In the economy

Subbed

December 28, 2005 Alexander Ryklin

I have great respect to Mr. Illarionov. I can’t even clearly formulate why. Yes, and all the decent people familiar to me are greatly respected by Mr. Illarionov. I am not familiar personally with Mr. Illarionov. But those who are familiar with him claim that this is an extremely decent and reasonable person. Separately, it attracts the talent in it non -standard to express original views and judgments. Take, for example, how Mr. Illarionov commented on his own resignation. “I did not receive such a state, did not conclude a contract with such a state, did not give an oath to such a state,” he said, explaining the reasons for leaving a high post. Agree - it is said minted, beautifully, with a great sense of dignity. True, I have never heard that the president’s economic advisers give some oath, and I can’t even imagine what oath it may be. What do they swear on? On the GDP doubling program? On the budget? And he calls the economic model of the state to which he no longer wants and cannot serve Mr. Illarionov. That is, not corporate, but corporatic. Are you catching the difference? However, we will leave alone the philological delights of the former economic adviser Vladimir Putin and turn to the essence of events.

For several years, the venerable Russian public has witnessed the fascinating competition between Vladimir Putin and Andrei Illarionov. In childhood, there was such a game: who was the first to wrinkle, he lost. So these two statesmen for a long time expected a sharp movement from each other: Illarion - official resignation, Putin - statements about leaving. Putin won - the first “wrinkled” the economic adviser. (Which, of course, cannot indicate the weakness of the character of Mr. Illarionov. Here it is necessary to take into account the difference in professional training.) In fairness, it should be noted that sometimes it seemed that Mr. Illarionov’s victory was already in his pocket. For example, when he unexpectedly visited the hearing in the case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky (thereby expressing obvious support to the disgraced tycoon), the vast majority of observers agreed that now he would definitely be fired. They knew the Russian president badly ...

And now Illarions left himself. He went into smoke and roar of revealing statements and murderous characteristics. To the careful question of the Kommersant correspondent, why it was so late, replied that “earlier the state debt gave a certain opportunity to resist state interventionism (the term, you see, no worse than“ corporatism. ” - *A.R. *), then in the last year it became clear that not only politics changed.”

Here, of course, it would take ahead to ask a couple of examples. How did it be possible to confront this “state interventionism” itself before? But that would be impolite: decent people do not ask each other such questions. It was not to doubt the word of a respected person-it was somehow possible to resist and thank God. True, Mr. Illarionov, as an explanation of his long stay at a high post, led another weighty foundation: they say, from the “boss” of the state duty, criticism addressed to the current course was better heard by the public. This is partly and the answer to the reproaches of some commentators who believed that this kind of opposition of the economic adviser was in the hand, first of all, the Kremlin holding the adviser as a sort of liberal wonders: look, they say, what a talkative bird walks around our paradise garden, and we do not poison it and do not soul.

The news of the resignation of Mr. Illarionov perceived everything with a noticeable relief. For one simple reason: his stay in the team of Vladimir Putin violated the integrity of the picture. Now the harmony is complete. Mr. Illarionov himself politically correctly emphasizes that he is not going to engage in politics. And what is going to? I must think, the economy. He is still the most authoritative economist. Here questions beg again. The main one is this: why, in fact, not to engage in politics? In other words, was it worth it for so many years to attract and intrigue the public by the smell of some fantastic dish in order to serve a liquid broth at the end?
Alexander Ryklin

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