Nonhai slander. Part 3

"The land of non -frighty idiots." It's time to scare.

Ilya Ilf. Notebooks

The idea that the reader is not entirely satisfied, or rather, is not at all satisfied with my explanations for the reasons why foreign funds give money to Russia; And at the same time - why public organizations take them. In this regard, an important third question also arises: what is the public interest of Russian citizens in this whole story?

Pragmatic aspect

As for the second question, I can definitely speak only for myself. Not because I want to talk about myself to my beloved, but due to the fact that it is not easy to discuss individual interests and motives is easier to talk about my own. I hope they will believe me and will not be considered for praise: I could sell my professionalism many times more than for the meager money of foreign donations. But I was spoiled by Soviet times. All my professional life I satisfied my scientific curiosity at the expense of the state. At the same time, I always managed to engage in what is interesting to me, convincing the state that it was worth giving money for it. In a sense, I am doing the same thing now: I am satisfying my curiosity, but at the expense of foreign taxpayers, convincing the funds that my curiosity can be satisfied due to the receipt of something useful that should spend money on. Here, irreversible infection of freedom that I experienced with my other fellow citizens is added here. But since this infection greatly damaged my brains, I considered it both interesting and useful to choose the sphere of my interests to the sphere that the Indem is engaged in the sphere of painful problems of the transition of the Soviet empire into a modern civilized state. This is really very interesting.

But now back to the first issue, funds. What is their interest? In this case, I cannot talk about someone else's personal interest. But the total social interest of Western society, authorizing incomprehensible spending of money outside the range of its residence, is quite clear. After all, we must understand that the funds that are spent on funds in Russia are spent absolutely openly. This is not some secret operations. And American, French, Dutch and other Western taxpayers are very fond of counting their money.

Among people engaged in professional work in the funds, there are many of those whose motives we would consider implausively romantic. But we are not talking about them, but about taxpayers who authorize such investments. Their combined social interest is absolutely pragmatic. The share of public wealth, which is spent on a military confrontation with a powerful, dangerous and unpredictable neighbor in the globe, is huge. They imagined (imagine!) That if this neighbor becomes successful, rich, less noted by all sorts of phobias and missions and therefore more predictable, then it will be possible to release the frantic money of a huge part of the military budget for the purpose of social development. And those funds that are spent in Russia with funds in order to help Russian civil society, and therefore Russia, incomparably fewer military expenses I mentioned. Moreover, very little is spent on Russia, less than Poland, for example. And the size of these expenses is reduced. The number of funds working in our country is reduced. For example, the Ford Foundation left, which we are very sorry about. Others left - it became impossible to work.

Now about the third question. I do not intend to inspire the readers of anything doubtful, like the thesis about the presence of the pragmatic interest of Russian society in foreign grants. But I would offer readers a game: try to find some harmful project for us all that would be carried out on the territory of the Russian Federation at the expense of Western funds. Let's try to collect such a collection. And if you can’t compile it, let's remember that all these at least harmless projects are implemented with foreign money. This is investment. This is an influx of capital in the most important industry - in people. Yes, and harmlessness is positive here: these are jobs. I would still venture to say that the Russian civil society is the only sphere in Russia that is attractive to investment. This is evident by what is happening to us now. And if the authorities had not yet interfered ...

Aspect of understanding

Now I will try to give an answer to the question that is formulated simply as a bast: “What does all this crap mean?!” Let it seem highly parting, but this answer is very important: for society, for the country, for our future. Let's put this small dirty trick into the general political context - the initiative about “foreign agents”.

I wrote about this repeatedly, and return to what was written again to determine the mentioned political context, slightly updating vocabulary. There is one area of ​​activity in which our leaders have long been very effective: this is strengthening their own power. They did it gradually and accurately. They are sure that they came forever, so they allowed themselves not to rush and not take sharp steps (you never know ...). Step by step, they eliminated all independence, autonomy. Remember. First of all, they liquidated the federal influence of the regional authorities, reformatting the Federation Council, turning it into a useless shelter for hiding businessmen and harmless retirees. In parallel, a blow was struck on influential independent television channels, completely put them under control.

Then came the turn of the State Duma. As a result of simple manipulations in it, most deputies were formed and put under absolute control. The autonomy of the legislative branch of power was liquidated. In parallel, control over the business was established. The final chord was the first process over Lebedev and Khodorkovsky, along with the subsequent plunder of Yukos.

They were preparing for a long time, I know this firsthand. And as soon as the bandits were seized by our children in Beslan, they eliminated the elections of governors and brought the electoral system to the indestructible stone absurd, simultaneously knocking out any minimally independent parties from the site. I described only the main milestones. This is a digging, it is a snake absorption and digestion of our rights and freedoms constantly and in a wide variety of forms.

