On “hybrid solidarity”

A thing to wonder at: the same people call Putin a nonentity and are sure the Kremlin is behind the terrorist act in Paris. A ubiquitous and omnipotent nonentity of sorts… I think Putin himself must like it. He equally benefits from the underestimation of his abilities and faith in his unlimited possibilities.

Indeed, it is none other than the Kremlin that the Paris tragedy may be playing into the hands of. Western politicians are already calling Russia a partner in fighting terrorism. Putin is quite close to reaching an intermediary stage on his way to being a global hegemon. As instability is growing, Western leaders may recognize him as a guarantor of peace and stability in Eastern Europe and thus make a regional hegemon out of him.

Word also has it that what has happened will reinforce the position of the far right with Marine Le Pen at the head as well as that of the entire Kremlin-sponsored fascintern in Eastern Europe. It is hardly worthwhile to dwell on this topic unless a sociological survey has been held. Still, the point is that there may not be a direct interdependence. Besides, even if Le Pen’s followers come to power, they will have to act in the framework of institutional democracy. And it is in no way obvious that they will find the means to curb terrorism.

Yet many are claiming, in increasingly louder voices, that Western democracy is unable to resist the nightmare of terrorism. The answer to this is ready. Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher saw as their goal to prove that democracy can overcome any evil, still remaining democracy. And they proved this.

There is no choice now, and this must be proved again. Otherwise, rejecting a civilized identity will destroy democracy but will not overcome terrorism. Moreover, not every dictatorship will successfully resist terrorism – there are examples galore from Francoist Spain to present-day Turkey. Russia is also in the same line.

But if you have totally lost faith in democracy, establish a dictatorship, and we shall see. But let it be a true dictatorship – with shootings of the country’s citizens, political prisoners, censorship, political emigration, repudiation of relatives and friends, restriction of the freedom of movement and other freedoms, such as the right to privacy and private property, with all the economic consequences thereof. This is the only way. There are no grounds to believe that there will be a dictatorship for terrorists only.

Le Pen’s followers do not hide at all that they receive loans from Russian banks – in France a step like this would ruin the reputation of any financial institution. The Kremlin only wants them to recognize its hegemony in Eastern Europe. As for Moscow’s attitude to the Paris tragedy, it is a particular point.

Of course, [Russia’s Foreign Minister] Sergei Lavrov went to take part in the Paris solidarity march. Of course, there is not a shadow of sympathy with terrorists at the main TV channels. But what really reflects the Kremlin’s attitude is not official statements and not even appearances of nomenklatura journalists in the idiot box. Far more important is the gutter press which instills in mass awareness hatred for Europe and the values that millions of people all over the world have come out to defend. Meanwhile, Moscow police has been writing down the passport details of those who came to lay flowers at the French embassy. And on Manezhnaya Square a man who came out alone in a show of solidarity was apprehended.

What turned out crucial were Komsomolskaya Pravda publications on the righteous wrath that came down on French blasphemers. I will say without going into details: we are living in an era of big style which is not based on big lies, big hypocrisy, or a great utopia, – no fables about the future. The new big style is the big truth to the end and in everything. There is no other future than the one in which you will all croak. As a prison-camp maxim goes, you die today and I will tomorrow. Every death is the achievement of a great dream – and the more, the better. And the best option is when The Bomb wipes out this kind of humanity at once.

The big style of yellow, i.e. mass-scale, journalism is supposed to prevent the formation of a true society and keep the current one at the level of a browbeaten and, at the same time, aggressive mob.

Social websites are awash with the photos of some religious fanatics who came to the French embassy with placards that condemn the killed. This may create an impression that these sentiments are typical of some marginal people. But it is wrong. The journalists of a millions-copy-selling newspaper are not marginal guys. Of course, crowds are not smashing editorial offices so far, but the Russians are already treating what has happened as an event on a different planet. The death of cartoonists does not trigger joy among the masses, but it does not arouse sympathy either. Mass awareness feels no solidarity with Europe and the civilized world.

But does Europe feel this solidarity? This question still seems tactless and out of place to many. But the reaction of the entire world to the Paris tragedy contrasts with Europe’s indifference to the tragedy of Ukraine. Many have noticed this. This is positive because it contributes to a deeper reconsideration of what is going on.

The impression is that Europeans view the events in the eastern part of their continent as a local conflict which does not question the fundamental principles and values of the European setup. They contemplated the Yugoslav nightmare in the same way until refugees forced the Eurocrats to budge.

I will say that Europeans do not consider aggression against Ukraine as aggression against Europe. For them, it is sort of a peripheral conflict between related and not-so-European states. And no rhetoric, references to the Maidan, and other nice words will convince the Europeans in the opposite.

Of course, Ukraine is not Russia, but behind this is a reality that consists of the most varied elements. And Ukraine is not at all Russia in one way but is Russia many times over in another. The latter relates, of course and above all, to the political, business, military and law-enforcement elite – especially as far as the phony war in the Donbas is concerned. The Day’s other contributors will say about this better and more in detail. I would only like to note that there is a lot of Russian intelligentsia – in the worst sense of the word – among the Ukrainians. Let me say it again: domestic Russification is the main enemy of the national development of all the peoples of Eastern and Central Europe. It is this factor that broke Georgia. And the point is not in external manifestations. The Russian intelligentsia in Russia proper has been prophesying the inevitable collapse of Putin’s regime for many years. They don’t think there are any problems: oil prices will go down, the dollar will go up, and the authorities will come to this intelligentsia with a humble request to help them, at least by giving advice. This is what the dreams of the Russian progressive public about political restructuring boil down to – it is the only way they interpret democracy.

And whoever can see that the Putin regime is strong and continues to strengthen is, of course, Putin’s agent. This was the reaction of some Russian and Ukrainian journalists to what Andrei Illarionov said about the struggling Ukrainian and the stable Russian economies. If one does not pronounce incantations about an early downfall of the Putin regime and the collapse of Russia’s economy, he or she is the Kremlin’s agent.

Meanwhile, Illarionov said something important, which I also keep on saying – as a historian, not as an economist. He confirmed the fact of Russia’s totalitarian development and recalled that under totalitarian regimes the government depends on the economy to a very small extent. As many are saying, Russia is gradually abandoning the market economy, so the leadership does not care a fig about oil prices, the dollar rate, and other nonsense.

I always recall the prophetic words of Georgi Plekhanov who withdrew from Narodnaya Volia when it decided to assassinate the tsar. He said to the future regicides: your only achievement will be the advent of a new autocrat. And those who looked forward to oil price and ruble rate fall did not try to achieve anything. They only dreamed. Their dreams came true: every time I hear that the ruble’s rate is jumping up or down I feel joy for Putin’s guys – just fancy what profits they are making on this game alone, not to mention their powerful insider potential. When Yevtushenkov was freed from house arrest, the “System’s” shares jumped up by 150 percent. Too narrow was the circle of the gamers who had known about this decision well before it was announced.

The reaction to Illarionov’s words is an example of the Russification of Ukraine’s intellectual elite. But if the matter was confined to the elites alone, things would be much simpler. The best illustration of the acute problem of being distanced from Russia is the New Year television story as well as, in general, the continuous presence in Ukraine of Russian mass culture which is now the main bearer of the world’s totalitarian picture. The point is not in ideology – things are much worse.

There has been no separation from Russia’s politics and culture, especially mass culture. This sometimes makes some Ukrainians wish to get rid of any cultural and intellectual ties with Russia. But total isolation has nothing to do with European identity.

Dmitry Shusharin is a Moscow-based historian and political journalist