In the Kremlin

Give autocracy! The results of the week

November 16, 2013 Alexander Golts

The outgoing week demonstrated: our all -Russian printer placed in Okhotny Ryad was finally shaken and, alas, irrevocably. At first, the notorious deputy from the LDPR Andrei Lugovoi introduced a bill proposing to give the general prosecutor and his deputies the right of extrajudicial blocking of sites that contain calls for riots, terrorism and, most importantly, to extremism. Since domestic law enforcement officers have a strange habit of considering any criticism of the authorities extremism, there is no doubt that the main bosses simply provide themselves with the opportunity to prevent the organization of protest actions via the Internet. However, no one is particularly bothering with the search for at least some arguments. Everything is clear to everyone: the task of the Duma is not at all the interests of citizens, but to exclude any possibility that these citizens can express their opinion. In that case, of course, if this opinion due to the subversive actions of the State Department does not coincide with the position of the authorities.

Then the hunting teams pleased another wonderful initiative. The first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection and a member of the United Russia party, Nikolai Gerasimenko, proposed banning the cinema scenes with alcohol consumption. Mr. Gerasimenko is convinced that such personnel are permissible only in films about the "fate of alcoholics." In his opinion, "on our TV and in the cinema of the dominance of the theme of alcohol." It is curious whether it is possible to film, according to the deputy, for example, “little tragedies” or “Hamlet”? And in this case, are the sad fate of Mozart and Queen Gertrude a demonstration of the sad “fate of the alcoholic”?

But the masterpiece of the week was the bill of another associate of Vladimir Volfovich Mikhail Degtyarev. This legislator proposed prohibiting the walking and storing dollars in Russia. Due to, of course, the inescapable care of preserving the savings of fellow citizens. Indeed, according to the deputy, in 2017, the American currency will completely depreciate and turn into “dirty green papers”. Mikhail Degtyarev is silent about what kind of papers will turn into which papers will turn into in this case.

It is clear why all this nonsense happens. In return for the unquestioning stamping of the laws that are made in the Kremlin, the hunters allow us to frolic, declare their most idiotic ideas. All participants in the process are happy. At the same time, no one cares that the deputies look more and more completely irresponsible idiots.

But maybe this is precisely the explanation of why the Kremlin allows the deputies to portray clowns out of themselves? Maybe the main goal is to discredit the very idea of ​​parliamentarism in the eyes of Russians. Right now, the authorities of Pomorusly celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Romanovs, official propaganda tells how the country flourished under the house of autocrats. And this gives results - almost half of the Russians believe that the monarchy is quite acceptable for our country. We will not be cunning, in fact, and now in Russia de facto-autocracy. It is funny, in fact, to talk about the balance of branches of power and honest elections in the current conditions. Is it not easier to call a spade a spade and legitimize the regime of autocratic power. Putin has just introduced a bill on amendments to the Constitution, which involves the merger of the supreme and higher arbitration courts. One more can add one more - about the merger of the Duma and the Council of the Federation. Better yet, the abolition of both chambers. But it’s interesting, nevertheless, would they have accepted such an amendment with the same overwhelming majority?


Photo by ITAR-TASS/ Anatoly Strunin