From the image of a “strong business executive” to hatred for all living things: how Russian politicians increase their political capital on the invasion of Ukraine

During the war, many Russian politicians began to speak more aggressive and tougher, and those people who used to consider marginal or overly radical came to the fore. “New newspaper. Europe ”studied changes in the behavior of some of them and talked with political scientists about who now affects decision -making in Russia in wartime conditions.

Since February 24, all the official and unofficial voices of the war-officials, pro-government propagandists, and official politicians-began to speak quite radically and often even in a manner. If eight years ago, the role of warriors of war was given to the “people from the people” like Igor Strelkov, now all Russian politicians tried on this role. “All system politicians simply began to sing on different voices what they had not said before. It seems that the role of the deceased Zhirinovsky was simply painted for everyone who remained. People compete for the right to be Zhirinovsky, and many look somewhat comical in this role, ”said political scientist Fedor Krasheninnikov.

He suggests that such activation of politicians could happen due to the fact that they felt: it is important for Putin to see now they support all his decisions. “Perhaps some people are forced to do this much more actively than they would like, because many other characters sit quietly enough: deputies and senators, for example. There is a feeling that those who want to bargain a good future, consider their duty right now to bounce and shout slogans with a vengeance, ”the expert notes.

It is important to understand the difference between influential and noticeable politicians. The former have a real impact on the decisions made, and the latter only create such visibility through statements in the media and posts in telegram channels, says Politanalist Nikolai Petrov. “There are those who are constantly saying something now and always flashes in the media space, but this does not indicate that such politicians suddenly became more influential,” he says. Such people are engaged in active media support of the war, but do not take part in decisions and do not have resources that would allow them to play a significant role, including proximity to Putin and the possibility of communicating with him.

Ramzan Kadyrov

Ramzan Kadyrov has been heading the Chechen Republic for fifteen years - since 2007. During this time, journalists and human rights activists have repeatedly talked about the fact that in Chechnya, under the leadership of Ramzan, son of Akhmat Kadyrov and a member of the United Russia party, human rights are violated. In 2017, the New Gazeta said that in special prisons in Chechnya they are tortured and killed by LGBT people. And a few weeks before the start of the war from Nizhny Novgorod, the Chechen police abducted the wife of a retired judge Zarem Musaev, after which they placed her under the pre -trial detention center on charges of allegedly violence against a police officer. At the same time, Kadyrov himselfthreatened the family of Judge Yangulbaev, saying that "this family was waiting for either in prison or underground." Later, he also called the journalist of Novaya Gazeta “terrorists” Elena Milashin and human rights activist Igor Kalyapin.

Even after the start of the war with Ukraine, Ramzan Kadyrov remained a fairly noticeable figure of Russian politics. The Russian BBC service claims that even before the start of hostilities, a person with Kadyrov’s voice discussed them with the alleged deputy head of the Chechen Rosgard Daniel Martynov. The head of Chechnya also has a personal special regiment named after Akhmat Kadyrov, named after his father, who Kadyrov sent to fight with Ukraine. Despite the fact that the regiment formally submits to the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs, in fact, he is controlled and reports on its actions personally Kadyrov. Among the Chechens warring on the side of Russia was the defendant of the murder of politician Boris Nemtsov Ruslan Geremeyev, who was wounded at the end of March during the capture of Mariupol.

Kadyrov actively leads his telegram channel, where after February 24, the military operations of the Russian army in Ukraine and the political situation in Russia and the world are constantly speaking. For example, Kadyrov announced at least 26 times the “liberation of Mariupol”, although the city was captured by the Russian army only in May. He also claimed that he himself visited the combat zone, but this was not possible to check. And after the speech of the President of Kazakhstan, Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev at the PMEF, where he announced the non-recognition of the LDNR, the head of Chechnya accused the leaders of the CSTO countries of the absence of a common position in Ukraine (however, he later suddenly recorded something like Kazakhstan, more similar to apology).

