Sergey Naryshkin: Russia wasn't the one who started it all

In TASS special project Top Officials, Speaker of the Russian State Duma Sergey Naryshkin speaks about Crimea's reunification with Russia and the sanctions that followed, answers questions about his past and familly and shares his opinion on the pension reform in Russia.

- You are on friendly terms with swimming, aren’t you?

- I’d led the swimming federation until just recently. When I am in Moscow and have no urgent duties to attend, I try to start my day with a swim in the pool. It helps keep up spirits and gives you the energy for the whole day.

- Do you prefer to swim downstream or upstream?

- In swimming pools there are no streams, unless they are equipped with special counter-current devices. But that’s just a figure of speech. I have no pre-written scenarios. It remains to be seen what kind of current is this, where it may take me, and whether it agrees with my own tasks, goals, interests and convictions… It all depends on a plurality of factors and circumstances.

- Let’s talk about that. How do you feel when you hear people say the State Duma is called a ‘mad printer’ that rubber-stamps laws on orders from on high? Such comparisons can hardly be to your liking.

- You’ve got to understand who says such things and why. Never yield to provocations. That’s my steadfast rule! What if that’s precisely the kind of reaction the critics are expecting, what if they wish to see you lose self-control? Uttering insults in retaliation is the worst respons possible. Thinking up sticky labels is not so difficult, I guess. But does it make sense? Before starting this ‘mad printer’ and ‘orders from on high’ talk it is worth taking a closer look at how the State Duma works at least to understand the way the law-making process proceeds and what the relationships between different branches of state power in our country are based on…

- Could you please take us on a tour?

- … The simplest advice to begin with is this: start with reading Russia’s Constitution attentively enough, where everything is explained clearly and in great detail.

- But what’s your own vision?

- I have very big doubts the people who so easily accuse the State Duma of dependence and low effectiveness really wish to understand the essence of the lawmaking process. I am certain that some of our public critics are being very cunning, and others use the talents they possess in exchange for the money they are paid for discrediting Russia’s bodies of state power.

- Do you believe this is the real reason why society has a mixed attitude towards the activity of ‘people’s proxies’?

- Is Russia an exception in this respect? Parliaments in many other countries come under the fire of criticism now and then. From the opposition and from other bodies of power. Some rebukes are well-founded, and many others, demagogical. Such things are to be taken calmly. That’s what politics is about. The price to be paid for publicity.

- In the end the greatest response is drawn by very extravagant ideas some legislators come up with from time to time. For instance, a ban on the use of the dollar in Russia, demands for more indemnities from Germany, or permitted pubic hair styles…

- Several factors are to be borne in mind, including the mentality of our people and, let us be frank, not very high level of their legal competence and culture. Sometimes it is far more lucrative to pick a hot theme than to delve into the legislators’ daily routine. This is true of both media people and bloggers. Making a thorough, in-depth analysis of legal initiatives is a far more complex task than blowing a brightly-packaged sensation out of proportion knowing it will surely garner more likes and tweets in the social networks.

- But you will agree that some of your fellow lawmakers never miss a chance for self-advertising, for which they propose wittingly unrealistic bills. A rise to fame sometimes takes a lot of shame, you know. The bill will surely be turned down, but before that the author will make media headlines and trigger a debate in Facebook.

- Under the Russian Constitution about 720 entities and individuals, including State Duma members, have the power to propose laws. I cannot rule out that some of them may be using their opportunities to spark a row to take center stage. How ethical such behavior may look is a different question. In this case something else is really important. Such exotic ideas fail to become laws; they are barred from the State Duma’s full-scale meetings to be rejected during discussions within the committees concerned and within the community of experts. And still, let me say it again, the media are talking and writing about them most of all. One can merely regret this.

- By the way, the media have also noticed that the income you declared in 2014 was thrice that you had in the previous year…

- Starting from the late 1990s I had been investing part of my earnings into mutual funds. Last year I sold some assets. Hence the extra incomes I declared just as the rules require.

- For many years you have declared two car parking slots, although you have no car of your own.

- The office car I am entitled to by virtue of my position is quite enough. I do like driving myself, but for now I cannot afford it for obvious reasons. Security rules leave no chance.

