Let them hate

The idea that the king is good, and the boyars are bad with him, lives for a long time and is not going to die. The peak of the popularity of this idea falls on those days when society was very unanimously in a positive assessment of the autocrat and negative - bureaucracy. It was a very simple idea for a very simple society.

Times are changing, and society too. The authorities, dreaming of becoming absolute, are forced to take this into account. In difficult times for her, she tries to be convincing and explained for a wide variety of layers of society. For the most naive, Putin is still good, and ministers and officials are bad. The most suspicious is convinced that bad elites in power are prevailing over good ones. The most cautious remind of what can happen after Putin if something like Udaltsov or Demushkin comes to power.

The power of the many -sided and wants everyone to please. But this is still a means, not a goal. The goal is self -preservation, the inviolability of the regime. And if for the sake of this you will have to sacrifice a beautiful and convincing picture, the authorities will sacrifice this. This was clearly shown by the story with the "anti -magnetic" law. The image of power in this story fell below the lower, but it did not stop it. She played on all strings of public hopes and doubts. The most naive hoped that Putin would not sign a bill adopted by parliament. The most suspicious relied on the conflict of elites and the victory of common sense. The most cautious was intimidated by American danger. And then Putin signed this law, because neither public hopes within Russia, nor international fears are truly taken into account.

Now some argue that Putin is unreasonable and digs his grave. Nonsense. He makes exactly what corresponds to his strategic goal. He is indifferent to the fate of Russian orphans. He is not afraid of the spread of sanctions in Canada and Europe. It doesn’t matter to him how to talk about him and what to think. There is only one strategic goal - to show power. This is the most important, and especially because everything comes into decline - from economics and education to law and order and defense capabilities. All bets on force - within the country in relation to the opposition, and behind its borders in relations with the whole world. In addition to the strength of Putin, there is nothing to impress. Like a spiker that tears a shirt on himself in a thieves tantrum, Putin demonstrates the whole world how he does not feel sorry for the children of his own country for the sake of a chilly political answer.

The madness of the Russian authorities, obvious to the whole world, should terrify those who remember Russian nuclear arsenals. "If they are so ruthless in relation to their own children, then what will be kept from the first atomic blow?" So cautious Western politicians should think. Such a reaction is counted in the Kremlin.

The policy of weak power is to portray power. In essence, this is a bluff. The nuclear potential, although it is also great, but gradually, thank God, comes to naught. The army, eaten by irresponsibility and corruption, is no longer able to threaten the whole world, as it was during the USSR. It remains defiantly to destroy their children and spread rot the opposition. There are still forces.

The vector of Putin's politics is obvious. Their path is narrow, under the slope, and even slow down, not to mention the launch of the state car in the other direction, they are not able to. They are programmed for authoritarianism, repression and external expansion. On this path, they will do everything in their power. Maybe they will not succeed, especially if the opposition shows courage and uncompromising, and the international community - firmness.

At least now, after the adoption of the detonavian law, it seems, no one should have illusions in relation to the Russian government. Sow fear, force yourself to be afraid - this is the real strategy of Putinism.