Head of Rostourism Oleg Safonov believes that "the need for a beach and sea is largely an imposed stereotype of recent years, which we already perceive as our own opinion. Our ancestors, even those who were well-off, did not travel en masse to foreign seas" (quote from Rossiyskaya Gazeta). With this psychoanalytic conclusion, Safonov supported the theses that it is necessary to develop domestic tourism and leave money at home.

There is no dispute that the development of domestic tourism is a wonderful goal. But the administrative substitution of domestic tourism for external tourism is a bad goal. Not only because it will immediately raise prices for domestic tourism - before any development of infrastructure, but simply because of the decrease in competition. Not only because Russians are essentially being told: do not travel and be part of the global world, make all inclusive at home.

But also because the official sitting in Moscow (Safonov’s declaration indicates ownership of two villas in the Seychelles, but he stated yesterday that the villas were sold) decides for a supposedly free Russian citizen what kind of vacation is best for this citizen.

The Science of Managing Interdictions

Opinions / From the editors

Recently, there have been more and more decisions made for citizens. Officials know better whether or not to save for a pension, what history his children should study at school, what films he should watch at the cinema, etc. By the way, the new Coordination Council for the Development of Domestic and Inbound Tourism is headed by Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets, and her deputy is Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky (Safonov is certainly also on the board).

However, it does not require a serious knowledge of psychoanalysis to understand why officials say such strange things.

Their status requires them to be public and explain the government's decisions in the media. The share of stupid, ill-considered, harmful decisions by the supreme authorities is growing.

Professionalism in such cases requires an official to argue, and loyalty requires developing and confirming the management's idea. Considering that criticizing the management in Russia is prohibited by the law on civil service (even impersonally - Deputy Minister of Economy Sergei Belyakov was fired in August 2014 for such criticism of state policy on a social network), there is almost no room left for professionalism.

We must not forget about ideological limitations. Officials, most of whom are lawyers, economists, managers by profession, have to practice patriotic rhetoric (since it is almost impossible to prove the correctness of decisions legally or economically). This is where the praises of serfdom from the Chairman of the Constitutional Court or the proposals of regional deputies to "eat less" for the sake of a healthy lifestyle arise. One deputy governor said that the same assortment in refrigerators, potatoes and herring on the table - this is a sufficient diet "to move normally."

And yet it is unclear why they cannot say: these are temporary political difficulties. Probably, we should not have difficulties today.

There is no room for weakness in professionalism