The army of disagreements

Large changes and events in the history of Russia often began with the discontent of the sailors

The army of disagreements. The Union of Military Sailors called on its supporters to go on December 4 to sites and vote against United Russia. Officers are increasingly going to rallies and pickets, write appeals against the party in power, Vladimir Putin and Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov on the Internet. Someone is going to settle down with a tent camp in the Khimkinsky forest, someone will be an observer in the elections. How officers from a stronghold of power turn into her enemy, watches The New Times
“People should not be silent, but must demand from the authorities. We demand that we be provided with housing, by law. We have no political requirements. Not yet. But I understand why people go to triumphal. This means that the country is not all right, ”says Sergey Ermolenko, a member of the Public Council for the Protection of the Rights of Military Personnel, who served a quarter of a century in strategic missile forces (Strategic Missile Forces). He is one of the organizers of rallies and pickets of officers who, upon dismissal, did not receive housing from the Ministry of Defense.
Putin and the army
“Each officer must receive an apartment upon dismissal, there is a law for this,” says Ermolenko. But only according to the Ministry of Defense, in line for housing in Russia there are 200 thousand former military. At the same time, there are apartments for retirees, but officers cannot get them. “In 2010, Putin promised by the end of the year to solve the problem. He spoke with pomp, and then they stopped mentioning this at all, ”says the officer. -Now the end of 2011, and Putin now promises to solve the housing issue by the end of 2012, or even 2013. I’m renting an apartment in the suburbs, I go to work in the capital, my wife travels, daughter. Although we had to get an apartment in Moscow for a long time. ”
The Ministry of Defense, in response to appeals, oathly claimed that he was not building housing in the capital. Then the organizers of the rally of officers wrote a letter to the Department of Housing Policy of Moscow. The city hall’s answer showed that he was building, and even how: almost the lion's share of the “military” apartments is elite housing by all standards. “Now these apartments are arrested by bailiffs. But before that they were sold! " - Ermolenko is indignant. According to the former racket, Minister Anatoly Serdyukov is not worthy of leading the army. And Vladimir Putin who appointed him is not worthy to lead the country. “Serdyukov can only engage in commerce. And Putin, it seems to me, does not like the army at all, ”says Sergey.
Offensive plans
Even in the 90s, the army felt much better than now, Ermolenko was sure. Even in material terms. Now she is pushed to protest. “In the end, there are elections, they need to go and vote, express your opinion,” the officer concludes.
Now the public council in which he consists plans to defeat the tent camp in the Khimkinsky forest, they have already agreed on interaction with Evgenia Chirikova. At first, officers will live in tents, then dugouts will open. Sergei Ermolenko states that they will help the defenders of the Khimki forest: “So far. Then let's see, we are ready for a hunger strike, maybe they will listen to us, ”concludes Sergey.
Another member of the council, Sergey Biryukov, outlined for himself a different plan of action: he wants to prevent the party in power to uncontrollably manipulate voting results. “There will be fraud, this is understandable. I will go as an observer to the site closest to the house, this is my civil position, let everything be honest in my site, ”Biryukov firmly declares.
Simple requirements
In Ulyanovsk, the “headquarters of the officers” (the so -called local organization of retirees) has already gone through rallies, pickets and even hunger strikes. Three large military schools were closed in the city, and the military has the same problems: the lack of housing and low payments. Now the military is trying to go to shares on the 19th of each month *** The peculiar “Strategy 19”, in honor of Article 19 of the Constitution on the equality of all citizens before the law., The example of the Ulyanovsks was followed by officers from 29 regions, including Nizhny Novgorod, Kaliningrad, Kazan. Political activists also join the shares, for example, from "solidarity". The coordinator of the Ulyanovsk headquarters Boris Smekhov does not see anything bad in this: “We have political requirements directly in our leaflets, they are very simple: we do not trust Vladimir Putin,“ United Russia ”, and the Minister of Defense Serdyukov.”
The regularity of the pickets brings results: the council of military personnel was created under the governor, some of the military wives began to receive allowances from the regional budget. But the protests continue: political requirements have not yet been fulfilled.
The sea is worried once
Not only army officers are ready to go to the streets. On the website of the Union of Military Sailors in early November, an appeal was published to all officers: to vote for any party except “United Russia”. The same complaints - the disregard of the authorities towards the retirees: “United Russia” “shoved, stuck out laws that humiliate, who are robbing military and military veterans. They did not just humiliate our personal dignity, our honor - they are trying to drive us into poverty, to destroy physically. This is called genocide at the UN, ”military sailors turn to colleagues.
The military suggest acting according to the Navalny method: “The worst thing for them, if we come to the polls and will vote against them. Moreover, voting not at the beginning of the day, namely at the end, when they already carry out their ballots when they vote along the bulletins of migrants, when many of us are already signing and our ballots will already give out, ”the marine officers write in their appeal.
Without faith *
Boris Smekhov and Sergey Ermolenko speak differently about the readiness of the military for protest shares. Sergey has its own theory: there are few initiative, penetrating people in the army, they went to a citizen to earn a living without bowing and not looking back at the command. Boris does not agree: relying on his own observations, he believes that 90% of the military is opposed to the authorities.
Power understands its risks. On November 7, Dmitry Medvedev signed the law on the monetary allowance of military personnel and his increase in salaries. “Our army should be well armed, and officers should receive a good salary,” he repeated on November 11.
But the authorities no longer believe: “They are already saying that the form will need to be bought yourself, so the money will fly away. The state will not deceive, but it will deceive. ”