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.
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