- My wife and I do have a car, a Ford Focus. We bought it at the end of 2004, shortly after we moved to Moscow. After some time we took it back to St. Petersburg. When my wife and daughter go there, they use it for rides around the city. True, it’s an oldie, but it is also quite reliable and safe.

About retiring at 65, a high-nitrate pear and government resignation

About causes and consequences, personal sanctions and the order of the Legion of Honor

About family roots,  Naryshkin Baroque, transience of time and mother of Peter the Great

About golf, handicaps, a fellow-student-turned-dear-spouse and swimming with champs against the clock

- When did you start working unlimited hours?

- A while ago. In 1992, I reckon. At the St. Petersburg Mayor’s Office and the Leningrad Region’s Administration it was against the custom of throwing glances at the clock on the wall and leaving for home when some duties remained unattended. In 2004 I moved to Moscow… Naturally, this rule applies to the Cabinet, the Kremlin, and the State Duma. You work as long as is required.

- You have chanced to run different agencies and institutions. Apparently, the State Duma is a very special place, isn’t it?

- In December 2011 I was elected a member of parliament, and then, speaker of the lower house of the Federal Assembly. That was my first experience of running a large parliamentary machinery. In that sense, yes. The State Duma is special. It is up to other people to judge whether I cope or not. As for me, I find real pleasure in doing my job and I feel quite comfortable.

- Apparently you have no intention of retiring on well-earned pension. The State Duma just recently eagerly responded to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s proposal for extending the retirement age for government ministers and legislators. Have you made up your mind to serve the nation till 65, thereby setting an example to fellow citizens?

- In reality I started talking about that long ago. Ten years ago, when I was in charge of the government’s staff. And I reiterated that opinion of mine many a time when I led the presidential staff. True, my statements were not public. Far from all heard what I was saying then. I relied on my own experience: my colleagues, state officials and civil servants kept coming to me with written statements they were prepared and eager to keep doing their duties after they reached the retirement age. So I had an idea it might make sense to start with federal level officials.

- And then applying the rule to everybody else?

One should bear in mind that Russia over the past decade has seen a considerable change in the socio-economic situation. The demographic situation has improved. The average life expectancy has grown for both men and women. It is nakedly clear the retirement ages that were set back last century are long outdated. Time is ripe for reform. I do believe it will be in great demand. People wish to keep working after sixty.

- All of them? You believe that those toiling on farm fields, at the steel mills and inside coalmines will be happy about this initiative? Those who wish to keep working must be free to do so, but why forcing everybody else?

- No, not all, of course. This is precisely why these days we are considering a rise in the pension age for government and civil servants. The reform will be applied only to this group. This will allow for studying the results, discussing it in society, and gauging the effects. We’ve got to get started somewhere.

- Are you prepared to see the people’s refusal to give the legislators’ idea a standing ovation?

- Points of view may vary. There is no hope for always being liked by all. Whatever decision can be made, there will always be critics. The population seldom shows unanimity, so it’s worth staging a retirement age experiment.

- We were the ones who pioneered a ten-percent salary cut. I proposed that in public, and most legislators agreed with me. They reacted with understanding, although we hadn’t put the issue to the vote. It was a voluntary affair after all. The employees of other bodies of state power – the presidential staff, the government and the Central Bank - followed suit…

- But that didn’t protect the brain-fathers of this idea from being accused of populism. Some were saying that ways and means of increasing incomes should be looked for instead of cutting wages in attempts to contain spending.

- Cost cutting is always a combination of many factors. Each tiniest detail is important. A penny saved is a penny earned. Many tasks have to be addressed simultaneously: costs are to be minimized, the effectiveness of investment raised and new sources of incomes identified. I don’t see any contradictions here.

- One little thing: a legislator’s salary is above 400,000 rubles a month. The ten-percent cut that you have agreed to of your own accord is larger than the nation’s average wage, which in March stood at 33,000…

- In different regions wages and salaries vary greatly. Some places they are noticeably above the average. Besides, the legislators don’t set their own salaries. The comparison does not look quite correct to me.

- And what will you say about the idea of early elections of people’s deputies’?

- It is up to the State Duma to make a final decision. This turn of events is quite probable. I believe it will be quite reasonable, especially because the parliament will be discussing next year’s budget in the autumn. Legal reasons for moving the date of the election to September 2016 do exist. This does not contradict the Constitution, but everything should be formalized properly.