But there is one institution that they still cannot cope with. This is civil society in its most non -proclaiming part - ordinary public organizations. At first they tried to tame him: I mean the civil forum convened by the presidential administration in 2001, when Lyudmila Alekseeva sat next to Vladimir Putin and gave him a word. A couple of years stood a water truce and even in some places cooperation. However, 2003 changed everything. If the reader thinks that I am talking about the case of Lebedev and Khodorkovsky, then I'm not talking about him - I'm about elections to the Duma. It was then that the tiny handful of members of public organizations, led by Lyudmila Alekseeva, came to the conclusion that the elections in Russia are profanity, and this is the main problem of the country, which then manifested with frank distinctness with the complete indifference of society. Then we still did not think about the courts. And the authorities have already seriously built its system of control of ships and judges.

Here the orange revolutions began. The trigger was dishonest elections. We are also Tryndeli about our dishonest elections. It was then that the feeling that everything was captured, began to replace in power at first anxiety, and then fear. This led in early 2005 to a disgusting attack on human rights organizations, when they were simply accused of espionage. Then the dragon law was adopted, sharply limiting the activities of public organizations. And this was the start of a series of legislative measures, systematically taken by the authorities for two purposes: ensuring unlimited rule and a tool to suppress everyone who threatens to solve the first task. Extremism Law; A recent change in the norms of rallies and processions is only the most noticeable milestones before the initiative about “foreign agents”. And on the agenda, an article on slander is already returned to the Criminal Code of the Criminal Code. And be sure that new blanks will be presented in the fall.

In short, the strategy of the Russian government is implemented, easily reconstructed by its actions and related circumstances:

1. You need to stay in power for as long as possible.
2. The possession of power should be justified by procedures that have the appearance of legitimacy, at least from afar and with a strong squint.
3. Any social efforts should be suppressed that impede the solution of the first two problems.
4. The solution to the third problem should also be furnished with the appearance of legitimate procedures.
5. Mass illegitimate violence is not included in the tasks of power, so the dragon laws set their goal, first of all, to intimidate society, its most active and growing part.

Predictive aspect

Please note: for more than ten years, the Putin regime has been conducting an active policy against public organizations in Russia. Of these, nine years are a policy of restriction and suppression. And what is the result? Zero! Rather, on the contrary, society increases protest and is hardened in response to the frenzy of power. Please think about it, trying to put yourself in the place of Putin or anyone from this company. You built the media; tamed regional barons; bent and subordinated the business, besides heading it; You tamed the opposition and paved the political field; You have established machines for any laws and the necessary court decisions; Finally, you fooled a significant part of the citizens and corrupted part of the youth. Solid success! And now you can’t do anything with some frail public organizations for nine years ... If you have successfully played the proposed game, you understand the origins of Putin’s rhetoric rhetoric, and we observed an attack on society with all the forces of the authorities.

The theme of my trilogy, as well as the way by which I analyze the meaning of the plot to which it is dedicated, implies the need to answer two questions. First: what will happen to the initiative about "foreign agents"? Second: How will the confrontation between power and public organizations develop? I'll start with an answer to the first question.

Obviously, the adoption of the bill under discussion provides the authorities with a wonderful tool not only to discredit public organizations. It allows not only to be fined or involved in criminal prosecution, but, without turning to the help of the courts, to completely block the work of any organization, subjecting continuous “initiative checks”. But there are problems. Not just applying a law that contradicts the constitution, principles of law, other laws, international obligations and just common sense. This is also difficult in the mass application of the law (which is inevitable in the case of its literal interpretation), and, moreover, with selective (in the case of indicative punishment of the most prominent). In both cases, the risk of undesirable international resonance becomes real.

The trials are equally difficult. Imagine, for example, a trial against the center of anti -corruption developments and initiatives (Russian branches of the International Public Organization of Transparency International). Two options: The center instead of the results of genuine research extends slander to our wonderful power and reality (I mean, for example, our studies on corruption) by order of naturally foreign funds. It is impossible to prove this, so you will have to openly and brazenly lie. If we assume that the Center spreads genuine information, that this knowledge contributes to understanding corruption and the fight against it, that its development can reduce corruption in Russia, then it will be necessary to admit that this is the interests of foreign funds. Both that and the other is extremely scandalous. Even just the signing of such a law by the president is a legal and political scandal. But I believe that Putin is ready to survive him, for the sake of higher goals of self -preservation.

I still do not know what the strategy and tactics of the Indem Foundation will be if the bill is adopted. I cannot determine her alone. I understand that it will be necessary to consult with both the participants in the fund and the heads of other public organizations. But I am sure that we will not give up and continue our business. Nonhai slander.

Another thing is more interesting. The adoption of the law on “foreign agents” is only an episode in the decisive confrontation of power and society. We clearly see its growth. And this is a decisive confrontation. The problem is that civil society cannot be defeated. It can only be destroyed, as happened in the USSR. But then the country is doomed with the winning power. With the USSR, this happened soon - there was enough strength. The Putin regime has no such force, and weakness is growing. The victory of society over power is equal to the revolution. It is clear that in this case our power is doomed.

The third option is cooperation. But the chances of this are reduced every day. And until you see organized forces in power, ready on behalf of the authorities to go into the regime of cooperation.

Three logically possible options are described above. I don’t know which one is eventually realized. One can only imagine what actions or inaction of the authorities and society can reduce or increase the chances of any of the listed options. But this is a completely different story.