of the collective responsibility of mankind for the fate of each person, and responsibility of each person for all mankind and our planet. Until we accept this responsibility, a smallest threat will lead us to ever more serious consequences.
Therefore, I repeat: it is necessary to construct the future based on the priority of any living creature in general that is the right to life (vitacracy). As long as we ignore this right for the sake of obtaining private profit or national or social preferences, the universe will punish us.
Back when I was president of Kalmykia, I invited representatives of UN member countries to sign an agreement to stop financing arms production in order to channel the freed funds to health care and drug development. In private conversations, world leaders and Nobel laureates agreed and supported me but this idea remained was never implemented. I am sure that if it were, we would not only be able to deal with COVID-19 much more effectively, but we would also be on the verge of victory over the most terrible diseases.
Therefore, I consider the coronavirus pandemic as the call of the universe to humanity to stop, think, and change its behaviour. Abandon greed, consumerism, private and national exclusivity. And to build the future on the basis of vitacracy - the priority of the right to life.

A society that will be the first to consolidate around this idea will not only be the first to get out of the protracted global crisis. It will become the future world leader, the appearance of which people are so waiting for. And I see no reason why Russia cannot become a pioneer on this path.
Of course, changing the world is always difficult, and changing yourself is even more so. To build a new future from old bricks is impossible. This building will be rotten initially. If we now miss the chance to consciously choose our future, we would have to wait with fear for the tragic end. “Tomorrow” always comes, whether we want it or not.
And I want to remind you on International Children's Day: children are our future. What future will our children have? Happy holiday!