- By the way, what share of bills goes to the waste paper basket as half-baked or defective?

- It depends on what is to be regarded as a defect. The concept of the bill is considered by the State Duma in the first reading. Even the rejected initiatives often contain ideas that prove very useful in time and are incorporated in other legal acts. That’s a very natural process. In that sense we make no revolutions. This is the way parliaments in other civilized countries work.

- Crisis is here. Isn’t the State Duma falling behind in taking measures that would guarantee protection from social upheavals with unpredictable consequences?

- Everything is being done on time. Each branch of power does its job without delay, and this is to bear fruit and have a favorable effect on the situation in the economy. The State Duma played an active role in considering and adjusting the so-called anti-crisis action plan and presented its own proposals. The government supported some of them.

- And how should the State Duma go about the business of its relations with the executive authorities? When the Cabinet presented its latest annual report to the State Duma, Liberal Democrat Leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky advised Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to go and taste a pear with an excessive content of nitrates. Is a farce what is really necessary in the current situation?

- In any situation the State Duma and the government are obliged to act constructively, in particular, when they discuss measures to support the national economy. Everybody is well aware this is no easy situation which requires still more business-like and concerted action.

- Does a constructive attitude imply only wholesale approval or permit harsh criticism and opposition?

- Meaningful criticism is always useful. And harshness can be understood differently.

- The Cabinet’s resignation included, if necessary.

-But it has not been necessary so far. Let me say it once again. An anti-crisis plan has been adopted, and there is no doubt that its tasks will be coped with and targets met on time. The government’s resignation is not on the agenda at the moment. Definitely, not. Such issues should be approached in a very cautious and balanced way.

- Did it make sense to spoil relations with the West over Ukraine? Was the option worthwhile?

- Let us not confuse the causes and consequences. It was not us who started it all. We didn’t seek confrontation with anyone. The US and European partners used the events in Ukraine as pretext to provoke an aggravation of relations with Russia. Our country kept persuading both parties to the intra-Ukrainian conflict to come to the negotiating table and to resolve all disputes peacefully, using the dialogue and not the argument of force as their chief tool. Just take a look at how many times the State Duma appealed to the opponents’ common sense. Our calls fell on deaf ears. On the contrary, a concerted and massive anti-Russian campaign was unleashed. One can feel surprised, but I would not say that the West made a political mistake. It was a well-considered action.

- Have we evaluated all the pros and cons? Have we gauged the likely effects? Sanctions had hardly been part of our original plans and your personal plans, too.

- Of course, not a single person could have accurately foreseen all the details, but the president, the State Duma and the Federation Council realized the real state of mind of their fellow citizens, most of whom resolutely supported the country’s top political leadership in its actions. Personally I haven’t had the slightest shade of doubt regarding the correctness of the decisions made in March 2014.

As for the sanctions taken against certain individuals, they do cause certain inconveniences in doing’s one's job right. Not only yours truly, but my counterparts in the countries that have joined the United States’ and the European Union’s decision can feel that. Sanctions narrow the opportunities for a dialogue, which is extremely necessary in the current situation for enhancing security and stability in Europe and the world over. Mutual distrust can be dispelled only by having more contacts with each other. Sanctions harm all. They run against the basic principles democracy rests upon.

- Had you anticipated such a scenario regarding yourself?

- Honestly, I’d never cared. I do not experience any personal inconveniences. I am fine. Moreover, I will always take special pride in my active role in the events that resulted in Crimea’s reunification with Russia. If it is really so the sanctions are the price I’ve had to pay for that, let it be this way.

-  And what about the opportunities to make trips to the Alps, to skiing resorts and to play golf on ideal courses in Europe? You’ve been a great enthusiast of this sport in recent years, haven’t you?

- Ours is a vast and rich country, and it has been doing a lot to build advanced infrastructures, including those for doing various sports. You don’t have to go to the Old World to ski or play golf. Believe me, these are not the problems that could’ve ever made me feel regret.

- When your name was already on the sanction list you made a trip to Paris at the invitation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Didn’t you fear you might have problems with migration services?