Politanalist Nikolai Petrov believes that

After the start of the war, the influence of Ramzan Kadyrov as a politician increased many times.

“Kadyrov from the exotic regional leader and khan turned into an important figure at the federal level,” says Petrov. - Today he is one of the most active commentators [war], which is noticeable in his awards and the titles assigned to him. He is one of those people whose merits Putin publicly admits. ” According to the Politanalist, there are no more such unique politicians as Kadyrov in Russia: “He is both the head of the region, not the largest, but influential, and the head of the power structure. And today he exploits that under his leadership there are tens of thousands of armed people who are ready to comply with his orders. ”

In turn, Fedor Krasheninnikov notes that Kadyrov was always a fairly noticeable politician. “He has a role that he plays - the role of a“ bad investigator ”. If you listen to Ramzan Kadyrov, it will seem that Putin is still a rather moderate and calm politician that you can deal with him. But if you do not want to deal with Putin, well, you will deal with Ramzan Kadyrov, ”he argues. However, Krasheninnikov is confident that Kadyrov can never replace Putin as president of Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev

From 2008 to 2012, Dmitry Medvedev was the president of Russia. He was called the liberal leader of the country: being the president, he met with young bloggers and Barack Obama, established diplomatic relations with the USA and Europe. After 2012, Medvedev handed his post back to Vladimir Putin, and he himself became the head of the government and the United Russia party. In 2017, the FBK released the film “He is not Dimon for you” and accused the former president of corruption. The published investigation provoked numerous rallies against Medvedev, Putin and other officials - mostly young people participated in protests. Several participants in the action in Moscow received real terms under Art. 318 of the Criminal Code - for the “use of violence” against police officers. Three years later, the Medvedev government resigned before amending the Constitution, which allowed Vladimir Putin to elect for another two deadlines. Then Medvedev took the post of deputy chairman of the Security Council established for him.

Like other members of the Security Council, on February 22, Dmitry Medvedev supported the recognition of the LDNR, and his son Ilya returned from the United States after the outbreak of war and joined United Russia. However, the occupied territories themselves, the deputy chairman of the Security Council, has never visited the war since the beginning of the war. After blocking Facebook and Instagram in Russia, Dmitry Medvedev revived his own telegram channel, where he repeatedly spoke about the war in Ukraine. There, for example, he spoke about the “degeneration of European politics” and sanctions, and one of his posts explaining the sharpness of the rhetoric of the deputy chairman of the Security Council, even became a meme.

“This figure is absolutely not political, it is a little clown and therefore noticeable. He is such a noticeable lonely person who sits in social networks and does not even have a minimal influence. And in order to be noticeable, he set off in all serious ones, ”says Nikolai Petrov. Fedor Krasheninnikov agrees that Dmitry Medvedev cannot be called an influential politician. “Everything should be more radical than Putin so that he can say anything. Obviously, Medvedev was assigned to this “frightening” role. Against the background of such a political elite, even Putin is quite neutral, ”he argues.

Political scientist Krasheninnikov also suggests that Medvedev “washed out” from his past liberalism with his sharp and loud statements: “Medvedev was a last hope of systemic liberals and a native of there, who turned out to be almost a competitor to Putin. Now he must prove with enhanced zeal that he is a natural fascist-patinist. Any theories about the reasons for this behavior say one thing: politicians need to prove to Putin that they do not prepare a conspiracy and they do not like the West, that they are ready to throw all their many years of the liberal at the feet on the first whistle, to trample it and turn into a fascist. ”

Andrey Turchak

Since 2020, Andrei Turchak has been held by the first deputy chairman of the Federation Council, earlier he also became general secretary of the United Russia party and still holds this position. Being the governor of the Pskov region, in 2010 Andrei Turchak was offended by the statements of journalist Oleg Kashin in his blog and demanded an apology that Kashin refused to bring him. After that, the journalist was attacked and beaten by reinforcement: according to Kashin himself and the attackers himself, it was Turchak who organized the attempt on him.

