| Throughout the end of the last working week, the community was captivated by the development of the scandal surrounding Minister Alexander Sokolov, who accused the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography, subordinate to him, of corruption, and the head of FAKK, Mikhail Shvydkoy, who announced his intention to go to court. The beginning of a new week in this sense also promises a lot of entertainment, because the deadline for filing claims is coming. Most likely, Mikhail Shvydkoy will not back down from his decision, and Alexander Sokolov is also not inclined to take back his words, although, apparently, the matter would have been limited to an apology. Shvydkoy’s lawyer, Pavel Astakhov, left this option for the minister, publicly declaring that, in his opinion, Sokolov simply got excited: “Still, I think that he is a respected, decent person, he just got excited.”
It’s hard to say whether the minister simply got excited or not. The speeches of an official of such a high rank are dark and ornate, so that they are not easy for mere mortals to understand. Here, for example, is how he commented on Friday about his speech a week ago (one could have cooled down and stopped getting excited in a week): “In the context of the conversation that was recorded for the television program, I chose exactly the wording that corresponds to my obligations as government official. Therefore, I did not mention any names or specific facts. The reaction that followed surprised me, to be honest. I mean the reaction of the head of Roskultura, Mikhail Efimovich Shvydkoy. A whole series of sharp attacks followed on his part, both personal and organized in the media. And the position he took is surprisingly simple - a simple defense of the honor of the uniform.”
Little can be understood from these words. Well, firstly, “uniform honor” for the Minister of Culture is, to put it mildly, a dubious concept. For an official to defend her is a waste of time. As for “names and facts,” that is, specific accusations, we can again assume that, in Sokolov’s opinion, this is not a lordly matter. If it comes to court, it will be possible to provide the necessary materials, and this will, of course, be dealt with not by the minister himself, but by those lawyers “who, if necessary, will get to the bottom of the matter.”
But the main thing is that Alexander Sokolov does not understand why so much fuss has been made: “This noise is unlikely to lead to a trial. Value judgments are not the basis for accusations. After all, a trial requires facts, not words, although my judgments correspond to reality ". And since the minister accused the officials subordinate to him of receiving “kickbacks in envelopes,” that is, of bribery, but did not name anyone by name, then, apparently, the situation seems natural to him.
The simple idea that if the head of the ministry knows for sure that everyone in his department takes bribes, and does nothing about it, does not run to the prosecutor’s office with evidence, does not fire presumptuous subordinates, then he commits an official crime, apparently in Alexander Sokolov doesn’t get his head. He sees all this as just a good topic for public discourse. Russian officials take bribes - this is not slander, but a truism known to everyone from school, officials serve in FAKK and the former ministry, therefore... Well, why be offended...
Mikhail Shvydkoy sees the situation differently; in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, he explained his action as follows: “If I had endured what Mr. Sokolov said, then I would have admitted that the former Ministry of Culture and the current agency are corrupt officials and are thoroughly corrupt. I can’t live with this, I can’t live with this. Honestly, I understand that there may be any consequences of this lawsuit. This is at the discretion of our common management with Mr. Sokolov. And I have no right not to sue. I have two children whom I want to look into the eyes with peace of mind.”
For Alexander Sokolov this is not the reason. Because he did not personally call Mikhail Shvydkoy a bribe-taker and did not utter any names at all. Unlike the careless Shvydkoy. And now Sokolov has no choice but to respond in kind. “The first thing I will have to do in this situation is to file a counterclaim in order to protect my name,” he said at a press conference on Friday, explaining his decision by saying that “the plaintiff’s side mentioned his name several times.” , RIA Novosti reports.
It should be noted that the minister is not alone in his indignation. On Friday, some State Duma deputies expressed their readiness to defend him from the aggressive Shvydkoy. “We need to support the Minister of Culture, we shouldn’t leave Sokolov alone with Shvydkiy,” said Anatoly Greshnevikov, a deputy from the Rodina faction. And deputy from the Communist Party faction Nina Ostanina proposed involving the Duma Anti-Corruption Commission in investigating this issue, that is, looking for evidence of the minister’s words.
The most amazing thing is that all this is happening in a department related to culture. That is, in theory, among people who, on duty, must understand that a word spoken publicly has an independent and quite significant meaning, and is not a simple shock of the air.
Now the cumbersome machine of Russian jurisprudence must come into play. Lexical and legal examinations are carried out, Sokolov’s speech is examined by specialists, interpreting his words in accordance with legal norms. The task is long and expensive. But probably necessary.
Although there are different opinions on this matter. For some, litigation to protect honor and dignity seems ridiculous and unjust. And the desire in court, and not for money, but out of principle, to defend one’s right is something superfluous, like a fifth finger. And most importantly, no one believes that a court’s recognition of guilt or innocence solves anything. There is still an opinion: officials take bribes, and if the court, for example, admits that Sokolov asserted this unfoundedly, then they will simply decide that Shvydkoy’s lawyers are cooler than Sokolov’s. Because he stole or was stolen from him - it makes no difference to us, as long as they don’t name him, and everything is covered up.
In Anglo-American literature and cinema there is an entire genre dedicated to the analysis of legal incidents. In our country, these books and films are not very successful, since it is still much more popular to live not according to laws, but according to concepts, as the playwright Ostrovsky brilliantly formulated in his play “Warm Heart,” where the mayor Gradoboev, going out to the people, says: “How can I judge you now? Judging by the laws, we have a lot of laws. Sidorenko, show them how many laws we have. That's how many laws! And all the laws are strict... So, dear friends, as you wish, should I judge you according to the laws or according to my soul, as God puts on my heart?” And the people answered him: “Judge according to your soul, be a father, Serapion Mardarich!”
So, in a certain sense, the lawsuit by FAKK and Shvydkoy, if it is filed, and the trial, if it takes place, and the decision, whether it is in favor of the plaintiffs or defendants, will not change anything. Unless there is some modern Gogol or Saltykov-Shchedrin who will describe this story in a novel or script and come with it to Messrs. Shvydkov and Sokolov to ask for state support. Alena Solntseva
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