- I hoped it would not go that far. Moreover, I used that opportunity to criticize those who have been trying to talk to Russian officials from the position of strength. Then I flew to Strasbourg for a PACE session, which tried to take Russia to task, so to say. Strictly speaking, it amounted to nothing less than legalized brigandage. I can think of no other word for the decision to strip the Russian delegation of the voting right. How can that be possible? We received our mandates from our voters, and not the European bureaucrats. The situation is absurd 100 percent. Russia’s fundamental position is this: we will not return to the Parliamentary Assembly’s sessions as long as the notorious and unfair decision stays in effect. It contradicts the Charter of the Council of Europe, which states in bold print that all of its members have equal rights and nobody is in the position to infringe upon them. In relation to Russia this principle has been abused. Just look back on the history of our relations with the PACE over the past few years. Only Russia was seeking compromises in earnest, while in response we heard only fine words and bombastic rhetoric about the principles of parliamentarianism…

- Have the sanctions caused great changes to the routes of your trips?

- Certain amendments had to be made. We had the intention of sending a State Duma delegation to Switzerland. I was to lead it, but the local authorities have denied a visa. Obviously, not without external pressures. Although sometime later I visited Geneva and made a statement at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly session. In that situation the Swiss were unable to prevent me from entering the country, although before they had been afraid of letting me in.

- They surely believed that in that way they demonstrated commitment to high principles.

- By no means. They still feel awkward. Different people told me that in private conversations, looking down in shame. Everybody understands who tells the Europeans what they should do, and why.

- Oh, yes. You even published a special article in the daily Vedomosti about the instincts of US colonialists.

- But in fact this is really so. The vocabulary must be adequate to the historical realities. Time is ripe to call a spade a spade. The United States flagrantly dictates its will to Europe. Why should we be shy to state the hard facts?

- Incidentally, what merits do you owe your Order of the Legion of Honor to?

- I received it from French President Nicolas Sarkozy, so you should possibly go and ask him… For several years I led the commission on economic, scientific, technical, financial and trading cooperation between Russia and France. In those years our cooperation was thriving.

- But your job was not in France?

- No, I spent all the four years in Brussels. From late 1986 through the end of 1989 I was a staff member of the Soviet embassy in Belgium.

- Everything Soviet was extremely popular and in style in those days. The vector has changed now. The number of foreigners in Russia in January 2014 was down by 400,000 in contrast to the same month of 2013. Less the influx of refugees from Ukraine. The German community in our country has shrunk by 31%, US, by 36%, British, by 38% and Spanish, by 41%...

- I can see nothing good about that, but we are not forcing anyone to leave. We are confronted with the effects of policies by the countries that have joined the sanctions. People have to leave Russia because cooperation is curtailing, businesses are being closed down, and jobs for expats are being axed. Is this reasonable? It is not. As a matter of fact, under pressure from the United States the European Union has shot itself in the foot.

- But it’s more painful for us.

- Both parties have been hit. Our foreign partners may stubbornly push ahead with their current policies, but they’ve got to realize that they will not attain the proclaimed aim. They are saying the sanctions will be canceled if Russia abandons Crimea and Sevastopol, betrays those who have believed us. It’s absolutely ruled out. We shall not leave the chosen path and pressures on us will be futile.

- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has declared that his country’s national security strategy implied membership of NATO and that he would call a national referendum on the issue. Is there a chance the answer will be ‘yes’?

- I can imagine a situation in which the results of the plebiscite may be presented this way.

- And the North Atlantic Alliance will then come to our doorstep.

- That’ll weigh upon the conscience of those who in February 2014 triggered the coup that overthrew the legal government of President Viktor Yanukovych. Of course, Russia will respond to such actions as yet another step towards worsening relations, and we will not leave it unanswered. At least we have no intention of joining NATO. That’s for sure. Yet some sort of agreements will have to be looked for. For the previous two decades we thought we were having a productive dialogue with the alliance, there had been created joint institutions and joint projects were being implemented. Now all this is in ruins. But let me remind you we were not the ones who did that.

I am a born optimist and I do believe that the black stripe in relations between Russia and the West will end and common sense will prevail.

- During our lifetime?

- Certainly. Some hints are already in sight. The world has enough honest and decent people, responsible politicians who first and foremost take care about the national interests of their countries and are least oriented towards the so-called euro-Atlantic solidarity. We have very much in common with Europe – culture, history, traditions, and humanitarian and spiritual values.

