Usurpers of power in Russia and the uprising of the bourgeoisie

Edward Limonov / www.grani.ru (excerpt from the article)

To hell with Mr. Obama! He came and went again, and our problems remain.

To begin with, we have one shameful secret: this country is occupied by a group of persons, and for almost a decade this group of usurpers own Russia. This group is so narrow that it is hard to regard it as either a social class, or a political party. It cannot be regarded as a fraternity, even though its core is made up of natives of one city. Still this group is much narrower than a fraternity. These people are more or less colleagues, who worked together in the city government of Saint-Petersburg in the 90’s, and colleagues of their colleagues.

Their story is very much similar to the story of the last century of the collapsing Ottoman Empire, when any lucky servant of the sultan who managed to get closer suddenly became his right-hand man and then brought all his relatives and colleagues to the palace.

Sultan Yeltsin needed a "firm hand" and he brought in a certain Mr. P. by the back door. This Mr. P. one by one dragged inside all the people he used to work with.

For more than a decade we are all condemned to live under their rule. Their habits, beliefs, education level weigh upon us. Their understanding of the "order" as the policy of transfer of power inside the group led us to the situation when there are no new ideas and no new people at the top levels of government. As if we were forcibly made to live in only one season – a gloomy and chilly autumn. And where is our spring and summer?

Ten years of the same people in power is disgusting. Worse is only twenty years of the same rule.

Sultan Yeltsin was the first to learn the art of "winning” the elections. He was immoral in the most innocent manner, as could be immoral any talentless Soviet construction boss who made it to the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Besides, the job of "winning" was mainly done by newfangled merry political spin-doctors.

Since then the power has been successfully "winning" all elections, and chairmen of the Central Election Commission were afterwards one by one awarded with cozy ambassador jobs in countries with beautiful landscapes and a moderate climate. Fat managers of federal TV channels do not get appointed as ambassadors, but I am sure that they are also rewarded in full.

The sultan has long left the throne and then he died. His right-hand man became a sultan himself and served two terms. Then he put on the throne a smart young man, who was brought up in the traditions of the group. He was “chosen”. Heaven knows on what merits he has been appointed! Maybe it is the lack of these merits that did the job.

Our common shameful secret is that these people are aware of the fact that they are unworthy of their status, that they have neither talent, nor popularity, nor any other quality to be there (they do not even look good!). And we know that they do not deserve the power they have been given. They deceived their way into the power; they sneaked to the throne somewhere from the kitchen. They did not even conquer power, if you remember well! But how arrogant they are, sitting there for more than ten years! And we do not drive them away.

How many great projects were not taken forward during this time! How many souls burnt with these projects inside! How many destinies are broken! How many opportunities were lost!

Furthermore, these people in power are rather lazy, as befits any incidental strangers. They tapped all the resources and built nothing. Situation in the Caucasus is still a mess, prisons are still overcrowded and the system of justice is rotten. From top to bottom, life in Russia is full of lies. The impression is that the Russian rulers sleep twelve hours a day, glug vodka eight hours a day and then sit for four hours in front of TV cameras. I am afraid that this impression is not wrong.

Their fault is enormous, but our fault is no less huge. We are to blame because we haven't driven them away. That we are too meek and too faint-hearted to protest. Although, most of the blame must be put on our bourgeois heroes.

source: grani.ru