From Strelka to Gorki

Dmitry Medvedev strengthens the institution of supporters

Dmitry Medvedev strengthens the institution of...

Something has happened to the speech structure of our government lately. Here is a new political force (or institution?) - the president's supporters, who moved from Saturday's Strelka to Gorki on Rublyovka, heard the following: "We must move forward, move confidently - maybe in some matters gradually, but steadily." How can one not recall “The Yawning Heights” by Alexander Zinoviev: “A distinctive feature of our life ... is an unstoppable dynamic. We're moving forward, way ahead of our butt." By the way, it says both about modernization and catching up development, and this, please note, is 1976: “A strict order is observed within each stage of improving the correction. For example, a policy decision is made to raise the level of meat and milk and to overtake and overtake America. It's not worth talking about Europe, why mess with such a trifle! Doing it is so big! Specific measures are being developed for this <…> to increase the milk yield from each milkmaid (in millions of half-liters).”

But Zinoviev's jokes aside. Word to supporters. Or, as they said in the 20s of the last century, fellow travelers. The Public Committee of Supporters complements the United Popular Front (ONF), the Public Chamber and other bodies designed to correct the shortcomings and inefficiencies of the political and economic systems

Democracy does not work, we ourselves do not let democratic parties graze on the political field, which means that for feedback we need to come up with some kind of superstructure. The economy is not working, we ourselves do not let businessmen enter the market without kickbacks, which means that in order to help them “reveal” the administrative and corruption barrier, we will create an Agency for Strategic Initiatives. We don't let civil society in, we stop civilian control, which means that in order to compensate for the costs of this, it is necessary to create a Popular Front or a "big government". Instead of parliamentary and party democracy, there are surrogate structures, substitute institutions. After all, this is how it is in everything: any OVIR does not work - in the next office they will do the same for you, only for a small amount. Let's call this system, as in accounting, the double-entry policy.

The convoy of sutlers and sutlers, who now follows the president on the heels, and led by Mikhail Abyzov, who once worked at RAO UES and solved delicate issues in a neglected industry, coming to the "shooters" with machine gunners, now replaces " coalition for modernization. The very one that the president called for the creation of his "think tank" INSOR. But something from this Institute was not seen among the president's supporters. And in the forefront were governor Tkachev, mayor Sobyanin, gallery owner Gelman, rector Kuzminov, saxophonist Butman, director Bondarchuk, media manager Simonyan, oligarch Vekselberg, athlete Zhurova, assistant Dvorkovich, lawyer Astakhov ... That is, those who have long been included in the conditional "big government", presenting to the public images of progressive regional leaders or masters of (physical) culture.

The "Coalition for Medvedev" plays the same role for the outgoing president as the United People's Front does for the incoming president - the role of a parallel structure that partly replaces, partly complements United Russia, slightly distancing both of them from the somewhat discredited duumvir parties in power. In the ONF, after all, the core also consists not just of people whose faces have become familiar, but of characters who are pulled out, like skeletons from a closet, from naphthalene, sometimes more than twenty years ago. Take, for example, the trade unionist Mikhail Shmakov...

Moving from Strelka to Gorki, the head of state, with a serious delay, took up what he should have done much earlier - the formation of his own social base, if you like, his own party. Only now it is not a broad coalition, but a nomenklatura outgrowth like the Public Chamber, which can form the personnel reserve of the future Medvedev government, portraying feedback from society. Only those who gathered the day before yesterday in Gorki are “decisors”, lobbyists, representatives of Agitprop, current officials and state-affiliated oligarchs. But no society. And no "coalition for modernization." Yes, and this slogan, apparently removed from the agenda. The main thing is to move forward. But gradually... But forward... But gradually... But steadily...