Getting down from satisfaction

How General Zolotov created a new genre

In the public life of the country, events sometimes occur, for the description and analysis of which it is extremely difficult to find the right tone and exact intonation. It seems to me that the video message from the Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Viktor Zolotov to the opposition politician Alexei Navalny is one of those.

On the one hand, this is, of course, an amazingly funny document, and already in the first hours and even minutes after its publication, Russian social networks literally boiled over from the shaft of ridicule and jokes that fell on the high-ranking head of a high-ranking security official. Well, what other reaction can an appeal to the traditions of the nobility, to the standards of officer honor, formulated with the help of a semi-criminal tavern lexicon by a person who sits in front of the camera in the uniform of a general with huge stars on shoulder straps? It is obvious that the most organic continuation of the phrase “if you start to get down with satisfaction” (namely, such a language construction was heard from the lips of the general) would be the warning “the boys will not understand.” I kept waiting for Viktor Vasilyevich to utter the sacramental “you have to answer for the market in kind”, but, apparently, this classic formula is already in store for the next video. Or was cut during installation. But the word "answer", to my deepest satisfaction, was nevertheless heard in the fiery speech of the patriot general. There is also a funny semantic incident. Speaking about the fact that the Russian oppositionists treat their people as cattle, General Zolotov reproached his opponent for considering the Russian people "worthy of the fate in which they now exist." The general himself, one must think (and here I am in complete solidarity with him), is sure that our people deserve a better fate than the one "in which they now exist."

But if the first, ascertaining and accusatory part of General Zolotov's speech (and in it he walked across the entire opposition clearing, hooking both Khodorkovsky and Berezovsky) causes simply squeamish bewilderment and even some confusion, then at the moment when he spoke about the traditions of Russian officers and literally called Navalny to the barrier, I, excuse me, laughed out loud. I suddenly thought that now the offended general would warn the slanderer that his seconds would arrive at the special detention center, where Navalny was serving an administrative arrest, in order to transfer the call. And tomorrow, two brilliant lieutenant colonels, right in the courtyard of the special detention center No. 2, during the walk of the prisoners, will throw a white glove to Navalny. It is a pity, by the way, that Zolotov himself and those who helped him create this work of cinema art did not have enough talent and imagination for the organic development of the plot.

However, the laughter ends exactly at the moment when one seriously thinks about the challenge faced by Russian society in the person of one of the most influential security officials who allows himself to talk to this very society in such a striking way. The letter is not private, it is made public. It is obvious that the video message of General Zolotov to the politician Navlny has several semantic layers. First of all, this video is without a doubt a direct and obvious threat against Alexei Navalny, who accused the general of corruption. And what was the answer? Maybe General Zolotov, in addition to spouting all this semi-criminal jargon, tried to explain himself, cited refuting facts, and presented documents? Nothing like this! General Zolotov simply said: “Come on, brother, I’d better punch you in the face!” Well, a decent answer, nothing to say. It is only strange that, for example, Alexei Ulyukaev, who was also accused of corruption, was immediately put in handcuffs and was not allowed to shout in the face of Igor Sechin: “You, my dear, are a slanderer and a scoundrel! If you please, immediately to the barrier! And if you remember with what language phrases the threat that sounded from the mouth of Zolotov was formulated, then you suddenly realize that, excuse me, it was not a “statesman” who “hit” Navalny, as it is written about Zolotov in Wikipedia, but rather - An important crime boss. That is, the law does not smell here. General Zolotov is not dragging Navalny to court, he is calling him to a “showdown”.

The next question to which we need to get an answer is: how could this, in principle, happen? We weren’t born yesterday, and we perfectly understand that if a high-ranking security official, that is, a statesman invested with considerable power, allows himself to publicly make such self-revealing scandalous statements, it means that not everything is in order with this state. This means that an important distribution of roles and functions has been destroyed in it, and there is no one to put in place an unbridled official. And if General Zolotov has carte blanche for such militant demarches, then what other resource is he allowed to use without asking for anyone's sanction?

Apparently, we have witnessed the birth of a new genre. Now, one must think, following the tycoon Alisher Usmanov and General Viktor Zolotov, other representatives of the Russian political elite will consider it necessary to publish a video with a video message to Alexei Navalny. For example, from the liberal wing of the executive branch. And here, of course, the first word belongs to Dmitry Medvedev, one of the most beloved heroes of Alexei Navalny. If I were the director of such a video, I would advise Dmitry Anatolyevich to put a small yellow duck on the table, at which he will pronounce his accusatory monologue under the camera.