Political machines

Politics is a noble art to receive the votes of the poor and money for an election campaign from the rich, promising to protect some from others.

O. Americanger

Over the past 10 years, Osro has not scolded only the lazy. The lack of ideology, social base, illegibility in the means ... and indeed - is it a party ? Unfortunately, the triumph of Marxism-Leninism, "the only correct and eternally living teaching, will remain in Russia for a long time. In accordance with this doctrine, the interests of classes or, in extreme cases, of individual social groups, have programs and ideology . Considering by this angle of participants in Russian public life, we can state that there are no parties in Russia. Under the indicated harsh criteria, only the Communist Party is suitable, however, to find a social group interested in the socialist revolution will probably be difficult.

The unity electoral block, which is in many ways invented and now funded by the disgraced B.A. Berezovsky, was created under a specific task of combating the public movement “Fatherland-all of Russia”, which was successfully resolved in 1999. Now many are unlikely to recall the names of the “first three” of the then official “founding fathers”, as well as the fact that the former rivals in the elections soon united by forming the current Party “EDRO”. Having a qualified majority in the State Duma, this “unprincipled” party revised the housing, budget and labor codes, adopted the law on monetization of benefits and did much more of what the Gaidar “demo of Russia” could only dream of. Quite successfully “stepped on the rights of workers” and went further - today a unilateral revision of production standards or hourly burden by employers is generally accepted practice. With small rural and urban municipalities, you can also do anything, redistributing the main Russian resource - land in favor of districts or urban districts. Democracy is in Russian : a higher income and the status of a political entity provides it with a greater amount of rights. You can do anything with the lower ones. The centralization of power and capital, along with the strengthening of differentiation in Russia, lasts the past 12 years - but is this not this and is the general ideological values ​​of both the “tandem” and the “old democrats”?

Oddly enough, it is right -wing politicians that are the most irreconcilable critics of Osra. The appearance of M. Prokhorov on the political field was marked by new hopes for the “revival of the right movement”, his departure from this field - disappointment. Why? Suppose that the “right business”, led by the impressive oligarch, would have received the majority in parliament. And what? Obviously, the previous course would continue in domestic politics. Perhaps it would become more radical (probably the cessation of UST accrual for an additional 20 hours of work-beyond the usual 40-hour working week, and the increase in retirement age would be the first among such events). But the “Kazus Prokhorov” does not explain this.

In the modern sociology of the party, these are “political machines”, i.e. organizations for the seizure and redistribution of power. Citizens become members of certain organizations because this primarily corresponds to their personal , and then social (group) interests. The turner can become a member of the “right -handed”, if his name is good friends, and on the contrary, a businessman can be a member of the Communist Party or the current Socialist Revolutionary for the same reason. However, as it does not sound cynical, in this case the “party of officials” becomes much more attractive than the party of “workers and peasants” or even “beer lovers”. Party boss helps “resolve questions”, and the most diverse - from the provision of a site for buildings for large business, to helping in an expensive operation with a good doctor - for an ordinary party activist. The frequency and success of people care for people help in the elections more than “correct programs”.

However, Russian party bosses are somehow lazy to join the ordinary affairs of the inhabitants of their polling stations. Moreover, they are lazy regardless of party orientation - any protests, on the requirements for stopping drug trafficking in a neighboring house to spontaneous rallies against point development or cutting down green zones, mainly outside the party framework. Life puts forward some leaders, and “bosses” are counting on a completely different resource.

The appearance of Prokhorov in the “right case” obviously stirred up hopes for the pre -election budgets and the subsequent influence of the “Party of Millionaires”, which could well compete with the “Party of officials”. But then - what is to be surprised: Eskro was lined up on the model of the late CPSU (with power, but without ideology), and the “right business” would have to function as a large political business project, which would have a “owner” - Prokhorov himself, and hired “managers”. But such a project involves the appropriate business logic, when places on the election list are “sold” in one way or another, and are not distributed in accordance with the personal preferences of the owner. All this did not correspond to the views of Prokhorov himself, or the beliefs of the right. The result was what happened.

In the long run, the power is always obtained by those forces that are more attractive to the young. And as an alternative social elevator, EDRO provides great opportunities, unlike old Russian parties. After 1991, both the right and left in Russia repeated the sad experience of the CPSU - citizens observed the same galaxy of famous politicians on the screens of TV and the pages of newspapers. And if in the 90s young people had the possibilities of obtaining a higher social status through a business, and then buying a place in the elite in any of the parties, then in the “era of stability” the appearance of new Potanins, Semago, Khloponins, Bryntsalovs are somehow not observed. Naturally, Prokhorov, attracted to politics, turned out to be a “alien body”. But V. Yakemenko, like V. Surkov and A. Dvorkovich (yes, actually D. Medvedev himself), now represent the “new face” of the young Russian elite, showing an example of a successful career, built primarily on loyalty to the current government.

So the “CAZUS Prokhorov” proves that there are parties in Russia, and a completely full -fledged political life flows in our country. As for human qualities or at least the competence of the current political characters - what is the era, such is its "mind, conscience and honor."