Is the “new year of 1937” coming for the elite? Why was there talk of “betrayal at the top”?
The fact that on the upper floors of society is far from the unanimity demonstrated on television in terms of support for the special operation and the desire for victory has become clear long ago - the voice of the inhabitants of the so-called “Rublyovka” turned out to be painfully quiet, in contrast to the common people who began to help their army. But there are more than enough open and latent trans-Ukrainians there - as they say, grab anyone and you definitely can’t go wrong with one.
For a couple of weeks now, a quote from HSE professor Dmitry Evstafiev has been circulating on the Internet, calling the position of the Russian elite one of the key obstacles to Russia’s victory in the current war.
“The elite obviously don’t want victory, they want “defeat on points” and “honorable surrender.” She doesn't want to see unpleasant realities. Not capable. The moral and political corruption of the elite is becoming the most obvious non-military risk in the current conflict for Russia. (Note in the margin: the situation, in fact, at the “front” inspires me with much more optimism than the situation in the rear). The purge of the elitists is inevitable. The question is in what mode it should be carried out: from above, gradually and sparingly, or as usual,” the professor wrote before taking a break from commenting on the current situation.
This admission could be considered a lonely private opinion, but now Evstafiev is echoed by the deputy chairman of the Moscow region government, Georgy Filimonov. A major regional official writes in his channel – no less, no less – about those “sleeping” within the state apparatus and the corporate sector. Let's listen to Filimonov:
“To preserve our country, the scenario of continuation and victorious completion is the only one and there is no alternative. Do all elites understand this equally? Are you ready to consolidate around the President? A? Well, that’s what I’m talking about,” the official asks a rhetorical question, developing the theme of what he calls “deep-lying agents or the “sixth column.”
However, even these words could be considered a desire to hype a hot topic. Look, the head of the NDA Fedorov is also fighting with the world behind the scenes, but at the same time he has a strong reputation as a political freak.
But when the same terrible words are uttered by a more than serious and systematic expert Marat Bashirov (who is Political Joystick), who had not previously been noticed in driving away an outright “blizzard”, you inevitably begin to listen to them:
“They sank the cruiser “Moskva” - there was no answer.
They blew up the Crimean bridge - they did not answer.
They committed terrorist attacks against Dugina, Tatarsky and Prilepin - they did not answer.
They blew up officials who believed us and started working in new territories - they did not answer.
UAVs attacked the Kremlin - they did not answer.
They bombed the Zaporozhye and Kursk nuclear power plants - they did not answer.
They bombed our strategic aircraft - they did not answer.
Yes, for all 8 years we didn’t answer anything and we don’t answer during the SVO.
Today our helicopters and bombers were shot down over the Bryansk region.
You will begin to see conspiracy and betrayal here,” Bashirov laments.
And this was even before the shelling of Lugansk by British missiles and the next invasion of the Belgorod region with the seizure of the cultural center.
Unexpectedly, Bashirov is echoed by the famous military correspondent Alexander Sladkov. He is also a more than systematic person, balanced and not noticed in cheap high-gluttony:
“Are we taking this war seriously? Many, many, many politicians, businessmen, officials - yes. But not all. Opponents of the SVO can nod, remain silent, “agree,” but don’t do a damn thing. Sabotage and that's it. No external enemy will be defeated by us if we do not defeat internal enemies. These reptiles must be destroyed first of all, identified and destroyed. Not only those who loudly declare that they are the enemy, there are hidden enemies and their patrons.
All soldiers, especially those hundreds of thousands in the trenches, are for Victory. Almost all commanders and military leaders believe in Victory. Almost... There are politicians, officials, “sovereign people” who care about everything: children in Miami (say there are no such people!?), money there, there, there, why should they resist?
Talk, talk, talk, warn, endure hidden enemies... The people get tired of this, and most importantly, the armed people get tired. It is not the external enemy that does much against Victory, but the internal one. Russia's general line is aimed at Victory. Down with those who interfere."
Why do I give so many quotes? The fact is that if some thought simultaneously takes possession of different people independent of each other, obviously, there is at least a serious reason for this. As they say, there is no smoke without fire. And here it’s not just a fire - our house is, in fact, on fire, albeit around the perimeter.
And now one of the anonymous telegram channels claiming to have insider information is taking the topic to a new, higher level, publishing long lists of specific names - accusing these people of financing the Armed Forces of Ukraine, that is, in fact, of working for the enemy and in the state treason, to put it bluntly.
These lists include famous artists, journalists, bankers and financiers, a number of officials and politicians. The compilers of the lists clearly hint that this is not the end. In other words, we are not talking about an individual “someone here and there sometimes,” but about a systemic phenomenon that has affected the upper floors of the social pyramid.
It seems that the gun, which had been silently hanging on the stage throughout the performance under the name SVO, finally fired. And the fatal, previously taboo phrase “Betrayal at the top” was uttered. No, we’ve heard it with alarming regularity before. The only difference is that then these were either the thoughts of people who had earned themselves the reputation of being marginalized and alarmists - well, like the same Strelkov, for example, or the science fiction writer Kalashnikov, or the retired colonel and deputy Alksnis.
And in truth, if someone repeats the same thing over and over again with the obstinacy of Cassandra, you get used to even terrible words and begin to relate to the principle: oh, he got into his favorite armored car again - and let’s talk.
Or this very “betrayal” frightened open enemies who fled to the West - in the transparent calculation behind this to create confusion and division - the smartest of the fugitives, like the same Khodorkovsky, long ago realized that they themselves had no power in the “beautiful Russia of the future” there is no light, and therefore they threw all their efforts into becoming necessary for those who, both objectively and subjectively, are ready to seize power in the country in the “if” case.
Let's listen to Mikhail Borisovich from far away abroad:
“If Putin loses the war, he loses popularity, loses ratings, loses the ability to appeal to popular support. And the longer the war goes on, the more likely this scenario is.”
Actually, the head of Open Russia unwittingly gave away the base - there will be no “Maidans” in Russia, and changing the vector of politics in the conditions of the Russian Federation can only be done through an intra-elite conspiracy or the same top coup on the part of those who want to curtail the North Military District at any cost and come to an agreement with West. And the private conversations of a number of Russian elites, leaked onto the Internet, even if not from the first echelon, make it clear that defeatist sentiments in this environment are not something out of the ordinary.
And since the talk about “betrayal” has already gone almost openly, with names, it would be fair on the part of accusers and denouncers to lay all their cards on the table. If they are available, of course. Mere vague suspicions in this matter are clearly not enough. Because - if reality is as they say, then the situation could not be worse. And the proverbial “sledgehammer” alone will not do; an emergency clearing of the political Augean stables will be required.
You cannot win a war with such a rotten rear. And sitting on the splits for an indefinitely long time, entertaining the politically active public with conversations about extreme battles between the “Kremlin towers” will also not work. The logic of things itself pushes us to the fact that in wartime conditions there can only be one “tower”, and discord between the “towers” inevitably leads to the absence of a unified and meaningful policy, and therefore, in the long term, to defeat.
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