So what should we do?

In the first hours after the elections, there were quite a few emotional comments. Chubais, as I understand it, spoke of a “moral victory”; many others spoke of Putin’s defeat. They say that during the last presidential elections he received 49 million, and now it is 42 million. In the first hours after the elections, and even in the middle of the night, such words are understandable and forgivable. But similar speeches are heard from the lips of liberals to this day. And now this is sad.

The elections are lost. And they were not lost by Putin. Calling the difference between 49 million and 42 million a victory is about the same as “yesterday we lost with a score of 0:10, and today only 0:7 and therefore we believe that it was not us who lost, but our opponent.” I think that in reality there were not even 42 million. There are millions and millions of fake voices. But! Even if there were no “carousel”, absentee ballots, direct stuffing and postscripts, there would still be more “honest” votes for Putin than for anyone else. And much more. If we do not admit this, it means that you and I simply do not understand what the real mood in society is.

And, of course, 2.5% in total over two games cannot be considered a victory. What victory? Whom? Over whom? Above Bogdanov? I think that, unlike in previous years, no one really took away votes from the right. All efforts were devoted to inflating the “bearish” percentage, and the rightists received as much as they actually gave for them. And we must... no, not come to terms with this reality. We need to do something. So what should we, supporters of democratic and liberal ideas, do?

Look at this thing. What was the conversation about before the elections among those who did not want to vote for power and frowned with disgust as they looked at this disgrace? Even in our “Hedgehog” forum, what were people talking about? To go/not to go and how to vote so that the votes do not go to the enemy. The New Times published a whole article talking about different ways: how to spoil a ballot better, how to take it with you, how to boycott the elections. Can you feel it? The liberal public is discussing all possible options for a boycott or imitation of voting “against all” (in the absence of such a column).

But both SPS and Yabloko were on the ballot! And no one suggested voting for the two main Democratic parties! Now look: 40% of citizens with the right to vote did not come to the polls. You don’t have to be a great strategist to understand that these people for the most part are, at best, indifferent to power. But a significant part does not believe her, and in their hearts would not vote for her. And among them are millions of people who believe that freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of rallies and meetings, real and not “sovereign” democracy, independent courts, an independent press, a real competitive economy - all this is good, and all of this in our country no, but the fact that this does not exist is precisely bad, and the authorities are to blame for this. Remember how many people you know hold democratic and liberal views and how many of them chose not to show up at the polling stations at all. Enough! They could all go to the polls and vote for right-wing parties. And even if United Russia would still receive many more votes, the right could well be represented in parliament! They could bypass the “muskrats” and Zhirinovites, and compete with the communists. I'm sure of it!

With each election, Democrats are losing votes catastrophically. At the same time, I believe that a person who previously voted, say, for Yabloko, is unlikely to vote for Putin now. It is hardly possible to “repaint” like this. At least on a mass scale, this is impossible. But the percentage falls and falls. And right-wing voters, instead of voting for their parties, either do not come to the polls at all, or spoil the ballots, as, pardon the frankness, your humble servant did. This is something to think about, rather than declaring 0.96% a moral victory.

I think the problem with right-wing leaders is that they are simply boring. It seems that the current situation suits them quite well. And the fact that personal ambitions are more important to them than business is simply obvious! How many years have they been arguing about unification! Soon there will be nothing left to unite! 2.5% for everyone! And they all argue about who is to blame, who should take the first step, and compare themselves to see who is cooler! The Yabloko members gained half a percent more and now they will probably proudly say that the people preferred them, and therefore the unification should take place on their terms.

They achieved that people simply stopped listening to them! There is a good Russian word - “chatter”. So I look at Boris Efimovich or Grigory Alekseevich, listen to how they say what seems to be the right things, they speak accusatoryly, sharply, and Yavlinsky also has a unique sense of humor - but what pops into my head is: “Idle talker.” I don't know why. Maybe because I have been hearing this from them for 10-15 years, and from the same Yavlinsky for 20. Many of them had not virtual, but real power in their hands, and they used it ineptly. Yes, it was difficult, including difficult to avoid mistakes. They walked a road along which no one had walked before them in Russia. But they got the country on a wave of general democratic enthusiasm with hundreds of thousands of demonstrations of support, and now we have “Dissent Marches”, in which not hundreds of thousands, but simply hundreds, participate. And this is objectively the maximum resource of protest. Not because everyone else likes everything. It’s just that the rest are not ready to follow the current leaders - the same SPS or Yabloko as well.

We are talking about democracy and one of its indispensable attributes - the turnover of power. So isn't it time to change power in the democratic parties themselves? Or are there no alternatives there, just like in the party in power? And after the departure of Yavlinsky or Nemtsov, devastation and chaos will come?

As long as the democratic movement is led by old leaders, no unification will take place - that's it. And at the next elections (if there are any), votes will no longer have to be counted as a percentage, but individually – that’s two. There is Masha Gaidar, there is Ilya Yashin. Among those who are older, there is Amosov, and Ryzhkov has not yet completely “emptied himself.” There are people who have both energy and new ideas, people who are not content with the role of kings in the dwarf “reserves of democracy.” We need to look for such people, unite around them, and then unite everyone together. And the immediate goal is to try to ensure that those who want to live in a free country do not sit at home and spoil their ballots, but come and vote for a single democratic party.