Political Summary-2005/TV Emcee Vladimir Soloviev: This was a year of replete disappointment. Komsomolskaya Pravda of December 23, 2005. Interview Vladimir Vorsobin
Vladimir Soloviev invited me to Ostankino to ponder over the passing year. The program "To the Barrier" had just finished, the television duelists, who had been quarreling with each other regarding the gas war with Ukraine, have left for their "Mercedes'", and Soloviev, who was cooling down after the battle, kept wandering around the studio stage while been reflected simultaneously upon several giant screens of the studio. Captiously observing himself from all sides he kept murmuring exultantly:
– What a year this was, what a year this was… This was a good year!
(Yeeess! - he exulted. - I will bring to the editorial office the holiday interview!)
– Although for some reason we live in shit! - Soloviev finished his thoughts.
– Vladimir, it's the eve of the holy festivity, and you say such things…
– The year was very hard. Epochal people passed on. Zhzhenov died…
And what remained of the year there was nothing but an absolute collapse of liberal ideas. Discomfiture at all fronts. The hypertrophied expectations of the "orange" revolution crashed. The agitated condition of the"Garden Ring democrats" ended in absolutely shameful attempts of consolidation. Kasparov, Ryzhkov, Hakamada and hard by her side, Limonov. In her opinion, he is, it turns out, absolutely no national-socialist, but a wonderful guy! Oh dear, let's merge SPS with "Yabloko" without delay. But "Yabloko" has become rotten to the core! Who says this? Masha Arbatova says it - she, who just a short time ago was in the SPS.
If the liberals are not going to have any relevance in today's society they will end up biting each other to death. They are like a bunch of kept women who are tossing about in terror looking for new sponsors.
– It all sounds tragic. It seems that this is the main disappointment of the year for you…
– Almost. The prize for "The Main Disappointment of the Year" I would give to the nationalist movements, the activity of which in the preceding year, would have seemed impossible. It's surprising, that the authorities finally woke up and expelled "Rodina" from the election roll in answer to international dissention. But the main disappointment of the year is, of course, Kvachkov.
Shenderovich, during all his many years of work in TV has written volumes of texts full of his talent, but he received less notice than Kvachkov did, who only aired one idea - to kill Chubais.
– You, when talking about the opposition, for some reason we don't recall the imprisonment this year of Khodorkovsky.
– Well; notice how, today nobody takes any more interest in the matter, even though it was only several months ago that the Khodorkovsky case was in the news. Already it's not interesting anymore. It seemed, like, 'oh my God', after the imprisonment of Khodorkovsky we were going to be subjected to international infamy. We were going to be expelled from the world community. Nobody gives a damn!
– And why?
– Well; just because our notion of life has nothing in common with the notion of life as recognized in those countries surrounding us. We are always imagining cult figures from people who are not worth considering cult figures, but perhaps fit to be considered only as conspicuous figures in public life; and when we then proceed to inflate them further, they burst!
– Does a Russian citizen from the year 2004 differ from our contemporaries?
– They are two very different species. People feel clearly, that the time has returned, or so everyone seems to agree, that it is not stylish to do business. When it is not stylish to be one's own master, but that one should be a small screw-bureaucrat; that it is good, if your children study at the Academy of Public Service and then go to work at a Ministry…
Or else, people got tired. And they demand acts from journalists, businessmen, from anybody. Although they should demand this from the authorities!
– Did they become different in 2005 too?
– Of course. This year oligarchic capitalism was finally vanquished, and bureaucratic capitalism succeeded it with a triumphant stalking. Politicians of non-pro-government persuasion just have not remained in Russia. That's a great pity. You don't know who to vote for; and many go to vote for "United Russia", because they are at least not nationalists and not clowns. All this reminds me late stage socialism a lot.
– Will something change in 2006?
– Why should anything change? While we have such oil prices!
– But not everything is so bad; take, for example, Russian citizen Abramovich as an example of Russian capitalism…
– Abramovich is a typical pseudo-aristocrat, and now he has bought himself the province to boot. By the way, there is one more event of the year that infuriates me. The same Abramovich was paid 13 billion dollars for something that was grabbed at a pledge auction for 100 million dollars' while the budget for all national projects were allocated less than USD 4 billion. These types of figures insult me! It's an elementary desire to reduce the price of housing - remove administrative barriers, solve the problem of bureaucrats' bribes…
– At the moment in Russia it is stylish to be an aristocrat. The golden youth headed by Ksyusha Sobchak, look, rejoice over life to the fullest extent. This year, by the way, high society hangouts got popular throughout the whole country. Perhaps people got fat nevertheless?
