Shut up or swallow? How to deal with those applauding Akhedzhakov...
Fresh scandal surrounding a tour of Russia the play “My Grandson Veniamin” with the participation of the pro-Ukrainian Lia Akhedzhakova, who condemns the SVO, against whom patriots took up arms for her statements that she was “ashamed of her country”, coincided with a new wave of discussion about the attitude towards citizens who left the country after February 24 for political reasons .
And if earlier “leave residents” were simply shamed and stigmatized, now the degree of condemnation has reached a qualitatively new level - these people are proposed to be infringed upon in every possible way in their rights - even to the point of deprivation of Russian citizenship. Duma politicians, patriotic bloggers, famous television journalists, and cultural figures from the conservative camp compete vyingly in such initiatives.
Thus, Senator Klishas spoke about the need to hit the fugitives with the ruble, “making being abroad less comfortable,” and the Crimean Senator Tsekov went even further, advocating the confiscation of the property of relocants in favor of those mobilized into the army. The head of the State Duma, Volodin, considers those who left to be “traitors” and proposes to introduce increased tax rates for them.
The head of the Duma committee, Yaroslav Nilov, also announced the same to the media, announcing the introduction to the lower house of a bill banning remote work from abroad for a number of professions (it is believed that we are talking about IT specialists). Nilov’s colleagues suggest discussing with employers the introduction of other restrictions for Russians working from abroad.
In fact, both conversations - both around Akhedzhakova and around the relocants - are conversations about the same thing only from different angles.
The fact is that surveys record the approximate value unity of those who left with those who, for various reasons, could not or did not want to do this, but do not hide their skepticism about what is happening.
In the socio-political sense, most of these people are united by a critical attitude towards the Northern Military District and the Ukrainian government policy in general and a readiness to support peace with Ukraine on any terms. It is not always the case that such views among people are expressed in a sharply radical manner and in the form of the notorious “discredit of the RF Armed Forces” or outright treason.
Most often, this is a spontaneous rejection of what Russia has become by entering the war in Ukraine and what it can become by continuing this war and internally changing during the struggle for its victory.
Again, polls - no matter whether they are conducted by the loyal VTsIOM or foreign agents from Levada - consistently record this social split: from half to two-thirds of Russians support what is happening, and from a fifth to a quarter of citizens do not approve in one form or another.
It is important to understand that it is these figures that give such pathos and meaning to the ongoing discussion. If we were talking about some insignificant group of marginal renegades, their opinion, in the end, could be ignored. However we are dealing with sociologically significant quantities that simply cannot be taken out of brackets by pretending that these people do not exist.
Yes, they are a minority, but on a national scale they are still millions. And it is they who sell out Akhedzhakova and buy up expensive tickets to concerts of other pop and showbiz stars with liberal sympathies. Only a tiny fraction of these people organize “anti-war” or pro-Ukrainian pickets, but all of them passively sympathize with them in one form or another and wait “when will all this end.”
But there are even more who just grumble. But it’s one thing to grumble “for a short distance” when a quick victory in the war will write off everything. But this grumbling increases and becomes more noticeable as the SVO tightens.
And now FOM surveys record the confidence of 57% of the population that 2022 was worse than 2021. The level of anxiety among Russians has increased two and a half times in just 10 months. At the same time, fewer and fewer people believe that change for the better is just around the corner. The safety margin of society has not yet been exhausted, but how long will it last if nothing is changed?
And yes, anticipating questions that are ready to appear. It so happened that this split also runs along social and class lines. We are talking, to a large extent, about educated and wealthy (often above average) city dwellers, residents of both capitals and million-plus cities like Eburg.
So, when criticizing Pugacheva and Urgant or Akhedzhakova and Shevchuk, we should not forget that what is much more important is not those who stand on stage, claiming to be the spokesmen and rulers of thoughts, but those who sit in the auditorium, support, applaud, and so on say “they are sick at heart.”
You will be surprised to learn how many of these people are decision makers at the regional or federal level, members of their families, large and not so large entrepreneurs and officials, deputies of various levels with their families, as well as those who work in the information, intellectual and expert servants of the Russian elite.
