Irina Khakamada: "Gudkovs and Mikhalkovs"

“What happened? Firstly, the Gudkov family, unlike the Mikhalkovs, went beyond the unwritten rules of the system, merging with the protest street and gaining strength that was no longer controlled by the authorities. The behavior of law enforcement agencies from this point of view is logical: to weaken, depriving them of status and money Secondly, as in the case of K. Sobchak, convey to the Gudkovs and others like them a final warning about the possible consequences of activities destructive to the system. What is happening? It seems to me that the main distinguishing feature of it in Russia is always a split in the elite. Let us remember the quarrel between Yeltsin and Gorbachav, or Yeltsin and Khasbulatov, or Yeltsin and Dudayev. Now it seems that Gudkov is not capable of such a scale. But streams make rivers..."