The end promises
For grey at first glance, the election campaign will almost sensational strategic changes in the Russian agenda. For the first time the existence of the current political regime, in fact, have nothing to offer their constituents. Traditional handouts, which are distributed to citizens on the eve of elections in the form of benefits, special social orders, different types of targeted assistance, this time not as a class. The informal social contract at this time, it seems, is that the authorities need to vote, just to not come out worse. In the name of nostalgia for our overall stability.
Of course, this is partly testifies to the desire to save energy ahead of the “Problem-2018”, which threatens to become much larger than it seemed a year ago. Really — how easy to re-elect the President when the country is surrounded by enemies, no money, and an increasing number of citizens aware that the light at the end of the tunnel turned off? Here we need rational calculation and concentration of all available resources. Distribution of bonuses to the population of reserved for the President, the deputies interrupted, and so.
But even this consideration, perhaps, cannot be explained by the frankness with which the authorities now advise citizens to live, no matter what especially not hoping, but the ideal is to go to pasture. For our latitude is similar to the political practice of the new is not, but she usually tried not to be combined with the pre-election period. Now combine quiet — and in this Novella.
Farmers and miners are protesting in Rostov, instead of the expected handouts and gave a power sweep. Our political parties at the same time somehow understood that to get involved in the story and try to use it during campaigning is not (this is what I wrote in the previous column). Right during the election, the government does not find funds to index pensions and only announces one-off payment to pensioners — 5000 rubles, and only in January 2017. In an election year are unusually direct and indirect levies from the population with the aim of saving the state, its army and officials.
We need to mention the policy of the Moscow government for urban landscaping. Moscow in this sense, special issues: taxes the city paid a lot of money there, the question is how they are spent. The municipality has placed emphasis on improvement, which raises many questions from the citizens (by the way, sociological surveys that would give the dynamics of the relationship to the work of the municipality during the present spring and summer, apparently, does not exist) — and all this right before the election. For example, streets will be repaired by September 10 — the Day of the city. But what about, for example, with the abolition of the capital minibuses? It is assumed that all voters have to approve and vote for the party, deprived of their usual transportation. Methods and value of land improvement is a separate big topic, but here the same trend: we have now decided to do what the authorities consider it necessary, not paying attention to the polls and seems to be related risks.
The most impressive part of this story is, however, different. The authorities not only do not give the voters during the campaign. They are even more do not promise anything. “United Russia” went to the polls with calming quotes from President — but only just. Unlike all other Duma campaign leaflets from the ruling party, there is no “economic growth by 2030”, no “leading positions of the country in the world” and “free medicine for all”. They say, and so interrupt. Pragmatics is there to look for except that nobody in any case would not believe.
Kirill Martynov
the editor of Department of policy