After the start of the war with Ukraine, Andrei Turchak repeatedly visited the occupied territories, for example, Kherson and Donetsk, where he met with local residents and opened “humanitarian aid centers” from “United Russia”. He also approved the trips of other deputies from United Russia, despite the objections of Vyacheslav Volodin.

Turchak said that the LDNR will open the branches of United Russia after the collection of Ukrainian regions into Russia, and now the party "will fix the responsible deputies of the State Duma and senators who will be harmonized by the harmony of the legislation." He stated that the Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions of Ukraine “will be part of Russia” in the future. “People want protection, stability, so that, finally, after eight years, which is legalized by the West of Bandera terror, a long -awaited and strong world has come in relation to them,” Turchak said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Fedor Krasheninnikov says that he does not really understand the role of Turchak in the war, but assumes that he can promote her from career aspirations or "teams from above, that everyone should speak as louder as possible." “Turchak is a native of Putin’s close circle. If for some reason he did not want to do this, he would not have done anything. Obviously, he himself wants and sees in this a chance for himself: Turchak has a not very noticeable position, and war is new vacancies and a chance to become closer to Putin. He likes publicity, so he uses the moment, ”says Krasheninnikov.

According to Nikolai Petrov, Turchak would like to replace Valentin Matvienko as chairman of the Federation Council. “He formally holds a high post in United Russia, but since there is no“ United Russia ”as a real structure today, Turchak also acts as such an abstract-status figure that makes loud statements, but does not become real-significant,” the political science said.

Vyacheslav Volodin

The post of speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin has been holding for more than five years, since 2016. Prior to that, he was the first deputy head of the presidential administration and secretary of the General Council of United Russia. Being a speaker of the State Duma, Volodin has repeatedly spoke in the adoption of laws that strengthened repression in Russia: he recently personally sent a bill on fines for the “LGBT propaganda” among adults to study in the committees and preparation for consideration in the State Duma. Volodin was also repeatedly accused of corruption: in 2018 and 2021, the FBK issued investigations about Volodin’s income and real estate sources.

Vyacheslav Volodin is also entering the Security Council as his permanent member, on February 21, during an extraordinary meeting, he advocated the recognition of the “LDNR”. Prior to this, it was the State Duma in three readings that approved the appeal of deputies from the Communist Party of the Communist Party of the Communist Party of the Republics. After the start of the war, the chairman of the State Duma never visited the occupied territories, but constantly spoke about hostilities in his telegram channel and during the sessions of the State Duma.

In April, Volodin offered to dismiss from government posts those who criticize the war in Ukraine. “Otherwise, you cannot call it a betrayal. There is a voice, but there is no conscience, ”the politician wrote then (at the end of June he said that, first of all, university teachers should leave his posts). Then he proposed to deprive the citizenship of those Russians who “betrayly behave”, despite the fact that deprivation of citizenship is prohibited by the Russian constitution. He later said that “Nazi criminals should not be subject to exchange” and that he advocates maintaining the death penalty in the occupied territories. “In the DPR there is a norm that would be correctly preserved. This is especially true in wartime. <...> The death penalty is a measure of punishment that these fascists deserve, ”he wrote in the same telegram channel.

“Previously, Volodin was a man who always preached centrism-such an ideal candidate with the policy“ Let's all unite around the president ”. Then he began to be radicalized, because you can’t take such a high post and not be a radical, and he must confidently pronounce the things necessary for the country's leadership. And he began to pronounce them, these are all “there is no Putin, there is no Russia” and so on, ”says Fedor Krasheninnikov. According to him, Volodin is a fairly bright politician and populist, has experience in the political struggle and still "does not disdain to meet with voters." “I saw him several times close, in communication he is more such a political animal in a good sense of the word than, for example, Medvedev. He knows how to at least seem more sincere in his statements, although he, of course, is sometimes overdoing, ”Krasheninnikov shares.