- How long have you been acquainted with Russia’s incumbent president?

- Since the early 1990s. We took jobs at the St. Petersburg Mayor’s Office at about the same time. In different sub-departments, though. Vladimir Putin led the committee on international ties, and I was the chief of a section at the economics and finance committee Alexey Kudrin was in charge of.

- And before that, some say, you served in the KGB together. Not with Kudrin. With Putin.

- Can’t stop tongues wagging. You’ve asked me, and I’ve told you: Putin and I have known each other for more than twenty years.

- Was Putin the one who invited you to Moscow in 2004?

- Yes. When I’d had a job at the government of the Leningrad Region for some time. I cannot say that I’d been just sitting and waiting for an invitation, but I did not rule out the possibility I might be approached with such a proposal some day. By that time many common acquaintances had already moved to Moscow. However, it all depends not on the place of birth or previous employment, but on whether this or that person is capable of coping with the duties the new position implies. If he is prepared to be answerable for one’s realm of competence.

- Thoughts about the transiency of time surely visit your mind once in a while. What are the things in life you don’t hesitate to spend time on?

- I like my work, you know. I am saying so quite sincerely. It gives me real pleasure.

… Apart from the State Duma? I do like theater. I go to Bolshoi ballets and to drama productions. The last ones I liked was Jorge Amado’s Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands at the Lenkom Theater and Nichola McAuliffe’s The Jeweller’s Jubilee featuring the great Oleg Tabakov at the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater.

- Have you met this remarkable actor in person?

- I have. It’s a small world, and Moscow is a small town…

- St. Petersburg is still smaller. Possibly you are acquainted with author Yevgeny Vodolazkin? He composed a text for the latest Total Dictation and you were the one who read it out.

- Yevgeny Vodolazkin gave me a copy of his book called Lavr. I liked the novel. History books have really thrilled me since my school years.  Possibly, from the moment I first read Peter the Great. A fundamental piece of literature it was!

- What did you feel the moment you came across your own family name in this history novel by Alexey Tolstoy?

- It’s really hard to say. Excitement… Joy… I won’t be inventing things now. I cannot recall. Possibly, any other person, still in one’s teens, who might have been in my place, would have got excited when learning that the mother of a future Emperor, Natalya Kirillovna, had the same family name.

- You’ve surely explored your family’s history, haven’t you?

- But I’ve never said anywhere in public I have some connections to the family of Pyotr Romanov. May this innuendo remains.

- Sounds intriguing!

- Seriously speaking, my wife Tatyana is familiar with the history of the Naryshkin family far better than me. Possibly you should ask Tatyana when the occasion offers itself. She is far more knowledgeable and a much better story-teller. I know that my parents have never tried to draw a family tree. It was not quite common in the Soviet years, so I don’t reproach them for anything.

- What’s your attitude to the Naryshkin Baroque style in architecture?

- I like it. This style is also called Moscow Baroque. It is attributed to nobleman Lev Naryshkin, Peter the Great’s uncle on the mother’s side. In Moscow, one can still see many buildings representing that style, be it the Great Cathedral at the Donskoy Monastery, or the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin at the Novodevichy Convent. Regrettably, the Sukharev Tower, once one of Moscow’s best-known landmarks, was destroyed in 1934…

- So you’ve done some research on the subject after all…

- Only as an amateur, without getting into details too much…

- And who is the person you owe your love of golf to?

- A friend of mine, who has done the sport for quite a while. First he made my spouse interested in this pastime. I followed. It’s a democratic hobby. It’s open to people of different ages and skills, who can play the game without feeling the inferiority complex. Each player has one’s own handicap, which equalizes the chances of performing well in this or that contest and even winning a prize.

- Are you saying you might outperform Tiger Woods himself, chances permitting?

- Only in theory. The probability of ever playing against him is close to nothing. Whatever the handicap, I’m just a beginner.

- But you keep moving towards the goal with persistency?

- I like to derive pleasure from whatever I do. If the golf ball wouldn’t get into the hole, that’s not a reason for getting upset. One can find something very different to enjoy: the good weather, the beautiful scenery and the good company. I am very far from attaining the aim at any cost.

- In golf only?

