AntiKatyn

Why the Russian government can only be “softened” by tragedies of presidential scale

On the day when the unprecedented and shocking plane crash happened near Smolensk, my friend, among other things that apply in such cases, told me that now her dream of getting to Poland seemed to be postponed for a long time. I was amazed: why? “Well, of course: we’ve already had a difficult relationship in recent years, but here THIS!”

For Russians who live by stereotypes nurtured on television, this idea came to their minds almost simultaneously. Russians have long been accustomed to the fact that in the event of any political or near-political emergency (Saakashvili, a monument in Tallinn, elections in Ukraine, etc.), the first thing to do is to dig in, put on a gas mask and pull the pin out of a grenade. Our fellow citizens sincerely believe that we are hated in Poland, the Baltic states, Georgia, and western Ukraine, although almost everywhere we can communicate in Russian. Without any problems.

Russians were sincerely surprised when, within two or three days after the plane crashed, Medvedev and Putin showed maximum humanity. The victims of the disaster have not yet been buried, but Polish citizens are already collecting signatures for a message of gratitude to Russia. To Russia, which is the heir to the Soviet Union. To Russia, where a huge number of Polish officers were shot. To Russia, on whose territory Polish aircraft number one fell, and the investigation has not yet been completed. There are a lot of these signatures. And it's really very touching.

Our leaders declared mourning even before Poland did. The first persons flew to the scene of the disaster and, they say, are ready to fly together (again, an unprecedented case) to the funeral. They finally gave a damn not only about the protocols, but also about the entire previous geopolitical push-pull game and turned from “political machines” into simple and normal people. If Poland, in principle, is now capable of at least a modicum of positive emotions, it experiences them in relation to Russia. And there is no doubt that it is precisely this behavior that can bring the Russian Federation political points and respect in the international arena.

But this behavior of the country’s leaders is no less important for their own citizens, who over the years of Putin-Medvedev’s rule have become accustomed to the rigidity, not to say “cast iron”, of the federal government.

If you look at the moments at which power suddenly “thaws,” you get a very interesting picture. Kaczynski could hardly be considered a friend of Russia. But a tragedy happened to him - and everything suddenly changed. It was exactly the same in the days when Boris Yeltsin died. Despite all the “continuity” of power, everyone understands perfectly well that Yeltsin and Putin are people from different poles. However, when the sad news arrived, Putin suffered everything that could be transferred and that could not be transferred, and plunged into funeral matters. He quietly said to the amazed and then unaware President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov, who arrived in Moscow at the wrong time: “We have a very big tragedy today.”

And how I would like the Russian government to soften not only on the days when presidential hearts stop beating on Russian territory. Khodorkovsky, Litvinenko, the lawlessness of the cops, the ring of “fierce enemies” from neighboring countries, the dispersal of dissenters, the “cleansing operations” - all this does not decorate our country. And most importantly, it creates a negative emotional background among its own citizens, who turn from free people into cogs of the system. No, it’s definitely time to give up the digging reflex. If only because it is very unpleasant.

And now, perhaps, many people want to go to Poland. The prayers of the Poles (and this is a very religious country) were heard in heaven. And now there is clearly growing interest in the Polish film festival, which will be held at the end of April in Moscow. Andrzej Wajda will come, whose film “Katyn,” which is not pleasant for all of our “patriots,” was unsuccessfully knocking on the blank wall of Russian film distribution a couple of years ago, and now in the blink of an eye it was put on the grid of the main state channel in prime time, pushing aside everything else, which is highly rated and very advertising-intensive.

We really miss sincerity and humanity. Let's live together.