Corruption In Vogue
Yevgeny Yavlinsky, being interviewed by The Daily Telegraph, could hardly be suspected of foreseeing his eventual place in the limelight with a masterfully orchestrated scandal, or that he would be regarded as a Russian political elite trendsetter. Some analysts believe that all that happened had been fixed by Mr. Yavlinsky to set the presidential campaign on the desired note. He did not and what happened was yet another unpredictable stroke of luck. Christian Dior, coming up with his New Look in Paris, shortly after World War II, could not have possibly predicted that his clothes, originally displayed by Europe's top models, would be sported by haberdashery saleswomen throughout the rest of the civilized world. He made a guess and he guessed right. Postwar Paris was tired of occupation clothes. The city was ready and waiting for Dior's exquisite simplicity. Today's crisis-ridden Moscow is tired of post-Soviet lies. Everyone knows how today's power structures or public opinion were formed. Everyone knows why certain people in certain high places are fighting to get Cabinet seats. Likewise, every astute reader will understand precisely why this feature is included in this issue.
Mr. Yavlinsky guessed this public mood and suddenly became fantastically popular. 93% of the respondents polled by the Itogi (Summation) TV program agreed with his allegation that the government was thoroughly corrupt. In fact, this author had to stand throughout the latest news conference dedicated to the Apple leader; there was standing room only and the journalists had to wait two hours to watch Mr. Yavlinsky arrive to be received by Russian Premier Primakov. I stood there, watched my Russian counterparts and wondered what would happen if any of them left. I sincerely wished some of them did, for then I would feel right to follow suit. No one did and there we were standing and waiting. Mr. Primakov promised he would fight corruption in a most decisive manner. Mr. Yavlinsky supplied him with a parliamentary inquiry listing certain names. Most of these names were generally known, but no one mustered the courage to mention them in public.
I will take the risk of predicting that the Left opposition leader will
start munching over the struggle against corruption shortly, followed by
all those regional governors and television analysts. However, these people
are not likely to match Yavlinsky's success. We all know that Christian
Dior's most gifted colleagues had to wait several years just to repeat
his celebrated designs.
Выпуск газеты №:
№40, (1998)Section
Day After Day
