How I was elected to the Constitutional Court of the Russian opposition

1. Positive result.

I spoke and speak. Such a CS is better than none; any organization is better than none at all. Unity is better than atomization. This only plays into the hands of the “enemies of the people” and democracy.

The initial goal was achieved. I, of course, understood that it was to legitimize the already existing organizing committee of the Moscow protests. This legitimation has been received. 80,000 people is approximately the figure that is always used to describe the number of the next Million March in Moscow (although many people from the provinces voted). In addition, professional oppositionists and the authorities were shown a large “bench of reserves”, which unambiguously answers the question: “If not Putin, then who... (not the cat).”

The elections have become a guide for the thieves’ government and the people on how to conduct fair elections, with debates, with election programs, with political compasses, excuse me, with a respectful attitude towards “rivals”. It's worth a lot. This has probably never happened before.

2. What did you get in the end?

Naturally, the created body cannot be called the Council of the Opposition of All Russia. Rather, this is still the Moscow headquarters of the organization of opposition activities within the Garden Ring, and does not cover all the political and public protest forces in Moscow (as we know, the Forum of Left Forces initially refused to participate in the elections; the participation of members of the Left Front in them was their personal initiative). The result was predictable and was predicted, for example, by my colleague O. Lurie, with whom I have many discrepancies, but, to give credit where credit is due, his list of CCs, posted on LiveJournal on the eve of the vote, coincided almost 100% with what was received as a result of the vote. Despite the wonderful live debates on Dozhd, no more than 2,000 registered voters voted for their participants. And the remaining 79,000, I think, were guided only by familiar names. Therefore, only media figures made it to the top thirty of the general civil list. Or those who were “dragged along” by media figures: “the guys from Navalny’s office,” “friends of Ksenia Sobchak.” This is where the heads of the areas of work of Navalny’s office or the biologist Gelfand came to the Constitutional Court. It was also predictable that the composition of the Constitutional Court would be liberal. After all, Internet users, even in the provinces, are liberal-minded young people. Therefore, the second place is taken by the poet Bykov, who has never spent the night in a monkey bar, and the 20th place is taken by Sergei Udaltsov, who has never left the special detention center. Now the left, of course, has every reason to tell him: “Well, Sergei Stanislavovich, we told you, don’t go to the liberals, they’ll only choose their own. You’ll be left alone in the bohemian crowd.”

3. How to turn the headquarters of the liberal Moscow Garden Ring opposition into a nationwide all-Russian opposition movement?

It seems to me that the very idea of ​​such primaries of media figures is categorically not suitable for this. There is no need to organize competitions and elections. We need to unite into a united national opposition front (I apologize for the worn-out term). The more parties, public organizations and regions (as well as famous people) included in it, the better. This should not be an election, but a formation! I believe that parties and public organizations that share the goals and objectives of the opposition movement should themselves delegate their representatives to the Coordination Council. Regional protest centers should do the same, where they actually exist. The criterion for participation in the Council should be the presence of real people behind the candidates. Well, that is, anyone must answer the question: “How much can your party, organization, regional civil council bring people out into the streets tomorrow?”

At the same time, the Central Coordination Council may have a variety of auxiliary departments (propaganda, press center, etc.), in which all interested famous people can work: from bloggers and journalists to Nikolai Baskov and Shevchuk.

It is necessary to go to the “people” with newspapers, the word of truth, organizing local (at the place of work, study or residence) primary Civil Councils. This is the only way, I think, that something can be resolved.

Regarding participation in the Churov elections. Personally, I have no illusions about this. There is only one advantage from monitoring them. In these fights in the areas, civilian fighters are tempered. And that's all. Let’s imagine that Chirikova would still win in Khimki. She wouldn't be allowed to work. This is a fact. Either she would have to become part of a corrupt system, or the system would reject her. How many people now remember the liberal experiment with Governor Belykh?

So, the most important thing for today is to unite the Constitutional Court and parties (public organizations), the Constitutional Court and the regions. I know that some kind of ISS (not an international space station), but an Interregional Coordination Council, is already being created. Jokes aside, but if in the near future the CS continues to hang out in “Jean-Jacques”, the regions will unite themselves.