Flying over the nesting wood grouse

And now I’ll explain why Putin’s supporters still have, albeit not complete, but nevertheless, a definite basis for declaring with gleeful gloating that the liberals have crap themselves with a bang and other indecent sounds.

Before the presidential elections, if I expressed something critical to the supposed leaders of the supposed opposition, I tried to do it extremely gently, not considering myself morally entitled to side with professional demotivators like Radzikhovsky. But now, I apologize wildly, the time for politeness has passed. I state it without any embarrassment.

On March 5th, I once again write this because I haven’t missed almost a single rally yet, I went to Pushkin Square to express my attitude to what was happening, or rather what had already happened. There I listened for an hour to complaints from Ryzhkov, Nemtsov and some writers about “unfair elections.” I looked at the attempts to set the square on fire and force it to chant extremely fresh and original slogans like “Churova resign” and “Putin go away.” I admired Yavlinsky, who made a discovery that now it should be admitted that Putin, albeit dishonestly, has won and it is immediately necessary to start drawing up new programs within the framework, of course, of him, Grigory Alekseevich, of the party...

And then there’s this constant, annoying, heroic-sentimental refrain about “political prisoners,” which somehow seems like a win-win to the organizers of the rallies. Apparently, in the hope that a decent person will not have the moral strength to object, of course, we are talking about the fate of specific unfortunates! So, on the contrary, I no longer have these same strengths left to listen to such nonsense, and I will finally say a few words so as not to return to such nonsense again.

There are only a few real political prisoners in our country. And the point here is not in formalities or legal tricks, they say, we do not have essentially working political articles and not in other cunning tricks. The point is the point.

Even under Stalin, when even quite political articles worked, there were practically no true political prisoners, with rare exceptions. Since even in the 58th, the overwhelming majority were not enemies of communist ideology and Soviet power, or even Stalin personally, but just the most sincere supporters, especially when it comes to ideology.

And now the people who are truly “for politics” are the men associated with YUKOS, Mokhnatkin, and, possibly, several Limonovites. And the rest, we don’t even really imagine how many, maybe tens, or maybe hundreds of thousands, are unjustly convicted. Yes, those convicted were unfair because this is how the security and judicial systems work, created and configured in this way by the current political system. But in the same way one can call “political” patients who have become victims of our healthcare system, deceived “interest holders”, victims of a bureaucratic and corrupt system, and in general any of the innocent victims due to domestic state instability.

All this is wonderful and very pitiful, but for all this we went to Pushkin Square together on March 5th? Or for some specific purpose, which involves, of course, solving the problems mentioned above, and many more, but in the event that?.. What if? But instead of an answer, there is again an endless repetition of “political prisoners”, “Churov”, “fair elections”, “Putin-byak”... Yes, I completely forgot, I also have to talk about corruption and theft from the budget, of course, we have a separate major specialist on them . But, forgive me, I’ll keep completely silent about this nonsense, otherwise this text will inevitably turn into a novel. So we will limit ourselves to the presented set.

However, I have already described all this in detail once. True, I described it in December, immediately after the last Duma elections, when the doom of all these crazy slogans under the general heading “For fair elections” became extremely clear to me. Even before the rally against Sakharov, when it was already clear how it would all end and what would begin to happen in detail the day after the presidential elections. And here again this sad song about “fair elections.” It's starting to look a lot like schizophrenia.

“And I, in this sad statement, am not even too interested in whether there was fraud and stuffing of votes, I am not interested in whether those who later celebrated at Manezhnaya were taken and paid,” wrote one of the most respected and sane by me, so so-called “cultural figures” Pavel Chukhrai. He is an intelligent man, he put it mildly, “not very interested.” I’m simpler and therefore I’ll say it just as simply. I don't give a damn about this matter from a high bell tower. But just like they don’t give a damn about those who are just “too interested” in all these ballot counting numbers, mathematical graphs, statistical tables and other complete rubbish.

