Ritual sacrifice

The wave of popular anger that swept across the country at the beginning of the year - after the law on the monetization of benefits came into force - brought the political process out of its post-holiday slumber. Deputies of the State Duma, whose presence in the country somehow gradually began to be forgotten, decided to take advantage of the situation. Some - those who were more cheerful - dispersed to the regions in order, albeit belatedly, to lead the politically active masses and lead them with them. Those who were too lazy to leave the capital went on a hunger strike right in their offices with a live broadcast via the Internet. The culmination of all this hectic activity is scheduled for February 9, when deputies who have emerged from a starvation coma and returned from the vast expanses of the rebellious Motherland will gather to vote on a vote of no confidence in the government.

Of course, no one will dismiss Mikhail Fradkov’s cabinet: the main faction delegated three of its members to sign a statement demanding a vote, but Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov reassured the public in advance. The party in power will simply take the opportunity to criticize the government. The event is by no means meaningless: you’ll see that a couple of ministerial portfolios will be given away for your activity. Moreover, it is very likely that at least one vacancy will appear in the government. We are talking about the chair of Mikhail Zurabov, the current Minister of Health and Social Development. Even United Russia members are demanding his blood today.

You can feel whatever way you like about the government, but there is no reason to rejoice at the possible resignation of Mikhail Zurabov. This does not mean at all that he copes with his duties perfectly and that a better minister cannot be found in modern Russia. If anyone needs to be fired from the government - and not just fired, but with a lifelong ban on holding positions requiring the slightest bit of organizational skills - it’s him. Only this had to be done when he, as head of the Russian Pension Fund, buried both the progressive pension reform itself and the faith of all progressive humanity in the possibility of its implementation. In this situation, we must admit: Mikhail Zurabov has no more to do with the monetization of benefits than the prisoner from the uranium mines has to do with the policy of nuclear deterrence.

The main ideologist of the abolition of unfunded mandates is the main “cleaner” of Russian legislation, Dmitry Kozak, who gave birth to the reform in the bowels of the Kremlin administration. He should have explained himself, but he is now busy establishing order in the Southern Federal District. And Mikhail Zurabov is nothing more than a “switchman”. His resignation will mean that human sacrifices have begun to be made on the main Russian political idol of the last five-year period - the president's rating, which threateningly shrunk in January. But these are minor things. Another thing is worse: to please the same idol, the budget is growing with new unplanned billions, which will lead to nothing but an inflationary surge. However, even this could have been survived if not for the unpopular monetization, and with it other unpopular but necessary transformations continued to be implemented. However, we cannot expect that during our lifetime we will witness, say, health care reform, which Zurabov’s successor will carry out with a firm hand.

Finally, after the hypothetical resignation of Mikhail Zurabov, with a 99% probability, his seat will be taken by a party android that came off the United Russia assembly line, or by an equally faceless man in uniform. And this will be the next step in transforming the cabinet of ministers into a “technical body” - akin to the Duma or the Federation Council.