Paul
Goble
Staunton, August 29 –Every system if
it is going to survive needs people who will defend it; and the Putin regime is
no different. In fact, in addition to its open propagandists, the Kremlin today
has eight different kinds of the defenders of the status quo, according to
Moscow analyst Lidiya Shevtsova.
These “defenders” so monopolize the
public space that it is often difficult for anyone else to get a word in
edgewise, and that is exactly the point of having so many – they are now beyond
counting -- and so many different kinds – there are at least eight --she says
in a commentary for Radio Liberty (svoboda.org/a/28662872.html).
Some of those involved in this
effort may “sincerely see themselves as progressives, but in fact they are
helping to preserve the existing system,” Shevtsova continues. But perhaps some
of them are simply going along because it is professionally profitable and they
don’t want to be cast out into the cold.
In any case, it is useful to have a list:
1.
“The
pragmatists” form the majority of the defenders of the system. They are happy to comment uncritically about
what is happening, but as Shevtsova points out, “the absence of ideology means
also the absence of principles.”
2.
“The
technocrats” are those “who have mastered the art of serving those in power.”
The powers that be need them to run the system, and this group dominates the
economy.
3.
“The
optimists” always assert that things aren’t as bad as they appear and that
things are getting better and better.
4.
“The
supporters of ‘small steps’” include those who point to small changes now as
indications of bigger and more positive ones in the future.
5.
“The
realists” are those who focus on foreign policy and believe that foreign policy
is all about force and having power and also think that Russians should focus
on foreign affairs and ignore things at home.
6.
“The
geopoliticians” are people who love to talk about myths that “support the
appearance of the greatness of the state.”
7.
“The
statists” are those who support the power of the state over everything else,
quite possibly because they believe that is the only way Russia can exist.
8.
And
“the supporters of new forms and styles” include those who delude their
audiences by using new technologies to support old ideas.
According to Shevtsova,
those who talk about foreign policy occupy the most prominent position among
the defenders and preservers of the system, and their arguments reflect the
fact that this is a realm where intellectual bravery is the least
possible. But even when they appear
critical, they are in fact doing little more than working around the edges.
However, in her view, the
most dangerous of the preservers who want to appear to be critics are those who
focus on every twitch in the Kremlin, subjecting it to microscopic analysis and
building on that alone. A microscope does reveal many interesting things, but
it can have the effect of distracting attention from the situation as a whole.
And that of course, in
the current situation, is exactly what the Kremlin wants and what the
preservers are all too willing to provide.
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