Analytical program "However" with Mikhail Leontiev
To meet the wishes of the workers, who, by the way, came to the streets in large crowds for this purpose, the US administration is creating a Fund to support civil society in Russia.
US Ambassador Michael McFaul, speaking in Washington, said that the recent protests in Russia are not aimed at overthrowing the regime, but represent the awakening of civil society. And because the Obama administration intends to create a fund to support civil society in Russia and has already sent a proposal to Congress.
Indeed: so that we where someone overthrew? Tokmo exclusively in the care of civil society! It is not entirely clear, however, why it is necessary to create another such frankly frontal structure in the presence of a huge number of already existing ones.
A network of various structures directly or indirectly funded by the United States operates in Russia. In the past 15 years, only one United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has invested more than 2,5 billions of dollars in the Russian "civil society". Directly from the US budget are funded branches of the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, the Bureau of International Programs of the State Department. Plus many private foundations: the Ford Foundation, MacArthur, Soros, Carnegie, Freedom House. All of them carry out cross-pollination of Russian NGOs: the New Eurasia Foundation, the Movement for Human Rights, the International Human Rights Center, the Moscow Helsinki Group, the Association for Civic Education, the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, the Golos Coalition and a myriad a variety of structures involved in the development of information technology, business, humanities, sexuality and other education.
There is a simple version. A number of human rights organizations, just served by the Americans, protested against the recognition by the American administration of the results of the Russian elections. Perhaps their Moscow curator McFaul took it as an application for additional material assistance.
It is even possible that he is right. The only thing that does not occur to McFaul is that such activities can be perceived by his official Russian partners as a public act of unkind will.
“Anti-Americanism and attacks on me personally, to be honest, shocked me,” said McFaul. “We did not expect this after all the efforts of the reset. But we were told that this was only part of the presidential campaign. I personally did not refuse to meet with representatives of all levels of Russian power. "
McFaul is a theorist and practitioner of the so-called "parallel diplomacy." This is when with one hand you build constructive relations with the authorities, and with the other - even more constructive with their enemies.
In fact, the term "PEREZAGRUZKA" translates into Russian as "spit in the eyes - God's dew." Indeed, why is it here to take anti-Americanism? Holy simplicity! In fact, McFaul simply sent us to God, and not the State Department. What, however, they really do not understand, is how they set up this opposition itself. Previous contact with McFaul cost our opposition members so dearly that they will soon begin to simply shy away from him.
“I think this is not a very good idea,” said Sergei Mitrokhin, the head of the Yabloko party. “No special centers for foreign aid to civil society in our country are needed. You cannot create a civil society inside the country from the outside.”
Ambassador McFaul is not worried about anything. Nobody will take him down the stairs. And calm down. And tea will be served. It is strange only that the ambassador looked at one obvious fact. As part of the awakening of civic consciousness, every politician counting on something in Russia had a clear understanding: public contact with some embassies is dangerous for political health.
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