The end of the Perm period?

The expert audience is already used to the annual Perm forum, and nominally it continues to develop. So, this year, the definition of “economic” disappeared from his name, which previously surprised - since the participants of this forum are traditionally interested in “philosophical” issues. However, if the number of forums does not turn into quality, it inevitably deviates - regardless of the face value ...

Last year’s forum was of the questioning name “Russia 1990–2000–2010. How to develop further? " Apparently, in the fall, experts learned the answer, and therefore the forum, which had just ended, was entitled neutral and meditatively: “Man. Society. Country". His concept resembled a cognitive dissonance: they say, everyone knows that something needs to be changed, but what exactly is to do is unclear. In a word, once again exchanged spells on the growth of “human capital” and the movement to the “strong society”, and on that they went ... more precisely, returned to Moscow, where most participants live.

Once, in a brilliant (but, alas, existing only a year), the Perm Internet Gazeta “Salt” I expressed bewilderment by the evolution of the forum-from the very forum, interregional format to a certain exit between Moscow humanities. It even became incomprehensible - and where is Perm in general?

The even earlier, Perm forum of 2010, called the “new economy and cultural policy”, now looks like some exception in this series-although then it saw that it would become a rule, opening an unusual decentralized, interregional discussion space for Russia. That spring, a lot of free creators from the most diverse areas and republics, developing their projects and inventing regional brands, met and met in Perm. And some of them then continued acquaintance and exchange of ideas at the Summer forum of “Pylorama”. It seemed that Perm really acquires the declared status of the “new cultural capital”, striving for the development of “horizontal” connections between different regions - as the most obvious and relevant alternative to the imperial “vertical”.

Of course, “Verticalism” was present even then - but he has not yet dominated. It was sometimes funny to observe how figures who consider themselves very advanced in the latest media technologies think much more centralist than any conservatives. One small memory : “The“ media future ”section on the forum, unfortunately, was generally impressed by the same“ metropolitan wise men ”who came to enlighten the“ province ” - this term, characteristic of the empire, often sounded there. Whereas in the post-Persian (European and North American) world no “province”, as a synonymous of something peripheral and secondary, has not existed for a long time. It was replaced by diverse regions that intensively develop their unique brands and become equal clusters of network society. ”

Probably, the report of the head of the Zurich Liberal Institute of Robert Nefa, which sounded at the current forum , “Long live noncentralism!” He looked like some kind of inappropriate contrast, if not "extremism." But maybe he was invited for the sake of such a contrast - they say, take a look, have a navigation of these European trends alien to us? Professor Nef in his book discusses a full and equal federalism.

And behind the loud declarations such as “Perm should play in the same league with Skolkovo and Sochi” hides only an attempt to occupy a certain “place under the sun” in the midst of an ever -lagging “province” ...

However, the creation of such “islands of happiness” within the empire has long demonstrated its illusory. Moscow remains the only exception - as the main resource pump, and everything else there inevitably flourishes, according to the long -standing expression of Pelevin, as "mold on an oil pipe." In the early 1990s, if someone memorable, Grigory Yavlinsky and Boris Nemtsov tried to arrange an “economic miracle” in the Nizhny Novgorod region-but the experiment naturally failed because he did not take into account the nature of Russian hypertentralism. Already in the 2000s, Nikita Belykh hinted on such a “miracle”-but soon he stuck and humbly integrated into the nomenclature. Now, apparently, Oleg Chirkunov has come ...

With his governorship, Perm really managed to powerfully develop his regional image and attract many significant creative people. But, it seems, the “Perm project” has reached its ceiling possible in the conditions of the imperial system. Modern culture inevitably affects the growth of civil consciousness. Therefore, it would be necessary to talk further that not all taxes from the region go to the center, so that normal competition appears in local politics, etc., and such requests in today's Russia are mowing suspiciously - is it not a separatism?

However, those who are especially afraid for the “unity of the power” should, on the contrary, would initially support the Perm forum - precisely as an interregional discussion platform, which just connects various regions, awakens mutual interest from them. But this is according to normal logic, which does not work in an illogical and archaic empire ...

Therefore, ultimately, the Perm forum from the trans-regional creative project turned (especially on the sidelines) into a large Moscow intellectual cuisine, where highly experts solved a classic question for Russia: what does the authorities really really want?

Does any city cross the relay of Perm? This is possible - if the expert community becomes truly interregional and will consider other issues the main issues. But this is another story ...