- In general. In life as such. I can tell you honestly: I don’t get upset if the result is poor. It must be that way today. Tomorrow will be different. You see, a great deal depends on how you feel at the moment – the glass may be half-full or half-empty. I prefer to take an optimistic look at what is happening to me and around me. Lies and treason are the two things I cannot forgive.

- Have you confronted them often?

- On some occasions.

- What is it, in your opinion, that usually makes people go astray?

- Those who in their younger days weren’t reading the right books give in more easily.

- As simple as that?

- I am talking about a broader sense of life, such as the family background and upbringing, the shaping of one’s civic position, principles and convictions. It is very important to gain them back during one’s younger years. Those who have not accumulated some set of basic values succumb to alien influences more readily.

- And you had good teachers, didn’t you?

- Beyond doubt. At school, at home, at the institute… I do hope that I learned their lessons well. At least, I tried really hard.

- Is it easy to make you lose your temper?

- You wish to have a try? It’ll be hard work, I warn you. Go and ask my Duma colleagues or people at the presidential staff if Sergey Naryshkin raises his voice very often. I have very big doubts they will be able to recall at least one such incident. It makes no sense yelling to address any managerial task, however complex it may look. If you wish to be listened to, of course. Whispered words sound louder. It is important what you say, and not how.

- You see, I never do anything on purpose. That’s my personal feature. No one is to blame for that. At home and in public I am still the very same person. I look at the world calmly. I am a psychologically stable husband, father and granddad.

- For how long have your wife Tatyana and you been together?

- For a very long while. We’ve been married since 1977. And we met five years before that, when we entered the Leningrad Mechanical Institute. We were in the same group. It turns out that we met 43 years ago and have been a family for 38. Throughout the adult life.

- Does your son still reside in St. Petersburg?

- Yes, Andrey is there with his family. He has two daughters. Anna has finished her second school year, and Natalia will go to school for the first time in September. Our granddaughters address us by the first names – Sergey and Tatyana. No grandpas or grandmas. We like that.

- Does Andrey have a business of his own?

- He is a hired employee. Andrey is a grown-up, self-made man who does pretty well without my patronage.

- And the daughter, is she with you?

- Veronika is a graduate of the People’s Economy Academy. She worked at Russia’s swimming federation for six years. She had done that sport professionally for quite a long time. Several times she was selected for the national teams of different ages. She qualified for the master-of-sports title when she was thirteen. In her third year at the Academy Veronika made up her mind she should focus on her academic progress and spend less time training, although she has remained fond of swimming. At a certain point she worked as a manager of Russia’s youth national team, and then of the main national team. She quit the federation in the middle of last year, when it became clear that this phase of her career is over and it was time to move on.

- Where to?

- Veronika is a student again.

- What’s her future specialty?

- Sommelier. Don’t feel surprised. She is attending a special course.

- In France or Italy?

- Why there? Here, at home.

- Russia is not on the list of the world’s leading wine-producing countries yet.

- ‘Not yet’ is the key part of your remark, I guess.

- Since we are on the subject of alcohol, what are your wine list preferences and habits?

- Very moderate, without excesses. I like the taste of good wine, but only in small amounts. A glass or two at the most.

- Are you trying to keep yourself in good physical shape in this way?

- No. I am what I am. As for sports, I even took part in a sport contest just recently. It’s become a tradition with me. On the opening day of Russia’s swimming championships there is a relay race for amateur swimmers representing different government ministries, agencies and bodies of state power. The latest such contest was held in the middle of April, with fifteen teams taking part. The State Duma’s quartet in the age category of 150 years per four swimmers placed third, after the Foreign Ministry and Energy Ministry teams.

- They could’ve delegated former professional athletes to compete for them…

- That’s a different matter. I chanced to race several great athletes of the past on one occasion. Four times Olympic champions Vladimir Salnikov and Alexander Popov, three times Olympic champion Yevgeny Sadovy… I started earlier than my rivals and lost quite honorably. It was eight years ago. And last April, the team of the swimming federation was racing the State Duma’s along the next lane. Salnikov was swimming the first leg. I was next to him.

- Are you going to tell us that “friendship emerged the winner this time?”

- No, Vladimir was half a second ahead of me.

- That’s really impressive!

- You bet! In 2007 Salnikov was seven seconds ahead of me in the very same 50 meters. Progress is obvious.