"I'm communicating with the directors of the Soviet companies, and I see that it is wrong, but when I go to the official discussions, they discuss we should change the color of the walls"

Anatoly Chubais, a popular Russian financial expert and reformer, was deeply involved in the transformative period of the late Soviet and early post-Soviet era. His remark reflects a broader critique of administrative ineffectiveness and misalignment in top priorities throughout the time of significant economic and political changes in the Soviet Union.

Chubais's statement highlights a clash between substantive and superficial approaches to reform. When he mentions communicating with directors of Soviet business and recognizing something is "incorrect", he acknowledges the systemic problems and inadequacies prevalent in Soviet economic structures. These could consist of outdated commercial practices, lack of development, poor management, and the basic rigidness of the planned economy.

Nevertheless, throughout formal conversations, the debate does not concentrate on these important concerns. Instead, the discussions are trivial, signified by "the color of the walls". This expression metaphorically represents how attention is diverted far from necessary reforms to minor, cosmetic modifications. It highlights a disconnect between the real requirements of the economy and the bureaucratic processes that stop working to resolve them.

The quote is a lament on the inefficiency of the Soviet bureaucratic system. It suggests that substantive, required conversations about financial transformation are overshadowed by unimportant concerns, highlighting a lack of vision or desire to face the significant difficulties. This might be symptomatic of an entrenched bureaucracy resistant to change or incapable of grasping the enormity of the economic reforms required, representing a broader issue of institutional inertia.

Chubais, involved in the ultimate financial reforms that shaped post-Soviet Russia, utilizes this comparison to criticize a stagnated frame of mind and highlight the need for more extensive, authentic engagement with complicated issues instead of taking part in useless, surface-level modifications. His commentary highlights the complexities of starting significant reform within a system fighting with tradition structures resistant to the necessary depth of modification.