Despite the fact that Volodin is a federal politician, he has an influence on people only in his native Saratov region, Nikolai Petrov believes. “We have a theater of one spectator: all that Volodin and many other figures are oriented towards one influential and, as they can hope, a grateful viewer. However, the fact that Volodin is more noticeable does not make it more influential. That is, yes, the whole domestic policy is obviously given to Kiriyenko and his team. And if so, Volodin can make any statements as many, but nothing changes from this, because they have enough conflicting relationships, ”says Petrov.

Sergey Kiriyenko

Since 2016, Sergey Kiriyenko has been held by Vyacheslav Volodin - the first deputy head of the presidential administration before him. Kiriyenko is called the curator of Russian domestic policy. Working in the presidential administration, he revived the Knowledge Society, created back in the USSR. Now on marathons organized by “knowledge”, pro -government cultural and politicians act: Vladimir Solovyov, Maria Zakharova, and Sergei Kiriyenko himself.

At the last marathon of the “New Horizons” of the Knowledge Society, held already during the war, the Prankers Vovan and Lexus and the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov spoke to its participants. Kiriyenko also spoke at the awarding of the winners of the Russian Leaders contest, where he said that “there is a combined war against Russia”: “The war is hot, because in the special military operation the Armed Forces of Russia is not opposed by the Ukrainian army, but by the United NATO forces. And this is such a systemic, civilizational, if you want, conflict. ”

After the start of the war, the deputy head of the presidential administration visited the occupied territories, including the United Russia Humanitarian Assistance Center in Kherson. Medusa called Kiriyenko the “Vice-Corol of Donbass”, since it was he and his subordinates who were instructed to supervise both the occupied territories and the “image of Russia after the war”. Sources of Medusa also said that the politician would like to become a successor to Vladimir Putin, but Fyodor Krasheninnikov believes that this is almost impossible:

“He is simply flagrantly not charismatic with his specific appearance, unpleasant with all his background, small. It can be a gray cardinal, such a shadow figure, in extreme cases, Prime Minister, head of the administration. But in it as a successor, for example, in today's Russia I do not believe absolutely. ”

However, according to Nikolai Petrov, it is Kiriyenko that is now one of the most influential politicians in Russia. “Today, Kiriyenko plays the role of a person who is responsible for the entire domestic policy and is, in fact, the head of the presidential administration. He is the most influential bureaucrat and political manager who is entrusted with a large section of work, ”says Petrov. - I see his growth and his real influence, but I do not link it exclusively with work in the "LDNR". Кириенко просто расширил сферу своей ответственности, которая и так была очень велика, а сегодня она практически охватывает все то, что делается в стране».

Однако, уточняет Крашенинников, от посещения оккупированных территорий политику «никак не отмыться, потому что его преступление — не слова». На деле именно Кириенко устанавливает оккупационную систему и управляет ею. «Я, может, очень жесткую вещь скажу, но Кириенко в каком-то смысле [Отто] Эйхман, то есть технократ, который управляет всей оккупационной системой. Он на оккупированных территориях занимается обеспечением режима и установлением поддержки войны в России, — говорит политолог. — Несмотря на то, что он не так активно выступает на публике, он по факту по уши в той крови, которая льется в Украине».

Marat Khusnullin

Хуснуллин получил должность федерального политика относительно недавно: он стал вице-премьером правительства в 2020 году после того, как кабинет Дмитрия Медведева ушел в отставку. Тогда же Марату Хуснуллину поручили кураторство анексированного Крыма и Севастополя. До этого политик был заместителем мэра Москвы по строительству, а еще раньше занимал должность министра строительства, архитектуры и ЖКХ Татарстана. Антикоррупционная организация Transparency International обвинила его в конфликте интересов и нарушении закона в сфере противодействия коррупции как раз в период его работы в республике. В Transparency International утверждают, что Хуснуллин работал с фирмами, которые опосредованно принадлежали его матери, гражданке Великобритании Розе Хуснуллиной.

