Inexplicable arbitrariness

Why political repression affects everyone, not just political activists

It happens, oddly enough, understandable and in its own way even logical arbitrariness. Well, here, for example: on May 22, Alexei Navalny's press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, went to the Tverskoye police department with a power of attorney to protect Ruslan Shaveddinov, the host of the Navalny Live channel, who had been detained by the police. However, she herself was detained, a protocol was drawn up under Article 20.2.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (“repeated violation of the rules for holding a mass action”, a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles or an administrative arrest for up to 30 days). At the time of writing these lines, Yarmysh is awaiting trial, and, of course, there is no doubt that she will be found guilty. The only question is the extent of the punishment.

She - like other associates of Navalny across the country - is being seized after the fact for "organizing an uncoordinated action" on May 5th. In almost all cases, as evidence of guilt - one or two tweets (or even retweets) written in mid-April. That is, about a couple of weeks before the actions in different cities were not agreed upon. This, of course, is no longer a violation of the laws of the Russian Federation, but the laws of physics - it is impossible to commit administrative crimes ahead of schedule. It is not possible to call for participation in an inconsistent promotion before the promotion has become inconsistent. This is an attack on common sense, a challenge to the world order, that is, a real arbitrariness in its purest form.

But, we repeat, there is nothing incomprehensible in it, this is just an explicable arbitrariness: the authorities are obviously afraid. Fear breeds rage, rage realizes itself through ridiculous sentences. At the same time, the authorities look ridiculous, of course, but people who are fined for crazy money or locked up in special detention centers for a month are probably not so funny.

But there is also arbitrariness completely inexplicable. The newly appointed government begins work and pleases with the first initiatives. So, the Ministry of Culture decided to keep up with the older comrades and contribute to the good anti-sanctions cause. Namely, to ban the activities of the Dutch company Booking.com in Russia, which allows you to book hotels and buy tickets at competitive prices.

That is, not to completely cut off Russians from using a convenient and familiar service (try now, when after the story with Telegram blocking, the level of computer literacy has grown significantly and vpn technology has not been mastered only by the lazy, cut Russians off from something), but to deprive the service of the opportunity to work with our hotels and carriers. Prices for hotel rooms will rise! report . experts It is not surprising.

Any crazy, at first glance, idea has an author, this one has Sergey Voitovich, the owner of several travel companies involved, among other things, in booking hotels. His interest is understandable and simple, but everything changes when the idea begins to be “worked out” by the state department, which does not tire of repeating the need to develop domestic tourism. Here, after all, it is no longer about the entrepreneur's desire to earn money by dealing with successful competitors with the help of the state club. It's about the state's intention to make the lives of its citizens a little more inconvenient and a little more expensive. Moreover, in the sphere, the prosperity of which the state seems to be taking care of.

Here the arbitrariness is inexplicable, shooting oneself in the foot, the notorious "bombing of Voronezh". The Ministry of Culture sent a proposal to Rostourism, and obliged Rostourism to consider the proposal by June 4. This is the evening of May 22nd. But already on the 23rd, the director of the relevant department of the ministry, Olga Yarilova, suddenly announced that the Ministry of Culture was categorically against the ban . Between the two news - squabbles unknown to the world, a blow to the cap to overzealous officials from some real bosses from those areas where decisions are actually made. From the presidential administration, apparently. And this is an interesting point in its own way.

Paradoxically, this craving of middle-handed statesmen for inexplicable arbitrariness turns out to be an argument in favor of the irremovability of power. Look, there, at the very top - sane, it turns out, people! If they are removed, who will protect us from the madness of Medinsky's subordinates and the impulses of the Volodinsky flock?

Hand on heart: we are already accustomed to the fact that in the political sphere the state creates just arbitrariness. He tramples down the clearing, deals with the dissatisfied, not looking back either at logic, or at civil rights, or at his own laws. We acknowledged that this is now the norm. Either portray permitted activity in agreement with your superiors in special enclosures (we saw this in the presidential elections, and we will soon see it in the Moscow mayoral elections), or get huge fines, or even terms. Never. For politics as such. There is, albeit a cannibalistic, but sense in this: the desire to maintain power at any cost requires sacrifice, and those who encroach on power are appointed as victims.

But getting used to the fact that in areas that have nothing to do with politics, the state can act to the detriment of citizens, create trouble and inconvenience just like that, for the sake of vague ideological goals or without a goal at all - it’s still hard. This contradicts the inherent human craving for rationalization of one's own being. But inside the authorities there are always people who are ready to act in this way. Remember the story of the failed ban on American drugs so far? The scheme is similar: dashing deputies demonstrate their readiness to simply take and kill a certain number of Russians in order to show their temper to the overseas enemy. Get a scolding, soften the wording. The Ministry of Culture, however, did not think of the murders, and thanks for that.

Paradoxically, this craving of middle-handed statesmen for inexplicable arbitrariness turns out to be an argument in favor of the irremovability of power. Look, there, at the very top - sane, it turns out, people! If they are removed, who will protect us from the madness of Medinsky's subordinates and the impulses of the Volodinsky flock?

It sounds beautiful, if you forget that the truly important and terrible decisions that lead to sanctions and confrontation with the world are made at the very top. If you pretend that ministers in ministries and deputies in the Duma are born like mold, by themselves, and not by the will of this very top. To be honest, you won’t understand in each specific case what it is: a difficult game, reconnaissance in force, a test of how much more arbitrariness the Russians are able to endure, followed by stopping especially harmful initiatives, or a demonstration that it is increasingly difficult for the top to control sincere lovers of senseless arbitrariness .

And the threat of senseless arbitrariness is a natural payment for the fact that we have put up with meaningful arbitrariness.

By the way, the Ministry of Culture still (so far) has quite humane ideas in service. We could ban Western books and Western films in response to Western sanctions. Or just going abroad. If Abramovich can't, then we don't need to.

* The opinion of the author may not coincide with the opinion of the editors