25.04.09

Society should consolidate, consider and adopt the anti- crisis action plan suggested by the Cabinet. Addressing leaders of political parties, representatives of businesses, and Public House members, Premier Vladimir Putin said this course of events offered Russia the only chance to survive the crisis. Experts meanwhile say that consolidation of society will be a chore: society is split and apathetic, mostly convinced that the authorities should solve all problems on their own.

Consolidation of society and powers-that-be is a must for successful dealing with the crisis, Putin said. Whenever Russia had faced serious challenges in the past, consolidation was always accomplished. "I earnestly hope that society in general will respond adequately now and pool efforts to chart the measures that will see us through these difficulties fomented by the global crisis," Putin said.

Consolidation would be difficult, Public House Secretary Academician Yevgeny Velekhov admitted. "Society distrusts the powers-that-be and hence the apathy. All the same, we must change this attitude and start coping with the crisis," he said. Velekhov couldn't say exactly what ordinary Russians were supposed to do. "Say, organize a meeting and fire the local thieving administrator," he suggested without much conviction.

Judging by the premier's speech, however, it was not what the authorities were expecting from society. Quite the opposite, in fact. At the very least, the powers-that-be want the Russians to stay indoors and ignore street protests.

The period when the state and civil society in Russia were regarded as opponents is finally over, Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov suggested.

"Mentality of the elites is different now from what it was half a year ago," political scientist Dmitry Badovsky said. " At first, the authorities refused to acknowledge the crisis at all. After that, they changed the tune and began saying that the crisis was financial and that it would therefore spare most of the population. Lastly, they admitted existence of the crisis but said that we had so much money that there was nothing to be afraid at all." According to Badovsky, the authorities finally recognized the scope and gravity of the crisis and immediately turned to society for support.

"Consolidation does not mean loyalty to the government or anything like that," Russian Business and Entrepreneurship Union President Alexander Shokhin said. "Civil society is about control over the powers-that-be." By and large, Shokhin liked this public discussion of the plans charted by the executive branch of the government. In fact, Shokhin even appealed to Putin to "apply the same technique to Cabinet's other initiatives." (To say, for starters what proposals initially formulated by the Russian Business and Entrepreneurship Union made the anti-crisis action plan.)

History of Russia knows about consolidation of society initiated by the powers-that-be. Minin and Pozharsky once appealed to the Russians to come to the defense of the Motherland from the enemy. Josef Stalin addressed "brothers and sisters" when the Great Patriotic War began. In the latest history, similar episodes included the referendum to save the USSR and the August putsch... "I don't expect society to heed the call from upstairs," political scientist Konstantin Simonov said.

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Source: RBK Daily