С апреля 2022 года Хуснуллина назначили куратором восстановления Херсонской, Запорожской областей и «ЛДНР». Это значит, что он будет отвечать за полную реконструкцию разрушенных российской армией городов. Именно Хуснуллин предложил , чтобы завод «Азовсталь» в Мариуполе, разрушенный в результате длительной осады города, продолжил работу, как «промышленный парк или место отдыха, но уже не как металлургический комплекс». Он, также как и некоторые другие политики, посетил оккупированные территории — Мариуполь, Волноваху и Луганск.

«Как Кириенко и вообще любой человек, который приезжает на оккупированные территории в рамках своей служебной деятельности, Хуснуллин совершает гораздо больше преступлений, чем те, кто просто публикует глупости в соцсетях, — уверен Крашенинников. — У таких людей нет никакого будущего, и они это прекрасно понимают, поэтому делают ставку на бесконечное продолжение путинского режима и на свое в нем будущее».

Политаналитик Николай Петров говорит, что влиятельность политиков, в том числе Хуснуллина, в текущей ситуации можно оценивать по-разному: как по степени близости к единственному человеку и возможности влиять на те решения, которые Путин принимает, так и по тем финансовым и материальным потокам, которые политик контролирует. Хуснуллин же сейчас контролирует строительство. «Инфраструктурное строительство — одно из главных направлений развития, продекларированных Путиным только что на Петербургском экономическом форуме. На это отпускаются большие деньги. В этом смысле он готовый кризисный менеджер, его задача — разворачивать штабы и вести круглосуточную работу по выполнению приказов, демонстрировать свою эффективность», — делает вывод Петров.

Однако, хоть Хуснуллин и обладает большим политическим весом, это не делает его политиком, считает политаналитик. «Он эффективный исполнитель, а не разработчик политики правительства. Есть, скажем, Белоусов и Новак, которые отвечают за стратегию — они реально что-то решают и обладают ресурсом, относительной близостью к Путину и возможностью согласовывать с ним свои действия. А Хуснуллин, мне кажется, в этом смысле не изменил ни своего функционала, ни приобрел ничего дополнительно, кроме того, что оказалось, что его сфера ответственности может быть даже более значимой, чем это было раньше, когда он только стал вице-премьером», — говорит Николай Петров.

Nikolai Patrushev

70-летний Николай Патрушев занимает должность секретаря Совета безопасности с 2008 года — почти 15 лет. До этого он 9 лет возглавлял ФСБ. Его сын, Дмитрий Патрушев, с 2018 года занимает должность министра сельского хозяйства. Считается, что взгляды Николая Патрушева достаточно консервативны. Например, в 2017 году он рассуждал о «цветных революциях» и заявил, что их не допустят в России.

Патрушев также присутствовал на внеочередном заседании Совета безопасности по поводу признания «ЛДНР», там он согласился с предложениями Владимира Путина и Госдумы и сказал, что «конфликт с Украиной организовали США, как и конфликт с Грузией». Однако тогда же он предложил провести переговоры с президентом США Джо Байденом, чтобы урегулировать ситуацию.

Уже после начала войны Патрушев высказывался о том, что в Украине якобы находились американские ядерные и биолаборатории: «Подвергались постоянным обстрелам несогласные с политикой киевского режима Донецкая и Луганская народные республики. Более того, возникла реальная угроза создания на Украине ядерного и биологического оружия», — цитирует политика Life. Также по время недавнего визита в Калининград Патрушев поручил силовикам «эффективнее пресекать деятельность «недружественных стран», которые разжигают протесты в России».

