Imperial dreams. Notes of a Russian from Bishkek
If only about a decade ago, only writer Alexander Prokhanov was shown on television, figuratively speaking, with an imperial standard in his hands under the giggles and mockery of liberals, today only the lazy of those who are more or less interested in politics, not to mention professionals, at least once yes did not touch this topic. And the fact that Vladimir Putin is building a new empire on the basis of modern Russia has become a place of duty in both domestic and foreign media.The United States and its European friends do not tire of blowing the whole world about the Kremlin’s treacherous plans to restore the Soviet empire. But let's also say frankly: the Russian people are tired of rampant liberalism in their native country. The liberal idea in Russia seems to be coming to a logical and inglorious end, having failed to bring about any intelligible result in almost a quarter of a century. Even the “great” hope of the liberals of Navalny seemed to disappoint them greatly.
The list of losses of the country and the people for the same period is very long. The question is quite logical: what to do? And here the choice made by Putin looks quite logical - this is a course for the construction of the Russian Empire of a sample of the 21st century. But it is rather not a question of the reincarnation of the Russian empire at the time of tsarism or the revival of the Soviet empire. Such a path is unlikely. Obviously, for the construction of a new Russian empire, a new formula and a new format are needed, unconditional changes in the internal policy of the government and a strong modernization of foreign policy.
If today we conduct a survey among professional experts on the topic of building a new empire, then hardly anyone else, perhaps Panarin and Prokhanov, believes that the revival of the Russian Empire is possible. Objectively speaking, everything looks like this.
And who would have believed at one time that Russia would be reborn after the revolution and the civil war? The situation then was much more complicated and difficult than now.
And, nevertheless, Russia made a magnificent breakthrough and for a long period was one of two world hegemons.
It is quite clear that today Russia needs a tough political will of the leadership, otherwise the country will be crushed and crushed, and what kind of empire would there be to live.
While there were flowers, let us wait, what are the berries, at least, Russia's position on the Syrian issue inspires some optimism and hope that in the rest of Putin will show the same will and wisdom. And if the Lithuanian democrats, judging by many data, shot their own people for the sake of the “triumph of democracy” in Lithuanian, then who can guarantee that, under certain circumstances, the Russian democrats for the sake of “higher goals” will not shed the blood of their fellow citizens? Not for nothing that the current “idol” of the protest of Navalny so, looking like a bunch of words, publicly announced at a rally the possibility of marching to the storming of the Kremlin. Should this happen, of course, he would not go under the bullets. So it was in the famous events of the Yeltsin era. So it was with us in Kyrgyzstan. And this version of developments in Russia is scary.
A quarter of almost a century led to the fact that Russian society and the country as a whole were stuck in the space of a transitional period to nowhere. The “Democrats” successfully destroyed and plundered a great country, but, unlike the Bolsheviks, they failed to create anything in return.
Russia managed to win the most brutal war in stories of humanity. In the shortest period, she restored the destroyed country and in just 12 years after the end of the war she launched the world's first space satellite. Is it any wonder that so many people today feel nostalgic about the Soviet past? Not over communism, mind you.
Today, Russian society is torn apart, and every fragment of it is trying to impose its choice on the state. The notorious agents of influence are not a myth. Over the years after the collapse of the Union, a real army of such “agents” has formed in Russia - a whole layer of people who pathologically hate Russians and Russia and God knows what and whom. It is also terrible that on social networks, on the Internet, they do not even hide their views. Just recently, Bozena Rynska urges pensioners to die and not poison the life of the young and beautiful ... And such darkness. There is no cohesive society in Russia, it continues to be further fragmented into parts hating each other. And meanwhile, no matter how the present liberals laughed at and hate our past, it is precisely in the cohesion of society that the roots of success lie.
After the civil war, when the brother fought against his brother and everything against everyone, there seemed to be no power that could gather the Russians into one fist. And yet the Bismarck definition of Russians worked, and they were able, as mercury particles, to quickly merge into a single whole. Is such a miracle possible today? Yes, we can say that this is possible, but the leader of a nation should really become one for everyone, not just for “her own”. Vladimir Putin said this in a program speech to the participants of the Valdai international discussion club ..
If Tsar Alexander III said that Russia has only two allies — the army and the navy, with society being sufficiently united under the slogan “Autocracy. Orthodoxy. Narodnost, ”today we still do not see this. The army and navy are rather weak, tendencies towards correction of the situation have just emerged, and this process will take many years. We talked about the “cohesion” of society ... It would seem that Russia now has nothing to fear, as if there is no need to “spread rot” then, and in capitalism it is firmly “sitting”. But friends of well-wishers who want to finish off Russia like dirt. Why?!
But because they remember the other words of Bismarck: “Do not expect that once you take advantage of Russia's weakness, you will receive dividends forever. Russians always come for their money. And when they come - do not rely on the Jesuit agreements that you have signed, supposedly justifying you. They are not worth the paper they are written on. Therefore, it is worth playing with Russians either playing honestly or not playing at all. ” This is where the fear of even a weak Russia comes from. That's where the fear of the possible creation of the Eurasian Union. More than a century, these words of Bismarck, but they do not age. The enemies of Russia remember these words well, but only the Russians themselves become different, lose themselves. If the leader of the nation Putin remembers these words, then Russia still has a chance and hope.
What are the chances to fill the Eurasian Union with real content? You say that miserable, insignificant, no? And, like, be right.
However, what were Singapore’s chances of becoming a prosperous state with one of the highest standards of living in the world? Yes, actually, less than none.