In these kinds of systems and situations, it does not matter at all whether a person won a fair election or even whether, in principle, he can win a fair election. For a usurper, the only thing that matters is whether he can usurp power, in any way, whether by direct armed coup, or by other more cunning methods, including not very fair elections, and then retain this power. Putin has proven that he has more than enough strength and capabilities for this. He usurped power and is holding it. What does it have to do with the honesty of the ways he achieves this?

If you meet a robber in a dark gateway who wants to take your wallet, then in fact the result of this meeting is not as clear-cut as it seems at first glance. Many factors can come into play, such as how fast you run, whether you have a gun in your pocket versus his knife, or whether a police car suddenly stops nearby. There are many other things that may matter. The only thing that has absolutely no bearing is whether the robber’s actions are legal, fair and honest. If he is physically stronger than you and you cannot counteract this with any other options for the same force, then he will take your wallet away from you. And you will no longer be able to return it to yourself. Because then, if you are lucky and the robber is good-natured or he is just in a good mood, you can run after him, jump around him, waving your arms and indignantly proving that robbing people is neither fair nor legal, and he will calmly go his way, gently smiling with your wallet in your pocket. But no, you won’t have such luck and you will run into an ordinary gloomy and embittered person, and you will also get a punch in the face, if not a feather in the side.

And, with all of the above, the so-called opposition is going to hold the next rally on March 10 on Novy Arbat. Here is what one of the organizers of the planned event, Sergei Parkhomenko, writes on this topic:
“Personally, I am convinced that this rally will be completely different from all previous ones: it will be very businesslike and specific, and will be dedicated to the huge amount of information about fraud and fraud in elections that has been pouring in these days,” from the League of Voters, Citizen Observer, Golos, Prokhorov and Zyuganov headquarters, etc. So it will not be politicians who will speak there, but those who have numbers and facts in their hands. And this thing will be stronger than any “banduputin on trial”. So it seems to me...”

To be honest, when I read this, when I imagined that I would have to listen again to the endless tediousness about voting violations accompanied, naturally, by the refrain, which is already somehow inconvenient to refuse, about “political prisoners,” I immediately needed to immediately drink several packets of phosphalugel , it was just physical heartburn that started. And I decided to make one last attempt to reach at least someone’s mind.

I immediately consider it necessary to warn that from the very beginning I consider this attempt doomed. Our opposition politicians, public and cultural figures, everyone who has access to stands and microphones, represent exclusively a community of showing capercaillie. They do not know how to listen, hear and, especially, understand others. They are only interested in what they themselves say on these stands and into these microphones. There is absolute deafness there and there is no way to break through it. But what can you do, the costs of education, I also belong to Kesey’s generation and for me the phrase: “Still, at least I tried” is not completely empty. So I’m making one last hopeless attempt.

I apologize to citizens of other cities and regions, I will not mention you now only out of ignorance. Perhaps you are even smarter and better, but I want to talk about what I understand and see personally. But in Moscow, those people who now take to the streets and squares do not need to shout a lot of empty slogans and explain something about Putin, Churov and generally anything about this life. There is no need to try to ignite them with chants and practice oratorical techniques on them at the level of a provincial theater group. Not that intellectual, life, social or any other level. Most of those standing under the podium have it much higher than those on it. And in general there is no need to shout or even just talk too loudly. Leave that to the football fans. The people here are still fundamentally different. That’s why I won’t write in capital letters, as is now fashionable when people want to depict this very cry in writing. Although, now I really want to, if not scream at the top of my lungs, then at least raise my voice. But at least I understand that again there is no need to do this.

What do you need?

Three very simple things.

First. Define the goal. One single and very specific one. Which at the same time can unite as many people as possible, in principle, capable of uniting with representatives of other political views, and is of key importance for the possibility of positive transformations in the country. This goal is formulated in just two words: “change of power.”

Second. Find that purely technical point, by influencing which it is possible to legally achieve this goal. There are no problems at all. The only line in the Constitution that requires changes to the following wording: “the president has a maximum of two terms of four years without the right to further hold public office or replace them.”

And third. Next, you should develop a series of consistent specific actions that, in any way and in any form, will contribute to achieving the above. This, naturally, is the most difficult and the only one that is not unique, but, in fact, it is also not a Newton binomial.