«Патрушев был самым радикальным мракобесом во власти буквально с самых первых своих публичных выступлений, когда даже Путин еще был более-менее либеральным. Патрушев возглавлял ФСБ, что само по себе довольно о многом говорит, — считает Крашенинников. — Сейчас он просто несет на публике то, что всегда думал, а все под него подстраиваются. Его убеждения — это абсолютный путинизм, такая путинская форма фашизма. У Патрушева ставка на насилие, на прошлое, ненависть к Западу, ненависть к любой самоорганизации людей, ненависть к демократии. Это все у него всегда было, так что сейчас он просто наслаждается тем, что наконец-то Россия стала такой, какой он всегда мечтал».

Николай Петров говорит, что секретарь Совбеза Патрушев занимается идеологическим сопровождением войны, поскольку считается, что именно его идеи разделяет Путин. «Роль Патрушева, скорее, в препарировании и подаче Путину информации, создании фона, на котором принимаются решения, и, одновременно, в разработке разных вариантов решений, из которых потом выбирает Путин. Роль Совбеза в ситуации конфронтации с Западом, и, особенно, самоизоляции Путина и сокращения круга лиц, с которыми он постоянно общается, существенно возросла», — говорит он.

Sergey Mironov

Глава партии «Справедливая Россия — Патриоты — За правду» Сергей Миронов возглавляет ее с 2013 года. До этого он возглавлял Совет Федерации, отдав затем свое место Валентине Матвиенко. В двух последних созывах Госдумы он возглавлял фракцию своей партии, представленную в ней. В январе 2021 года партия Миронова «Справедливая Россия» объединилась с партиями «За Правду» писателя и национал-большевика Захара Прилепина и «Патриоты России».

После начала войны в Украине Миронов стал достаточно резко высказываться о ней, в том числе в Twitter. Там он говорит о включении оккупированных территорий в состав России и называет уехавших граждан «предателями», предлагая конфисковывать у них имущество. «Нужно арестовывать имущество всех покидающих РФ. Нам обещают рекордный отток богатых граждан. Это либо предатели, либо обладатели состояний, полученных криминальным путём. Хотя одно легко сочетается с другим. В этом «исходе» я вижу только положительный момент. Воздух будет чище!», — пишет политик.

Однако политологи говорят, что Миронов никак не влияет на принятие политических решений. «Он не политик, он бюрократ и политменеджер. Такие, как он, играют определенную роль, которая в значительной мере ограничивается выборами. Сергей Миронов, как мне кажется, давно отыгранный и забытый материал. Он что-то говорит, делает какие-то заявления, но это не реальная политика, а имитация политической деятельности. А реальной политической деятельностью ни Миронов, не эсеры, ни другая политическая партия не в состоянии заниматься», — считает Николай Петров.

Политолог Крашенинников согласен с этим, однако считает изменение риторики Миронова интересным. «Вся карьера Миронова связана с Путиным, его передвигали с места места без каких-либо заслуг. У него нет ни харизмы, ни других важных для политика качеств. Миронов никогда не славился никакими запоминающимися высказываниями или политическими действиями, поэтому сейчас его поведение выглядит нелепо, как будто ему просто дали нового пиарщика. Изменения в его риторике выглядят неумелыми, неестественными и неискренними действиями, будто они считают, что сейчас так надо себя вести. Очевидно, что им всем запрещено занимать любую позицию, кроме поддержки президента, и, более того, настоятельно рекомендовано занимать как можно более радикальную позицию», — говорит он.

Как предполагает Крашенинников, подобное поведение Миронова может быть его попыткой оправдаться перед Владимиром Путиным за «заигрывание с оппозицией» во время протестов 2011 года. «Я так понимаю, что вся карьера Миронова за последние 10 лет и поведение его партии, поддержка самых безумных законов — это все бесконечные покаяния за то, что во время протестов 2011 года была идея сделать его кандидатом на голосование на выборах. Возможно, Путин на его с тех пор затаил обиду, и теперь Миронову надо всем показывать, что он больше не предаст. Поэтому он как бы говорит «Я, упаси боже, никакой не оппозиционер. Я еще хуже вас, я самый отмороженный шовинист и милитарист, меня не в чем подозревать»».