Not a single sane person, looking at the fetid cesspool, where human life was worth a penny, and the literacy level was close to zero, could not have foreseen such a brilliant future of this once wicked corner of Asia. But there was a man who managed to turn the views of people. His name was Lee Kuan Yew. And all this during the life of one generation!
And Turkey? This "sick man of Europe", at the beginning of the last century, is a pitiful stub of a brilliant Ottoman Empire. However, there was a man who turned the country. Grateful compatriots gave him the title "Father of the Turks" and adopted a law prohibiting any negative comments on Ataturk. But this man was not a model of morality and virtue. But here's the result: all of Russia is resting “for antalyas”, and today Turkey is already a regional leader, claiming more.
Or South Korea, the monstrously poor country that was once the most impoverished in the world, which even American experts refused at the time. But there was a national leader who thought differently. It was Pak Jong Hee, and Korea became one of the leaders of the “western” world, and its goods flooded world markets.
For all these leaders was characterized by complete rejection of corruption, each of them was merciless in this regard, even to the closest people. In Russia, corruption is ruthless and total. This national disaster, the plague for the people.
A huge and not yet used factor in the construction of a new Russia could be the foreign Russian diaspora, whose potential is not only underestimated, but simply discarded.
Meanwhile, at the present time, the diasporas have played and continue to play a significant role in the life of a number of states. Not to mention the Jews who have the state of Israel and a powerful diaspora. And there is no secret in the fact that Israel, for all its strong army, lives and survives primarily because of its foreign compatriots. Chrestomaten and the example of China, the revival of which was largely due to its diaspora.
Russia, due to historical collisions, has a diaspora, the number of which no one really calculated. At the same time, the Russians became the largest divided people of the world. According to conservative estimates, Russians outside of Russia are about 25 million people. This is a huge economic and political capital, in essence, absolutely not claimed by Russia. During the period after the collapse of the Union, about 5-6 million people moved home from their ancestors from the Central Asian region by “self-moving”. Without hitting her finger, Russia received huge benefits.
First of all, the settlers closed a huge demographic gap. Having independently moved to Russia, the settlers also settled themselves, acquired housing, got a job or started their own business. And since in Russia the average number per person per person is 20 sq.m., then the settlers have approximately bought about 100 million "squares" of housing, which at today's prices is a huge amount of investment in the country's economy. Of course, both housing and metering are not the same. But I know my countrymen, who have both mansions and those who live more modestly - but everything is arranged. And also consider the cost of living, the taxes they pay. Moreover, in contrast to Germany or Israel, Russia did not spend a single penny on teaching immigrants language, adaptation to a new life, on benefits, and all this is billions of dollars.
Unfortunately, despite the optimism on duty, the resettlement program squeaks more than it goes. After all, mostly good specialists with a good education are going to Russia, and the age is flourishing, since older people do not risk getting off their feet. Our migrants, as a rule, work well, are not subject to traditional vices, are law-abiding.
Why is it all wrong? And the secret is that Russian officials do not need all this. All rural Russia has become deserted, and it is impossible for an immigrant to get land.
There are a lot of people willing to move, but Russia meets like a stepmother, and if the immigrant himself doesn’t show will, ingenuity and worldly turnover, then it is difficult for him to get to the places of the promised.
Even it is impossible to compare with the practice of Germany and Israel. Why is there Germany? Tatarstan does much more for foreign Tatars than all of Russia. If you call to move, then open the door wide open. At the same time, in the countries of the region, the move begins to be blocked by the authorities in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. So the site “Russians in Kazakhstan” survived the next one and a half month attack, and no one from the Russian “official” even said a word. But it is this site that promotes resettlement, provides reference materials, and much more. At the same time, Russia itself keeps the door only ajar, either forgetting to open to the end, or getting ready to close.
Returning to the theme of the Eurasian Union, we see that Russia very often sacrifices the interests of compatriots for the sake of short-term benefits. Instead of “full” revealing the potential of the diaspora for the benefit of Russia and compatriots, Russian officials and deputies treat the diaspora as a suitcase without a handle. Putin does not allow to quit, but they cannot and do not want to drag. Why drag? Create the conditions, and everything will not go by itself, but it will run!
The situation with the creation of the Eurasian Union in reality is not as gracious as it looks on paper. In the same Kazakhstan, there is the strongest opposition in the face of nationalists. Ukraine is another serious factor, and the question here is not that it can strengthen the Union so economically. Today, Ukraine has more problems than achievements. But there are two serious aspects. First of all - the spiritual: it is Kiev that is the Russian ancestral home, from there the Russian land went. The same Bismarck said: “The power of Russia can be undermined only by the separation of Ukraine from it ... it is necessary not only to tear, but also to oppose Ukraine to Russia, to poison the two parts of a single people and watch how the brother will kill the brother. To do this, you only need to find and cultivate traitors among the national elite and with their help change the self-consciousness of one part of a great nation to such an extent that it will hate everything Russian, hate its kind without realizing it. Everything else is a matter of time. ”
Almost the prediction of Bismarck close to implementation. Today’s Ukrainian elites have already made a choice in favor of the EU, despite the fact that the benefits are very conditional and the damage is obvious. Will Putin be able to change the situation? If it can, then construction will continue; if it cannot, then it will be difficult for both Russia and the Russians.
It must be said that Russia is a country that cannot be governed as Western countries.
For today's Russia, Western democracy is an instrument for the destruction of Russian statehood. Only a strong leader of the nation is able to raise Russia to the status of a really Great Power. And this is not totalitarianism at all, it is a special way of Russia. Vladimir Putin has managed to become a world leader. And recent events have shown that the Russian president has potential for growth. It remains to recall the famous: “You can only believe in Russia!”
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