Obedient President

For now, President Dmitry Medvedev has proposed a number of changes to the country's political system. First, to return to the election of governors “by direct voting of the residents of the regions,” he said in his Address to the Federal Assembly. Let us remember that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin just spoke about the possibility of giving citizens the opportunity to elect governors again during a direct line with the population. True, he proposed a certain ersatz option: the parties that entered the regional parliaments propose their candidates, who must pass a certain “presidential filter”, and then let the citizens vote for those who passed it. Medvedev said nothing about the filter. Secondly, cancel the collection of signatures for participation in elections to the Duma and regional parliaments, and also reduce the number of signatures required when nominating presidential candidates: for self-nominated candidates to 300 thousand, and for candidates of non-parliamentary parties - to 100 thousand. But this, of course, is not now, but in six years, and who knows what will happen there. Thirdly, form the parliament (again of the next convocation, that is, in five years) not only according to party lists, but introduce “national representation in 225 constituencies,” which “will help each territory to have its own direct representative in parliament,” otherwise “Some regions now do not even have one deputy elected by local residents.” How have we managed to live without this in recent years, Father Dmitry Anatolyevich? Fourth, change the procedure for forming the Central Election Commission and regional commissions, expanding the representation of political parties in them.

Well, in this way the authorities are apparently trying to cool the ardor of, let’s say, “reconcilable” critics, those who have only now raised their voices, those who have only now begun to take to the squares and, in fact, have significantly increased the number of open dissatisfied with the actions of the authorities. Let us note, however, that some of the changes do not concern the near future. Meanwhile, the demands of the December 10 rally on Bolotnaya Square relate to the current moment, and in the eyes of many of its participants, the current Duma is illegitimate. The authorities did not respond to demands to cancel the results of the current elections and hold new ones after the registration of currently unregistered parties, as well as to dismiss the head of the Central Election Commission, Vladimir Churov. Moreover, not a word is said about political prisoners who are still in prisons and special detention centers. I wonder which of the potential participants in the rally on December 24 on Academician Sakharov Avenue will be satisfied with the current handouts from the authorities.