– We have a lot differing notions of people. If Kseniya Sobchak and all these hangouts in Kurshavel are the people, then the country of their habitation lies between Rublevka and the"Nouveau Riche" highway. For me these are not real people at all, they are nothing in particular, just froth. But are people really getting fat little by little? I agree, there are positive tendencies.
– The social chamber quite may become the puzzle of the year?
– Yes, this is a really abstract thing. If this chamber doesn't cost anything to the taxpayers, I will be indifferent to it. But I wouldn't call it a puzzle of the year. Quite the opposite, this is a perfect example of the state. We are used to the idea, that if it does something, then it either tries to buy the voters, or to swindle them. But this is a formal type of logic… There is no such single monster - the "State". There are many different interests, different bureaucrats' groups… Here it became a custom to demonize the authorities, turning them into a concourse of malefactors… In reality everything is far more laughable. This year one event astonished me: a boy, a functionary, takes a bribe of one million dollars, then at his workplace one million is found, and he says: no, this is for another case, so don't take this one!
– Political scientists maintain, that recent changes in personnel are not only considered major events for 2005. But for 2008 too…
– Because political scientists in Russia have for a long time acted as psychoanalysts. How can one with full seriousness regard Medvedev as Putin's successor?! How much money should be added to the salaries of workers, so that they can say: oh dear, Medvedev is so good, let's vote for him.
– But in his hands lies "the hope of the year" - the national projects. By the way, what is your point, will they be fulfilled bona fide?
– Are you insane!? I don't think it's a case of whether, the authorities will do something that is bona fide or not. This is a matter of professionalism. But the fact that this does not contain any election dirty tricks is obvious. It's too early for that. There are far more simpler methods. Right before elections give money to the major category of voters - budgetary workers, military men, pensioners, and you will have the correct voting result. Why bother making advances to the intellectuals?!
In the case of national projects I see the honest concern of the authorities. The money really was allocated to effect real changes in the country.
But Medvedev holds a position no better than an execution sentence. However much money you give to the people, they will say "it's not enough" anyway. And they will hate you. This doctor was given money, and this doctor was not…
– And how much time has he got?
– I don't know. Fradkov's got several months. The following premier will be, most likely, any one of the strong regional governors. And regarding Medvedev, we'll see; he will be never driven away from the president's team, but I don't think that now is the time to shout out, "here's our future president"! I don't see the grounds for it.
– And what about foreign policy this year?
– I don't understand what it is at all.
– How can this be so! Putin, for example, flew to Malaysia on New Year's eve.
– That's the point, is it only the president who occupies himself with foreign policy in our country? It turns out, that his personal relations with the heads of countries are far better, than the relations between states. But this year I was pleased with the fact, that Putin has started speaking English. You can't be ashamed of him. You look at him - young, non-drinking, mastering the language…
– But isn't Russian gas our foreign policy?
– This is business. The Ukrainians take our energy carriers at low prices, then they dump it against our manufacturers. What's the sense in putting up with this, what for? Our relations with Ukraine will not get further worse anyway.
– Vladimir, why can't people just enjoy this stability, which exists in the country now?..
– People can't enjoy it, because there are regions, where it is not calm and it is not stable. In Russia, I guess, no year has been calm and stable. This was a year of replete disappointment. For any person to say this, it implies that the year before 2005 was extremely terrible. Such is 2005.
– Vladimir, has your salary been cut down by any chance? Maybe your car has been stolen? You are not in the right spirit for New Year's eve…
- I'm in the right spirit. I'm just preparing a new book - "The apocalypse according to Vladimir" - at the moment. That's why the spirits are in a corresponding mood.
– And anyway, there are ordinary Russians more optimistic than you are. Such is the data from sociological polls. More than half of all Russians are waiting for the year of the Dog with big hopes.
– I do have hopes. But previous experience is an obstacle.
– But was there something at least which gladdened you?
– I'm glad, that Russia has not disintegrated. That for the first time in Nalchik a normal counter-terrorist operation was carried out. The special services worked very competently this time. I made acquaintances with fantastic people serving in law enforcement. Honest and decent people, high professionals.
It gladdens me, that the veterans could cheer up and it was possible to celebrate 60 years of victory. over the Nazis By the way, TsSKA took the UEFA Cup, and Valuyev became world champion… (now that is something to remember! - Soloviev gets startled all of a sudden. - The year is really not that bad).
– I congratulate KP's readers with the New Year and wish them to be even bigger optimists than I am. Although…
(In order to avoid ruining an excellent New Year's interview, I hastily turned the dictating machine off.)
