The election ritual is meaningless, but useful

The 2018 campaign is not needed by the population, but to elites: this is a way to spend money and demonstrate loyalty to the authorities

Photo: kremlin.ru

Self -nomination

The election campaign for the President of Russia is a strange event, even if we consider it exclusively in theoretically. For example, why in such a huge country as Russia, voters should decide on the candidate in just two months? Why should ordinary candidates gather 500 people for their nomination and then another 300 thousand voter signatures in their support, and the nominee from no one and most often existing only 100 thousand signatures on paper only on paper? And these are only the most obvious oddities. However, they have quite pragmatic explanations.

For many years, since the time of Boris Yeltsin, the authorities have complicated the entire electoral system as much as possible, obviously aiming at the maximum control of all participants in the process and, most importantly, the elimination of the very possibility of winning anyone other than the current head of state or the successor approved by him.

In parallel, there was another process that finally turned the elections into a play with a famous ending - the creation of a system of preventing candidates inconvenient for power in the elections. As we can see, this system works great manually, and the candidate is unable to power simply does not even have a chance to begin to fulfill all the signatures prescribed by law and after participating in the election campaign as such.

It would seem that the effective work of the system of preventing the elections deprives the meaning of excessive severity and difficulties during the campaign, and it would be possible to weaken nuts and simplify all the procedures. For example, if you really want to keep the candidates admitted to the elections, then for this it is not necessary to demand the notorious signatures from them at all - there are a lot of other methods.

Finally, the participation of the current president in these elections seems completely pointless as an allegedly ordinary self -nominated one: what is the point of performing the entire complex and confusing ritual of nominating and collecting signatures if the candidate himself does not participate at all, while no one doubts that he will be registered and elected? To whom Putin wants to appear as a simple self -nominee? Who is this naive audience, which will pay attention to unknown social activists issued for chiefs of staff, but will not notice the thunderous grinding of the entire administrative mechanism and the 24 -hour bustle of officials of all levels?

To whom Putin wants to appear as a simple self -nominee? Who is this naive audience, which will pay attention to unknown social activists issued for chiefs of staff, but will not notice the thunderous grinding of the entire administrative mechanism

It seems that the versions about the preservation of legitimacy and additional agitation of the masses during the elections do not give an exhaustive answer to the questions posed. Simplification of the procedure would not reduce the legitimacy in the sense in which it is now understood in the Kremlin, and we do not stop the population for the current power for a day, and it is hardly coercion to collect signatures that increases the level of support.

So why does the government save and aggravate all this incredible complexity of the election procedures if they mean nothing by themselves and their result is known? Why spend hundreds of millions of rubles and millions of man-hours for the sake of obtaining a well-known and inevitable result?

Why is the ritual more complicated

Everything falls into place if we look at the situation from a different angle. De facto presidential elections in modern Russia-reorganization by the President of himself, the technical procedure taking place at the moment when he informs his environment: they say, I thought here and decided that I was staying.

But de jure Russia still remains a republic, and the decision must be issued with the help of rituals and rituals prescribed by law. Of course, the ritual could be simplified and minimized: the current president declares that he wants to re -elect, they automatically register, the Duma parties exhibit several spoilers, no signatures and stupid things, the campaign is a month, then the inauguration. Would there be such a simplified procedure less legitimate from a legal point of view? No, she is no worse than existing. Would voters be upset from the fact that the campaign has become even shorter and more swift? It is hardly, in any case, those layers of the population on which the power relies and is quite reasonably counting on.

The ritual could be simplified and minimized: the current president declares that he wants to re -elect, they automatically register, the Duma parties exhibit several spoilers, no signatures and stupid things, the campaign is a month, then the inauguration

But this is the main secret of modern Russian elections: they are not so much designed to create a sense of their involvement in what is happening in the population as they give the elites of all stripes and levels the opportunity to participate in them with money and zeal, thus demonstrating their loyalty not so much to the first person as to his immediate superiors. Simply put, elections in Russia in 2018 are not an attraction for the population, but, above all, a ritual for the elite.

Therefore, over the years, the ritual became more and more complicated and sophisticated - so as much as possible a number of people could participate in it. Of course, Putin could go to the presidential elections from United Russia and not at all bother at any signatures, especially since they had already done it. But a difficult path with self-nomination and collection of 300 thousand signatures creates a great opportunity to participate in the ritual of a huge number of people who are exhausting from the desire to do something for the president.

At each stage of the procedure, more and more parts of the elite are involved in it. One had an honorary role to be members of the initiative group - 500 people joined the inevitable victory only through this. The All -Russian collection of signatures is all the more unique opportunity for many people in the regions: at the very bottom are small organizers who provide the service to local authorities, local authorities report about the quickly and qualitatively produced gathering to the regional authorities, they are already reporting to Moscow - and all in case, many people and night smoke victory. Glass, of course, beats over the edge, and scandals constantly arise - but this is part of the struggle inside the apparatus: provide a service to the president, but do not fall, do not scold, otherwise the competitors will wrap your success against you!

