February 11, 2019, 11:54 pm / Opinions

One Hundred Years of Putinism

The ideologist of the Putin era sees the future only behind the ideology of Putinism

The competition for praise for the current regime is intensifying, and as 2024 approaches, calls for its conservation will sound more frequent and louder. A policy article by one of the most important Russian ideologists, Vladislav Surkov, on the globality of Putinism as an ideology of the 21st century. reflects the evolution of his views on the ideal state system from soft authoritarianism to thinly disguised monarchism.

A key actor in Russian domestic politics in the 2000s and one of the architects of the current system of power, presidential aide in charge of Ukraine, Surkov published an article in Nezavisimaya Gazeta, “Putin’s Long State,” in which he called Putinism the ideology of the future. It only seems that we have a choice, writes Surkov; in reality there is no choice, because it is obvious: “The current model of the political system will be an effective means of survival and rise of the Russian nation <...> for the entire coming century.” Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov called the article the “personal opinion” of the author and emphasized that it is “substantive and deep.”

Previously, in “Sovereign Democracy” in 2005 and speeches in 2011–2012, Surkov substantiated the need for national modification of Western models of government and political institutions, respect for individual rights. Now the author insists on their unacceptability for Russia and emphasizes that only a model of power, where a supreme leader vested with the people’s trust rules, can be successful in our country.

Such thoughts are unoriginal. “Elections in no way reflect the will of the voters <...> The unlimited monarchy managed to eliminate or reconcile such demands and impulses, and not only by force, but also by equalizing rights under one authority. But democracy cannot cope with them <...> Providence saved our Russia from such a disaster,” wrote the Chief Prosecutor of the Synod, Konstantin Pobedonostsev, in 1896.

Praising the regime and predicting its immortality is a highly competitive matter: yesterday on NSN, former presidential administration employee Oleg Matveychev directly accused Surkov of plagiarizing the idea of Putinism as an ideology of the 21st century.

Surkov seeks to confirm the reputation of a creative person, capable of not only “resolving issues,” but also ideologically substantiating current processes, showing that, together with the president, he knows the aspirations of the people and claims a place in their inner circle, notes political scientist Gleb Pavlovsky. The former eminence grise of Russian politics understands that his current status as the curator of Donbass will not bring him dividends, and hints that he can solve internal political problems more effectively than current managers. The article is addressed primarily to Putin, says political scientist Andrei Ryabov.

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