We'll get everyone...

The Kursk team at the ceremonial formation on July 30, Navy Day, did not know that this parade was the last. (Photo: EPA )

It was not without reason that Vladimir Putin remained silent for almost a week after the death of the Kursk nuclear-powered submarine in the Barents Sea. He did not investigate the causes of the accident and the failure of rescue efforts. He was looking for the “real” culprits of the tragedy. And I found them.

It has already been established who exactly is to blame for the plight of the army, navy and the entire state, in which, as Putin said at a meeting with the families of the victims, “there is not a thing to do.” This is an independent press and big capital.

“Newspapers and other (mass media - “Itogi”) protect the interests of those who support them. They vilely used this tragedy to settle scores with the authorities,” the president said last Tuesday from the rostrum of the House of Officers in Vidyayevo at a meeting with families dead sailors of the Kursk. “They want to prove to the authorities that we need them, we depend on them. And why? Because we squeezed them. Because they rob the country, the army and the navy.”

“Some politicians are trying to use this misfortune in an unscrupulous way. They are trying to inflate some political gills in order to earn capital, to solve some group interests,” Putin continued on Wednesday, in an interview with Russian television. “Those who say are right,” that in the forefront of the defenders of the sailors were precisely those people who for a long time contributed to the collapse of the army, navy and state. Some of them even collected a million... It would be better if these people sold their villas on the Mediterranean coast of France or Spain. Only then would they "We would have to explain why all this real estate is registered under false names and law firms. And we would probably ask questions, where does the money come from? Well, God bless them!"

The speeches of the head of state could not help but evoke tears of emotion among communists and national patriots. Vladimir Zhirinovsky has already appealed to the president with a demand to immediately revoke the license of the NTV channel in connection with the “harmful impact on the health of the population of television programs of an anti-Russian nature.” And for the first time in the entire period of these very transformations, the traditional muttering of the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov about liberal reforms detrimental to the defense capability of the state sounded in unison with the rhetoric of the Russian leader.

The only thing the president did not do was that he did not, following many military men and politicians, blame foreigners for the tragedy - today’s Russian government needs, for now, Western investments. Therefore, apparently, for the sake of one more catchphrase, Vladimir Vladimirovich did not touch upon the topic of the NATO submarine that the Kursk allegedly collided with.

Another thing is that, having chosen the tactics of searching for an internal enemy, repeatedly tested in Soviet times, and adopting the imperial slogan “we will restore the country, army and navy,” the Russian leader will sooner or later be faced with the need to look for enemies outside and create the atmosphere of a besieged fortress in the country. This is much easier than admitting your own miscalculations and mistakes. By blaming his predecessors and opponents for the tragedy in the Barents Sea, the president not only prevented the brewing political crisis, but also managed to turn the tragedy to his advantage. Now he is ready to begin immediately implementing previously outlined plans to “strengthen the vertical of power.” These plans provide for the completion of the personnel revolution - the placement of people from the KGB at all levels of government - as well as, in order to restore the former sovereign power, the introduction of amendments to the Constitution and the adoption of laws directed against such institutions of civil society as freedom of speech and democratic elections.

Presidential aides, as it became known from Kremlin sources, are preparing proposals to reject the draft budget for 2001, which the pro-Putin Unity faction will have to publish on its own behalf. There are already allies: the leader of the OVR faction, Yevgeny Primakov, who has long been on the list of the closest and, on some issues, chief advisers to the head of state, demanded, to the delight of the army lobby, an increase in defense budget items from 2.6 to at least 3% of GDP . This may be followed by a demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Kasyanov and the consent of the president. Next, the long-awaited appointment of the current Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Ivanov to the post of Chairman of the Government should take place (among the St. Petersburg security officers, Sergei Borisovich has long been called “our vice-president”).