Glass, of course, beats over the edge, and scandals constantly arise - but this is part of the struggle inside the apparatus: provide a service to the president, but do not fall, do not scold, otherwise the competitors will wrap your success against you!

Of course, the right number of signatures for Putin was collected quickly - but who needs speed during the performance of the ritual? As already mentioned, it is important to give the opportunity to join the process as many people as possible, and not its predictable result. Therefore, for some reason, “United Russia” also assembled signatures, yesterday’s opposition members participate in their collection, as a result they are gaining many times more than they need-because every day of the collection of signatures and each new thousand allows someone else to report to the authorities, demonstrate the presence of a resource and the ability to use it in the interests of the sacred victory.

Board of priests

Or here are the headquarters. Anyone who ever encountered real elections knows: the chief of staff is a person engaged in organizational work, a technical and very troublesome position. And of course, the chief of staff should be alone - it is impossible to work otherwise. But if the main thing is not the result, but the process, then the function of the headquarters is also changing-it becomes a kind of college of priests, which consists in an honorable, prestigious and troublesome only in the sense of internal intrigues and the need to participate in the performance of simple rites: to meet someone under the cameras, read the importance of what is happening from the center of slogans and with all their appearance.

In fact, the headquarters are not those who should show some talents there and, following the election results, get encouragement and discover new prospects, and people who are selected in advance for subsequent advance-and this perfectly explains who are all these people and why there are so many of them: if three or four people can spend through the post of chief of staff, why limit themselves to one? It is amazing that the matter did not reach ten or more co -chairs - and it is not a fact that we will not survive to this in case of further re -election of Putin. We will then see all these people who have surfaced from the emptiness of social activists more than once, and they will tell us: everything is logical, this person showed himself so well as the co -chairman of the headquarters, which now became a deputy, minister, mayor, director and so on.

The candidate proceedings are another type of honorary collegium of priests. It is in some competitive elections to the City Duma that proofs run around the yards and campaign for a candidate-at the presidential level, in most cases, all the same form of social incentive and labeling of belonging to elites: only two months of tireless trouble-but then you can call yourself a presidential authorized person for six years! Needless to say, not those who can sanctify someone, but those who are already selected for further advancement in legal politics or encouraged for the already undertaken efforts. Therefore, the formation of a full list of Putin’s proxies has been so delayed: too many people, too many intrigues and interests of influence groups - and the number of places is limited! Needless to say, if at least something depended on the activities of proxies, their list would be provided immediately and in full-the campaign is short, dear every hour?

Too many people, too many intrigues and interests of influence groups - and the number of places is limited! Needless to say, if at least something depended on the activities of proxies, their list would be provided immediately and in full-the campaign is short

For local authorities, the presidential campaign also creates new opportunities. The main candidate himself will hardly develop some extraordinary activity, but still, on the occasion of the election, a number of regions will visit in excess of the usual norm-and this is also a unique chance to show themselves, demonstrate devotion, and show zeal for local authorities. If there were no elections, there would be fewer such trips, which means that the governors and local elites seem less to the president and demonstrate their “Potemkin villages”.

About how much material benefit a huge number of people will extract from the campaign for the elections and the future of the winner is a separate topic. The scale can be estimated if only because the Mosgorisbirk alone has already ordered some happy people of souvenir products for more than 200 million! But there are beatings in every city, in every region - and everyone needs posters, souvenirs, pens, notebooks! And this is not to mention the placement of banners, the seal and distribution of newspapers, leaflets, posters in favor of the candidates and, above all, the most important candidate-someone prints, someone spreads, someone organizes, someone writes reports. 400 million only from the official fund of Putin - is it necessary to say that only trusted people are allowed for their development, for whom this is also encouragement and a ticket to new horizons of prosperity? At the same time, no miracles of creativity should be shown - since the winner is known and inevitable, the task of responsible for agitation is precisely what to master the budget and beautifully report to the immediate superiors.

The 2018 presidential election in Russia is in many ways an exemplary ritual action, which allows the already established elite to once again demonstrate his devotion to the leader, and each other's rank in the hierarchy. Is it surprising that the procedure is completely devoid of intrigue, internal drama and any interest for an outside observer?

The ritual metaphor gives an answer to all questions and completely describes the logic of what is happening. For the atheist, long solemn services also seem strange, meaningless and excessively pompous, but a religious person can sincerely enjoy the ceremony itself, and the priests participating in it also see the practical meaning of the action that reflects the hierarchy of the cult and the place of every participant in it.

* Political scientist, permanent Columnist NT

The author’s opinion may not coincide with the opinion of the editorial office