The canvas curtain

On April 10, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned the Russians traveling abroad that they could be detained or arrested in connection with anti -Russian sanctions imposed by the United States.

The queue at passport control at Pulkovo-2 airport. Russians are still being released/Photo: Sergey Bertov/Interpress/ITAR-TASS

For greater persuasiveness, a list of countries has been published on the Foreign Ministry website that has bilateral issuance agreements in the United States.

We’ll clarify right away: this appeal is not to Russians in general - this is an appeal to large officials and state businessmen, who to one degree or another affiliated with existing power. The Foreign Ministry could not issue a statement that warns exclusively large officials and businessmen about such a danger. The department pretends to care about the people in general.

In fact, this is a very large psychological mistake of the ministry. Yes, the euphoria has not yet passed from the accession of Crimea, the manic stage of psychosis has not yet changed depression, which will inevitably happen in the near future, but this is the first call for the general masses of the population, the signal that they are if not for iron, then at least a fairly dense canvas curtain.

The old laf, when it was possible to freely go abroad, ends for elites. For the rest - does not end yet. But this is for now.

The Foreign Ministry sows bad forebodings even among those who support the annexation of Crimea. And this applies not only to officials or businessmen. This is a signal for everyone: "Let's all unanimously unite around the existing Russian authorities, remain in Russia and forget that the West has some kind of meaning for us, because we are all patriots."

I personally did not notice that my rights were at least somewhat infringed on in the West and in the USA, where I go often enough. So the statement of the Foreign Ministry is from the category of delirium. This is an attempt to tie everyone with circular guarantee. We all have to be on a sinking ship. Prochrevskaya political and economic elite is already entering there. Now it remains to show that the people are ready to enter this ship. No one will succeed in jumping from there.

But, in addition, this is a clear manifestation of nostalgia for the Soviet Union, which is propaganda for the Kremlin. The people often take her seriously. We are persistently inspired that there is supposedly real nostalgia, especially in elites. But this is not true, in fact it is not. In general, today's elite is formed on the bones of the Soviet Union and the disposal of the Soviet inheritance. The people who have not received anything from that disposal are sincerely nostalgic. Therefore, the false propaganda campaign falls on the fertile soil of quite real, oil and expectations.