Putin 2.0: no changes to be expected

The Russian authorities have not only come around after the shock in Bolotnaya Square but also have assumed the propagandist offensive, the more that they have now the official candidate for pre­si­dency and current Prime Minister Vla­di­mir Putin. The pretext was quickly found. The national leader has been communicating with the people at the end of the year and answering their questions for ten years now.

Before this event important for Russia the analysts, political experts and observers tried to do their best to predict how the probable future president will appear in front of the people. Pretending that nothing happened was not even impossible but just improper. A lot expected Putin 2.0.

One cannot say that nothing has changed. Outwardly the national leader and the hosts demonstrated a show of democracy, especially at the beginning that has never happened before. However, all those affected innovations were blown away when the time to answer questions came. By the way, the audience was quite eloquent and thoroughly chosen as usually. The so-called VIP guests: artists, writers, advocates, and deputies were sitting in front.

Though the protests and rigging were discussed a lot, in general, there was no significant progress. The boorish tone and the jokes near the knuckle about the white ribbons were the evidence of the fact that the more changes are declared the longer everything will remain the same in Russia.

The problem of the protests was reduced once again to the chicaneries of the transatlantic and other Russia’s enemies. Despite the common sense and numerous proofs, Putin declared that students were paid to come to the meeting. There is no doubt he wanted to say it about the events in Teatralnaya Square and Bolotnaya Square in Moscow. However, the information that those who had come to the anti-meeting organized by the pro-Kremlin movement “Nashy” were paid immediately appeared on the Internet. As usual, the people were not paid as they were promised and the most interesting thing is that nobody disclaims these facts. If Putin meant this meeting he should clean out the corruption in his ranks and then blame others for this.

The obstinate reluctance to see the obvious, though he buzzed that the party “Yedinaya Rossiya” had lost its popularity, clearly manifested when they touched upon the rigging again. He repeated the lie that rigging exists everywhere and the opposition that lost the elections always blamed those who won. Have you ever heard about it after the elections in France, Germany or Spain? The last elections have been recently held there and there was not a single word about rigging there. It has been long time that nobody knows what it is there. What about his suggestion to appeal against the results of the elections in the court? Formally, it is correct but absolutely scoffing the Russian reality and justice considered. The same is the suggestion to equip every polling station with cameras: “They should work night and day so that the country could see. This video should be transmitted in the Internet so that the whole country could see what is going on at each box in order to make any rigging impossible.” Either the prime mi­nis­ter and presidential candidate considers everybody half-wits who do not understand the rigging me­cha­nism or he has nothing to say. Moreover, 10 billion rubles are need­ed, according to the most conservative estimates, and it will not give anything. If only it is not another way to dissipate the budge­tary funds. If so, it is logical and we should admit it to be objective.

The same can be said about the vague idea to resume the gubernatorial elections. One day. However, on one condition: the government will reserve the right to control and refuse the candidates offered by the parliamentary parties. This is what the Kremlin’s freedom and consi­deration of people’s opinion is. The same goes for the promise to simplify the registration procedure for the parties. In general, it has to be done but not so soon.

It is unlikely that Putin and those who prepared his question-and-answer session did not realize that such behavior would be problematic. Not everybody but many people from the premier’s environment are quite sober, however, Putin’s triumph failed. There is a number of reasons for this.

First of all, nobody thinks about the real democratization of the country and the public life. Especially, the national leader. He does not understand at all, what all the fuss is about. The people who came to Bolotnaya Square are not hungry beggars. What do they lack? Remember Inna Bohoslovska furiously proving that the Libyans who earned 1,000 dollars could not be against their benefactor. Putin does not understand that man cannot live by bread alone. Pinochet did not understand it either when the middle class he had grown in his country wanted the democratic reforms and overthrew the dictator. This is a psychological problem. He does not understand that the country just got tired of him. Many people do not see any alternative now but it is temporary.

Secondly, he had to calm down the bureaucracy. Not that much in Moscow but in the regions. On the one hand, he had to show that the chain of command exists and it is inviolable, on the other hand, he had to show that he did not betray his people. This is why he clearly answered the suggestion made by the military observer of Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper Viktor Baranets to fire the negligent ministers. They should not worry since they will not be fired. However, all of them are in limbo now and the Big Brother is watching them. So, they should not relax. However, we know who will decide everything.

Finally, the diarchy is finished. The current president was mentioned in passing only once when they touched upon the integration. It was not done by accident. The sensitive bureaucrats’ skin immediately felt the new wind of staffing policy. In Moscow only idlers do not think over the future prime minister. Traditionally, the promise given to Medvedev will be kept. He will probably hold his position. How­ever, the question is how long he will stay. It has nothing to do with personal qualities of the current president and probable head of government but the need to assuage other people’s growing appetite since they have been waiting for new appointments to the capital for a long time. At the same time the country will be shown another renewal. How­­ever, if the developments are too rapid there will be several options to consider.

In general, it was clear that Putin did not have any clear line. He often said just the opposite. In the early 1930s during his election campaign Hitler became notorious for telling the businessmen that it was needed to reprove the trade unions and reds, and give the entrepreneurs wider possibilities but stigmatized the capitalists in front of the workers. Putin managed to combine something of this kind in one session.

Putin’s speech clearly demonstrated that the Russian authorities do not have the recipe how to change the country or even the desire to do it. The pressure in the boiler of people’s dissatisfaction is rapidly growing but the leader, instead of opening safety valves and releasing the excessive steam continues hermetically sealing everything and painting the cover for a better look. However, it is known from physics that the power that blows off the cover is directly proportional to the inner pressure. The danger is that it might explode when blowing off and injure a lot of people.

One more merely outer observation. Putin was stiff and not always clearly expressed himself as if he felt the disagreement even of this chosen audience. By the way, the broadcast from the province was significantly reduced. At the same time, his rude bullying, flat out lie and boorish comparisons had to demonstrate the “homeboy” to the marginal part of the society giving an answer to the intellectuals and hipsters. The desire to set the marginal people against those who were too well-off for their own good at the meetings was obvious.

The attempt to present Putin 2.0 to the people was a complete fias­co. It is no coincidence that during the program at the three fede­ral channels several thousand people sign up on the Internet for the meeting in Sakharov Avenue due on December 24. Probably Putin tried what he thought would be best. However, the chasm between him and the people has deepened. It is only the beginning.