Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Russian Neologism ‘Siloviki’ Perfectly Reflects Nature of Putin Regime, Inozemtsev Says


Paul Goble

            Staunton, December 1 – “The neologism ‘siloviki’” – those who work in the force structures of the state – could not have failed to appear in our time,” Vladislav Inozemtsev says, because “it ideally reflects the essence of that group which has power in Russia today (m.dp.ru/a/2019/12/01/Tochka_opori).

            “In the country,” he argues, “there are no politicians since there are no free elections; there are no law enforcement personnel because of the absence of any law to enforce; and there are no entrepreneurs as a result of the disappearance of competition and private property. There are only people who have usurped force and subjects who must subordinate themselves to it.”

            Such systems have existed in the past, but now the task of  holding them in place is more difficult because people today are “much less inclined to consider subordination to force as something natural.”  The Russian elite has found, perhaps unwittingly, a response to this challenge.

            “In order that the power of the siloviki,” of those who rule by force alone, “as something normal, it tries to make into silovikis anyone on whom society in any way depends,” the economist continues.  Among other things, “it teachers people to view he victories of their grandfathers as their own, to treat a shameful war against a fraternal people as an occasion for pride.”

            As a result, “the powers and the people turn out to be complementary.” But “today we are reaping the fruits of this massive social experiment: uncontrolled semi-military formations at which the powers close their eyes are multiplying; the police and judges are imposing ever harsher punishments on the dissatisfied.”

            And more broadly, “brutalized men are killing and beating their wives and girlfriends – even as the state is continuing to sing hosannas to force, denigrating legal norms and elevating ‘traditional’ values –by which it means those which appeared before the era of the legal state,” Inozemtsev continues.

            Those who don’t like this “new reality” can either put up with it or leave, he says; but they cannot challenge the siloviki as the powers that be constantly remind everyone.  “Is Russian society capable of waking up?” Inozemtsev says he is not optimistic given the widespread use of force and institutionalization of force as the basis of almost everyone’s actions.

            What is more and what is worse is that this arrangement doesn’t threaten the ruling regime. The siloviki can intimidate and they survive only because the regime wants them to and the population can think of no way to challenge them given their power as blessed and orchestrated by those at the highest levels.

            “Force, having become the universal replacement of law is destroying Russian society, Volence, its inevitable byproduct is destroying the personality of Russians. In the existing situation, the process of degradation could be stopped only by external factors which would devalue ‘the achievements’ of the siloviki ‘elites.’” 

            If such external factors do lead to regime change, Inozemtsev argues, then those who come after it should remember that “educating people in the culture of nonviolence and humanism is more important than all the market reforms and purity of democratic procedures. The latter easily retreat before authoritarianism and fascism, while the first have deeper roots.” 

            There is no ready-made answer, the economist suggests; but a visit he made to a store near where he lives in Washington, D.C., provided a possible suggestion of what needs to be done. The store owner was collecting toys for the poor as Christmas gifts, but he wanted to make sure the toys would promote the right values.

            Consequently, the owner put a sign above the box where the toys could be left: “Nothing with a military, weapons or law enforcement theme.” That might be a good place for Russian reformers of the future to begin.

No comments:

Post a Comment