According to the Kremlin, Ivanov’s task is to “clear” the political space for the reforms of Kudrin and Gref. Radical economic transformations should now not be hampered by either political opponents or lobbyists representing the interests of various financial and political clans in government. And the thesis “Liberal economy under authoritarian politics,” put forward by thinkers close to the Kremlin back in the spring, should come true. But it’s hard to believe in the sincerity of the Kremlin’s liberal aspirations. Moreover, a significant part of Putin’s team views, for example, tax innovations not as a way to revive the economy, but as a means of taking stock of potential taxpayers. Those naive ones who believed and brought capital out of the shadows.

The advent of a new political era is also evidenced by the gradual relegation to the background of “civilian” officials who remained in the administration from the Yeltsin era. Those who are responsible for domestic policy, public relations and the image of the authorities, that is, for what is commonly called “PR”.

According to available information, throughout the critical week from August 12 to 17, during which the operation to salvage the sunken submarine was underway, that part of the presidential entourage, which by inertia is also called the “family,” deliberately sabotaged all work to provide propaganda cover for the actions of the authorities. Some suddenly fell ill. Others did not consider it necessary to disturb the head of state on vacation, such as Deputy Head of Administration Vladislav Surkov, especially since “PR” is not within the scope of his direct responsibilities. Still others not only did not interrupt their vacation, but did not even get in touch and did not inquire about the need for their personal presence at the moment in Moscow, like the same Press Minister Mikhail Lesin, who is always very sensitive to the authorities’ need for “PR” support. “Civilian” Kremlin members tried to set up their fellow security officers - recently, all the concerns about the image of the authorities and the image of the president have been taken over by the subordinates of the Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Ivanov. Until recently, many of the “civilians” believed that they were able to force Putin to prefer them to his comrades and like-minded people from the “authorities.” And they miscalculated: they were ultimately found guilty of the barrage of criticism that fell upon the president. They are now rectifying the situation, but under the strict supervision of “propagandists in civilian clothes”, and are waiting for their imminent dismissal.

Their trouble is not only and not so much that they overestimated their own skill in behind-the-scenes intrigue and their ability to influence the president. The objective prerequisites for replacing the Voloshin-Surkov team with the camaraderie of fellow soldiers Ivanov and Putin have simply matured. The latter are determined to build a system where only political parties absolutely loyal to the Kremlin will have the right to exist (including those who will pretend to be the opposition “to complicate matters”) - then there will be no need for negotiators to establish relations with the Duma. And all the press should be state-owned - then the need for “PR” will naturally disappear. The time for propaganda will come again.

After the shock caused by the tactless behavior of all state representatives, including the president, both Russian and foreign political scientists, observers, analysts and journalists agreed that radical political changes must now occur. Everyone remembered the Chernobyl tragedy, which led, willy-nilly, to the real emergence of glasnost. But fourteen years ago, the decrepit state machine, whose representatives did not deny their “leading role” in the previous decades, made concessions. Now at the helm is a young, popular leader who appeals directly to the people. He confidently abdicates any responsibility for the policies of the authorities during the very period in which his career took off.

“I am ready to answer questions in my hundred days, and in those 15 years I am ready to sit on the bench with you and ask them to others,” the president announced from the rostrum of the House of Officers in Vidyayevo. Thus, right-wing politicians who supported and carried out liberal reforms, who recently criticized the Kremlin for retreating from democratic norms and achievements, and after the boat accident, who blamed the head state, which did not consider it necessary to interrupt its holiday in Sochi, in immoral behavior.

Putin is irritated by the disloyalty of some of the political elite and enraged by the attacks of the press. From the very beginning, no one had any illusions about the president's true political views. Nevertheless, it seemed that Vladimir Vladimirovich would try to maintain at least some decency. However, the tragedy with the Kursk boat was perceived by him as a signal for a reckless attack on critics. He cynically and cold-bloodedly used the hysteria that erupted in society to achieve very specific political goals: further strengthening his personal power and discrediting his opponents.

The accusation addressed to the press can rightfully be returned to the president: it was he, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who used the tragedy to settle scores with opponents of the government.


President Putin, meeting with the relatives of the victims, should have understood that the responsibilities of the commander-in-chief are not limited to ceremonial functions. (Photo: Vladimir Sergeev )