Paul
Goble
Staunton, April 28 – Russians and others
of a certain age will recall when one of the most frequently mined sources of
information about the intentions of the Kremlin in Soviet times were the
slogans that the Communist Party issued in advance of the May Day holiday. Now, Putin’s United Russia Party is doing the
same thing – and perhaps the slogans will be put to similar use.
Moscow’s independent television
channel, Dozhd, says that the central
executive committee of United Russia has sent a list of 36 slogans to its
regional activists. The network has a copy and says that its contacts in the
party have confirmed the list and said it was approved already on April 21 (tvrain.ru/news/dalnij_vostok-433521/).
It provides the following selection:
·
“Putin
is for the People. He is boldly leading Russia to success!”
·
“A
strong president for a great country!”
·
“Sanctions
Don’t Frighten a United Nation!”
·
“As
long as we are united, we cannot be defeated!”
·
“Our
children: Free. Smart. Patriotic.”
·
“The
May Decrees – What has been said has been done.”
·
“For
the young, work! For the elderly, concern!”
·
“The
people are for a worthy minimum wage!”
·
“Bad
Roads to the Dustbin of History!”
·
“Let
us free teachers from paper slavery!”
·
“I
will go to the Far East for my hectar of land! I will do so before I’m too old!”
The network reported that there were no
slogans about the government or the prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, although
it pointed out that there was one devoted to the struggle against corruption --
“Praise for the honest; jail for the corrupt!” – which some might conclude
applies.
One regional party official complained
that some of the slogans weren’t specific enough for their audiences, but
officials at the central office said that they had compiled the list on the basis
of submissions from the regions.
All this suggests that many may once again
be reading the party slogans like tea leaves about the future.
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