Translated material
On two chairs
Several years ago, just around New Year's, I took part in a conversation with a high-ranking official. He reacted sharply to a remark criticizing the Putin government. Having stated - what defenders of the current regime usually say in such cases: we need to remember what state Russia was in when Putin headed it, how life has changed for the better recently, what wonderful prospects await it - you just need to be able to endure and work for yourself the good of the country. At the end, he added a traditional mantra, like a toast: look around and get scared - do you understand who can come to replace you? So here it is: the government was and remains “the only European” in Russia - this should be appreciated, and not criticized all the time.
I said that I was ready to agree with him in general, but on the condition that he named those signs by which I could, at least timidly, imagine a trend of renewal. After all, if you always predict a good forecast for the future, you must at least have some visible prerequisites for this. To which my interlocutor was able to get away with only general “astrological” declarations, but kept saying - look, look, look...
And I watched all this time. As they say, in both ways - sometimes with eyes wide open, sometimes squinting, covering your forehead with your palm in order to better see when this trend begins to dawn. Sometimes, like a lookout on the mast of a ship that has been sailing for a long time, I wanted to finally shout “Earth!” But almost immediately it became clear that this was a mirage - the result of a long and tense wait.
If a trend is visible, it is more of a “long-forgotten” one - a return to the “good old days.” The Prime-President is increasingly being compared with Brezhnev, stability with stagnation, “Nashi” with the Komsomol, the activities of “United Russia” with party activists.
In general, this mixture of styles - glamorous bourgeois and Soviet, reminiscent of the smell of strong deodorant on an unwashed body - is an aesthetic sign of the times. And its content is a constant desire to sit on two chairs, combining incompatible things: the Soviet anthem and the pre-revolutionary flag, red stars and golden eagles, new words and old faces. On the one hand, it would seem that this is an attempt to unite the country, unite its population, and overcome all kinds of discord. Well, why isn’t it a noble task?! But on the other hand, this is not done mechanically; there must be some basis for unification, for example, that same national idea. But all that the authorities could offer was to unite around it. But why on earth? Because the best of the worst? Because she is the core of the state, and if she breaks, she will bury everyone?..
I even admit that this also has its own part of the homespun truth, but this cannot go on forever. The government had almost ten years of credibility, and it was necessary either to give birth to something specific in the field of ideology, or to really become attractive to the majority of the population. The authorities could not do this - they turned out to be intellectually weak, unfair and thieving. It turned out that you won’t get far on “bread and circuses” and corporate loyalty alone. And you can’t sit on two chairs.
People temporarily praised this “ambivalence” and made fun of the tandem. But at the same time, they were waiting for the farce to end and for the will to manifest itself. When rhetoric is backed up by actions. When PR and talk about “real politics” give way to real action. But instead, there are teeth-grinding mocking castlings, the usual shuffling of the old and dirty nomenklatura deck, puffing out of cheeks, reported bragging, demagoguery and outright disrespect for one’s “electorate.” Well, get it and sign that you are unsuitable as a professional.
Another thing is that the change of power in Russia is a painful problem. As the deadline approaches, instead of calmly and legally “demoting,” the “grandfathers” always ask for extra-urgent service. And it is almost impossible to force them to voluntarily resign into the reserves.