Putin, of course, has been fantastically lucky all these years. But chance and luck are rarely on the same side. Finally, at least a little, at least just a little, she smiled at the opposition. True, it was instantly wasted by spraying all these “lists of political prisoners” and “Churov resign.” But the lady of luck, although capricious and completely unpredictable, however, precisely because of this unpredictability, is rarely touchy. And she repeated her smile. A unique situation has arisen.

With the direct, one might say, connivance of the authorities, hundreds of thousands of people in the country have gone through an excellent “school of party activists,” although perhaps the vast majority have not yet understood this themselves. A school in which the course of study was quite short, but almost flawless and extremely effective from a pedagogical point of view. There the necessary level of theoretical training was given, followed by practical training, first, during the organizational period, in the style of “alert drill,” and then, “in the field,” completely according to the “combat alert” program. And now we have people all over the country absolutely ready and in excellent sports and civilian uniform, who have just received almost exactly a baptism of fire as “observers” and, in part, “members of commissions with an advisory voice.”

And at the same time, it seems that they are able to push through the possibility of somehow registering political parties from these very potential members.

I'll say it again. A happy coincidence. Most likely it won't happen again. Maybe someone will stop chatting about Churov and political prisoners and finally try to do something real?

Again, I have to emphasize for those who are especially gifted. Not only without the aforementioned slogans, but without any related ones at all. Since, with all due respect, even to the high-browed intellectual elite of the capital, even behind their very high foreheads more than one slogan cannot be accommodated. This is the problem with human thinking. Nothing extra. Only one thing: “two terms of four years with no further right to civil service.”

Is there a hope and a way to change the corresponding wording of the article of the Constitution under Putin’s rule? Of course not. Because Putin himself understands perfectly well that this is the only effective, real and reliable way to deprive him of this very power. And he will do everything possible and everything in his power to keep the Constitution unchanged, or at least unchanged on this particular issue. And for him it is possible and within his power, I hope it has now finally become completely clear to you, absolutely everything is possible in our country.

But is there an alternative to such a goal and an alternative to behavior aimed at achieving it? Exists. One and only. In general, resign yourself and do nothing.

Suppose you, no, that’s not good, in this case it’s better on yourself, so, let’s say I’m terminally ill and I know that the only medicine that can help is in Istanbul. At the same time, I have no money for travel, no transport, and generally no chance or opportunity to get there. I can stay in place and, in principle, do nothing, calmly waiting for imminent death, or I can still stupidly, not paying attention to the complete hopelessness of this undertaking, begin to move on foot towards Istanbul. Each of the options is, of course, bad, but each has at least some, albeit imposed and completely unpleasant, meaning. But if I don’t stay where I am in order to spend my last days calmly without any extra effort, and I start moving, but towards, say, Sverdlovsk, where there is certainly no medicine, then this will be some kind of completely perverted idiocy.

So, moving towards changing the constitution is, of course, absolutely useless. No one will allow anything to change; the idea is completely empty. But at least there is a cure and the attempt to move in that direction has at least some signs of meaningfulness. And all these political prisoners, Churov’s resignation, the fight against corruption and other nonsense, this is definitely a movement towards Sverdlovsk, that is, complete hopelessness is added to complete senselessness. Well, I don’t know, you have to have some kind of completely unique psyche in order to do all this.

I am writing all this before the rally on Novy Arbat. Which I will, of course, go to again. But I just want to warn you that if the usual clownery continues there again, and I don’t hear clearly formulated goals and objectives, then this will be the last time I go to rallies organized by these wood grouse.

Putin can afford to be funny. For now, Dzerzhinsky's division is subordinate to him. And he gets a deep sense of whether he’s funny or touching with tears in his eyes. And those to whom the above-mentioned division, or whatever this illustrious military unit has now been transformed into, does not obey, can only laugh at themselves, but not become funny. Because when you're funny with a division, it's at least scary. And funny without division is just pathetic.

I don't want to look pathetic. I’d rather remember how Putin cried and I’ll go in a good mood not to your rally, but I’ll find somewhere where I’ll be entertained, and not someone else.

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