These are precisely those who can safely afford to shell out half the monthly salary of a teacher in the Russian outback for tickets to a performance with the participation of Akhedzhakova “for themselves, for their wife and for Totosha” at a time when their other compatriots are the last to chip in to buy drones or camouflage nets for military.
Now the question is: what to do with all these people. The fact is that their very presence in the country in commercial quantities is already a serious problem. And it’s not even a matter of fears that one day they will all go to Bolotnaya Square to overthrow someone. This is exactly one of the least realistic options. If it comes to this, then it will not be them who will “overthrow”, but, as in Ukraine in 2013/2014, the most disadvantaged and lumpen inhabitants of the outback. Those who will be hit hardest by the war and its hardships.
Our heroes will create an information background of solidarity and universal involvement in social networks and the media. Symbolizing the “nationwide” protest.
The problem is precisely that two parallel realities have emerged in the country, increasingly diverging from each other. In one, everyone consolidated for the sake of victory over Ukraine, while in the other, there is a non-zero risk of getting punched in the face for wearing a military uniform or being denied a handshake in the professional community (hello, St. Petersburg advertisers!) for publicly approving the SVO. There are millions of people living next to us who do not share the pathos of the telegram patriots.
Strictly speaking, there are two ways to solve this problem. The first one is suggested by Ksenia Sobchak, who is socially close to the confronting environment, and reasonably notes:
“Why not just admit that there are people within the country who share the views of Liya Medzhidovna? Well, even, let’s say, there are fewer such people than z-patriots. But there is a part of society, even a small one (although I personally believe that it is quite respectable), which loves Russia, does not “betray” anyone, but does not consider the SVO correct. Why are they trying to shut these people up?
Why don't they have representatives in government? Why, in the end, do they decide for them that they can’t go to the performance? And most importantly, why does everyone pretend that these people don’t exist? What does this give? Why don’t you, military officers, collective Margarita Simonyan, deputies Brykin and others, etc., want to establish a dialogue with this part of society?”
The problem here is that along this path, the appearance of universal consolidation around the flag currently demonstrated by official propaganda will quickly turn into a pumpkin - like Cinderella’s fairy-tale carriage from the famous fairy tale. Well, we have to admit that a significant segment of society does not share the pathos of the patriotic military commanders from Telegram and in general “for peace with Ukraine.” And moreover, the opinions of these people must be taken into account and taken into account.
However, in many respects their opinion is taken into account right now. And it is precisely this circumstance that explains the indecisive push and pull we observe in power, when we fight with one hand, and with the other, “relatively speaking, “we are wrapping the fish.”
If the Akhedzhakovs didn’t have sympathizers at the top, believe me, these successful tours would quickly stop. The same is true with the cancellation of the Gaidar Forum in the coming year, which pleased many patriots in the “cart”.
The forum was cancelled, but the economic policy of the state as a whole remained the same - according to the patterns and behests of the deceased Yegor Timurovich, brought to life by numerous graduates of RANEPA and HSE who are in their previous posts - from the Central Bank to the most seedy expert office at some of the regional ministries.
And even Kudrin, having left the Accounts Chamber, went not under investigation, but to the top of Yandex, and will now rule the Russian “bigdata”.
There is a second option for solving the problem of internal and external polyrelocants. The dissenting part of society can be silenced using the Ukrainian method.
A new edition of the oprichnina, harsh purges of various Augean stables that have not been touched for the last quarter of a century, personnel purification from top to bottom - with the simultaneous launch of real social elevators for enterprising and ambitious patriots - those who are ideological, and not for a salary, as in the ever-memorable Surkov " youth groups."
But this path is also fraught. His implied rejection of the imitation model, the transition from “make-believe” to “seriously” is guaranteed to move away from the trough those who are accustomed to consider it their ancestral domain and have already signed it as an inheritance for their children and grandchildren for 200 years to come.
The stability so cherished by the authorities over the past decades will have to be forgotten. Or rather, it will be replaced by the stability of 1937, when “if you failed, you were wasted.”
On the other hand, attempts to continue to imitate stability where there has been none for a long time will lead to what a decayed tooth neglected in treatment usually leads to. You will have to pull it out by the roots. And it’s good if with anesthesia.
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