Translated material
Dmitry Badovsky
“If things go wrong, Medvedev will be ready to return power to Putin at any moment”
| Dmitry Badovsky, Deputy Director of the Institute of Social Systems, on the choice of the president's successor Until recently, there were conditionally four candidates: Ivanov, Medvedev, Zubkov and Gryzlov, and the choice between them is a choice of different scenarios. Figures like Zubkov or Gryzlov would be named, and we could immediately say that President Putin assumes in advance that he will return, and possibly sooner than in four years. The choice of Ivanov's candidacy would mean that Putin is leaving power for at least four years. And Medvedev's choice is a Putin-style choice, because it leaves the president freedom of maneuver and gives the opportunity, depending on how things go with Medvedev, either to help him more closely, so to speak, or to step aside and take the position of an observer. . If things go wrong, Medvedev will be ready to return power to Putin at any moment. |  |
| Alexei Malashenko, Deputy Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Carnegie Moscow Center - on the status of Kosovo and the consequences of the coming "independence" of the region I have a feeling that the resolution of the conflict will be postponed. The statements made by the Kosovars sound beautiful. But it doesn't solve the problem. True, unlike the Middle East conflict, Karabakh and even Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in this case I still see light at the end of the tunnel. The Serbs have nowhere to go, they need Europe, they need to be full-fledged members of Europe, and, of course, in this situation they will someday compromise, make concessions. Today it is expedient to put pressure on the Kosovars, because, I repeat once again, the Serbs will not go anywhere and will agree with this decision. And the Kosovars are trying to play on this, there are now decisive people in power. But there are also undercurrents – things that we don’t see and what goes on behind the scenes of the negotiations. It seems that there is pressure on the Kosovars, which is not particularly advertised. |  |
| Elena Panfilova, director of the Transparency International-Russia Center, on corruption in Russia in 2007 45% of citizens believe that corruption will only increase in the next three years, 50% believe that the authorities' efforts to combat corruption are ineffective. As for experience, again, law enforcement agencies are in the first place, and this is where the similarities with 2006 end and the differences begin. Unfortunately, medicine and education made a sharp jump compared to the previous year, when they lagged behind, but were on the way to top performance. This year, both medicine and education, in the opinion of citizens, have taken solid second or third places, right behind law enforcement agencies. The second place is occupied by education. This means that in contacts with educational authorities, citizens are forced to pay bribes. I will give more specific data: 15% of the citizens who encountered the educational authorities last year were forced to pay bribes, 27% is the indicator of law enforcement agencies. |  |
“This is politics, kids. Here they can kill. And don't let me go to the funeral
Oleg Kozyrev
On the eve of the last "march of dissent" in Serpukhov near Moscow, activist of the "Other Russia", Limonov activist Yuri Chervochkin, was severely beaten. An hour before, he sent a message to his relatives that he was following him - he was putting up leaflets - four employees of the local UBOP were following him. Doctors fought for his life, but Yuri died without ever coming out of a coma. On December 13, 2007, the funeral took place. About two hundred people wishing to take part in the ceremony left Moscow. Buses with activists were stopped twice by law enforcement officers. Based on the results of the events (see the video from the funeral at NewTimes.ru), our correspondent compiled instructions for those who, God forbid, will have to face a similar situation.
If you are going to the funeral of an opposition activist, there are a few simple rules to be aware of.
Do not report your plans to attend the farewell ceremony to everyone if you do not want provocations and excessive attention from the authorities. Report this only to reliable people.
Try to leave early. You can be detained at least twice on your way to the funeral. Explaining the purpose of the trip is useless. You will be kept as long as they deem necessary: the buses en route to Yuri Chervochkin's funeral were delayed for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Take documents with you, regardless of whether there is a state of emergency in the country or not: the funeral of a comrade is an occasion for the authorities to check whether you are an extremist.
If you went on a trip by bus, put your people at the entrance, because, be sure, provocateurs will also try to get on the bus.
Be prepared for the fact that law enforcement officers will not introduce themselves, explain the reasons for checking documents and your detention. If you have any questions, they will call for help machine gunners.
Get ready for the fact that when you say goodbye to a dead comrade, his bride and mother - weep when you throw earth into the grave - people in civilian clothes will methodically film all this on camera: they will be interested in your faces, your words, but not your tears.
Know that surveillance of your colleague's funeral will be organized quickly and efficiently, but the investigation of his death will most likely be your own business.
*The headline is a quote from the article “On the Death of the National Bolshevik”, posted on the website of the pro-Kremlin “Russian Journal”