Will salvation come from the West?

When things in Russia are unimportant (and this happens much more often than the opposite), we always very much hope that at the decisive hour Russia and Russians will still save the West. It will save simply because people living in this very West, especially in the USA, it seems to us, are close to us and ours, such seemingly common values with them. The West was supposed to save Russia from Stalin (but did not save - on the contrary, according to the Yalta agreements Smersh, hundreds of thousands of people were given out who sought to stay in the West after the war), then from Brezhnev (but also did not save, Brezhnev, like Stalin, ruled until the last day of his life, and died by a natural death), now many will expect the lessons and at least “at least” the Russians from eternal relief from eternal reign Putin.

The belief that it is the West that will achieve freedom and civil rights for Russians, to all the satraps of the current regime contrary to, dominates the heads of almost most of the opposition. Here, we will turn on one or another hated official in the “Magnitsky List”, they will end while breaming in a frying pan, the regime will fall almost immediately! - very, very many reasoned naively. The Obama Administration included, however, only relatively insignificant characters, which caused a sad bewilderment in the Russian opposition, but then unexpectedly “polite people” occupied Crimea, which was occupied and annexed in an alert way - and under not only American, but also European sanctions were dozens of representatives of the most top leadership of Russia. The stability of Putin’s regime, however, was not shaken, and nothing added to the Russian opposition. For which dozens of Russian radical political activists fought for several years, which they called for, but what, in the heart, they did not believe, it happened, but no one was easier for anyone, not a single problem was resolved. At the same time, the heads of the largest concerns, such as Siemens andShell , continue to go to business meetings to Putin; Herhard Schroeder celebrates his 70th anniversary with Putin in the Yusupov Palace , explaining the friendly hugs for the fact that they “greet anything for fourteen years” and “ will not change anything ”, and even Vladimir Medinsky, about completely wild , also diluted by other authors of the dissertation and no less wild anti-Western fervor, has already been written everywhere, has already written many times everywhere everywhere, it seems, it seems, it seems. He was awarded the mantle of the Honorary Professor from the University of Venice, for the delivery of which the vice -rector of it was not even too lazy to fly to Moscow . According to her, "the title of Medinsky was awarded not as a minister, but as a historian who made a great contribution to the development of Russian science." No more nor less, and no letters of protest of the largest Russian intellectuals helped.

It is necessary to realize what it is painful and unpleasant: the West will not build a free society in Russia

But how is it?! Do they really not understand?! After all, “we” are fighting for the best future for all mankind, for the triumph of such dear “ideals” of freedom and human rights! .. How can “they” hand the title of honorary professor to the one whose anticosmopolitanism is comparable only with his own homophobia - if the deceased could applaud from the other world, then Goebbels would probably come in ecstasy from the phrase V.R. Medinsky "Dual citizenship is the same kind of perversion as an attempt to have two male parents." From the tragic history of genocides and deportations V.R. Medinsky made this conclusion: "If you are the leader of the Russian state, then you will think primarily about your subjects. And if you need to let the Finns naked on the snow so that your people are safe, you will ruin and expel the Finns." Madam Primector - by the way, the Russianman herself - called , however, those who were indignant against the Italian honorary professorship of Medinsky, "a group of people protesting for any reason." Like this.

This is all, in general, not just annoying, but really bitter, but you need to realize what is painful and unpleasant: the West will not build a free society in Russia. No matter what wonderful decisions the European Court of Human Rights in the claims of Russian citizens made, many years of practice clearly indicates that these verdicts did not have any significant political and legal consequences: as a maximum, individual people received certain monetary compensations, as a rule, by the way, very small. We will remind, by the way, that three years ago, the judges of the ECHR were cunning not to recognize Mikhail Khodorkovsky with political prisoners - it is difficult to find a greater abuse of common sense. However, even when certain human rights verdicts were accepted-for example, regarding the violation of the rights of representatives of the LGBT community to freedom of assembly , no one fulfilled them or fulfill them, and the Western “partners” de facto reconciled with this: the decision on the lawsuit of the Moscow gay pride was made by the ECHR three and a half years ago-not a single one and after they did not agree on! I am far from reducing everything to oil and gas dependence or to lose the opportunity to withdraw the NATO troops from Afghanistan through a seemingly relatively convenient base in Ulyanovsk - there are a lot of reasons for the existing situation, and they are obvious to the Venice vennect than the head of the Siemens concern. However, the fact remains: the hope that salvation will come from the West is illusory. Russia is not Japan and not Germany in 1945, a nuclear power that spreads into such a huge territory, by the foreign armed forces, will never be occupied, and certain sanctions will not change the essence of the regime in Russia, as they have not changed it in Iran; In addition, there will always be more than those who want to give a damn about these sanctions more than enough.

In general, to all those who are dear to the values of freedom in Russia, it is worth understanding that you can hope exclusively for yourself.

Alec D. Epstein - sociologist and historian

Opinions expressed under the heading "Law" may not reflect the point of view of the editorial office