Surkov in London: "I am Russian"

Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov came with a lecture at the London School of Economics (LSE). In London, Surkov met with protests: the participants in the opposition movement "Speak louder" put on masks with his photos and demanded the inclusion of Surkov in the "Magnitsky list".

Photo: Facebook/Andrey Sidelnikov

Surkov came to give a lecture on the topic "Innovation in Russia: Plans and Prospects" with a little delay. In LSE, students (mainly from Russia) and British reporters were already waiting for him - however, judging by the BBC messages , the hall was filled with only two -thirds, which is quite unusual (in such cases, the LSE hall is usually clogged). Surkov said in Russian: "I will speak Russian, and I do not apologize for that, because I am Russian. My English is not good enough."

Publicpost collected the most striking moments from the speech of the deputy prime minister.

About the corruption scandal in Skolkovo

“I believe that Skolkovo is one of the cleanest projects from the point of view of possible abuse. Russia says that the fish rot from the head. So, our head is not rotten, and therefore, and below is much more cleaner than in many other Russian projects,” Surkov said. The President of the Foundation Victor Vekselberg, Surkov believes, too rich a person to spoil his reputation as such scandals: “He has already earned enough, he has been already many years old, he is already thinking about his mission - what will be written about him later. In my field, I was one of the most successful. "

Surkov said that in Skolkovo there may be unscrupulous people, as elsewhere: "If some pig ruined your reputation, this does not mean that your whole business must be multiplied by zero. You just need to drive this pig. And work further."

The fact that the reputation of the project is spoiled is to blame the “energetic work” of the Investigative Committee, Surkov believes. "And, of course, in my opinion, it may be wrong to talk about violations before a court decision, maybe wrong."

About Putin and stagnation

One of the British journalists asked Surkov if the Russian "stability" turned into stagnation. The Deputy Prime Minister said that he personally does not observe any stagnation. "Putin is in power for the third term. Blair, if my memory serves me, was chosen three times. Angel Merkel is now, apparently, for the third time he will become a chancellor of Germany. These questions do not ask anyone," Surkov said. Stagnation, in his opinion, gives the authorities to relax and relax, and in Russia now you need to work a lot: “Life in Russia is very violent, dynamic, very restless, we have a lot of troubles, we have a lot of trouble. I would be happy. I will not work out of stagnation. And they wouldn’t give it! You don’t give it with your global financial crisis, then yours from the Caucasus ... It’s a pity that there is no stagnation that there is no stagnation. Once ".

According to Surkov, one of the main tasks that is now facing the country is “the exit from the paradigm of the military-raw power”: “If we need a militarized country, where the main thing is to check, then this is one trend. If we need a country where you can create, where you can be free and create useful things, products and services for each other, then this is a completely different strategic choice. I think that this is an existential choice. This is not a taste, this is the choice of existence.

About the system and opposition

Surkov was expected to be asked about the political state in Russia after winter protests 2011-12. The Deputy Prime Minister replied that the system "survived the 2011 election". "Do you really have a feeling that after the rallies of December 2011, the old system collapsed? No, it defeated the opposition. This is a fact. She finally showed rigidity - long -awaited rigidity! - in relation to extremists. And finally those who considered it possible to beat the police, suffered a well -deserved punishment," he said, obviously, referring to the "swamp business".

As for United Russia, Surkov said that the party in power should have powerful competitors, and added that the state should help in creating the second of the same large batch: “What to wait for something spontaneously formed? <...> I am sure that our political system is in the leg with our society. It is part of it, all its institutions are rooted in the head. It reflects the state of mentality and souls of the Russian people. It is. Reflects the evolution of society - to the extent that it took place no more and no less. "