Dmitry Kiselyov is, generally speaking, a powerful source of inspiration for political activism, and on Sunday someone sent me a link to his segment, and I realized: we can’t do without a rally. We need to take to the streets.
13 million people (9% of Russia’s population) watched “Dimon,” and I’m sure at least 10 million of them would like some kind of explanation from the authorities.
Some assurance that there will be an investigation. Just to hear something, anything.
The words “we do not comment on the accusations of convicted criminal Navalny” satisfied very few people.
Here you have a Hero of Russia and an Honored Test Pilot. He is asking the very same questions.
And he gets no answer either. Is he unworthy of an answer too?
And so I watch this TV toad, crawling out of his luxury apartment worth 162 million rubles (about $2.8 million at the time), and parroting the Kremlin’s talking points to the whole country.
SERIOUSLY?! We’re discussing Hillary Clinton in connection with a network of corrupt foundations?!
I don’t know what’s going on with Hillary Clinton, but to me the Korean corruption scheme looks very much like this:
Only on a much larger scale. All of Korea is celebrating now—they threw out a president whose foundations received $97 million. And there was another outrageous case that offended every Korean: Samsung bought a horse for the daughter of the president’s friend!
What a terrible crime, right. By the way, the head of Samsung is currently under arrest, including over this very incident.
Now compare that with this:
70 billion rubles—more than $1 billion, and ten times more than in South Korea—was funneled as bribes into Medvedev’s foundations. Forget a horse; here we’re talking palaces and vineyards.
And zero reaction. Zero explanation. Not even the standard line: the competent authorities will look into everything.
You know that the most popular headline in the “authorities react to the ACF investigation” category is: Medvedev blocked Navalny on Instagram.
It’s funny, sure, but that’s not enough for me. I want my answers.
The authorities are playing a kind of staring contest with us. Who will outlast whom without blinking. Who can hold out longer: us, with our outrage and attention focused on them, or them, with expressions on their faces as if there is no investigation and nothing needs to be commented on.
Personally, I would like to get my answers.
And personally, I know one thing for certain: only those countries live well where people publicly express outrage at corruption. They take to the streets immediately.
There are no exceptions here. It’s a direct correlation.
In Iceland, they brought down the prime minister over nothing more than an offshore account. The average salary there is 195,000 rubles (roughly $3,400 at the time).
In South Korea, there were rallies and impeachment—and the average salary is 145,000 rubles (roughly $2,500 at the time).
In Brazil, which people here still tend to regard as less developed, there were rallies and impeachment over corruption, and we can see that this country has long and confidently surpassed Russia in average wages—there it is around 60,000 rubles (about $1,000 at the time).
Let’s take a step toward prosperity and development: let’s all come out to a wonderful peaceful spring rally and ask the authorities to answer our questions about corruption in general, and about “Dimon’s” schemes in particular.
I call on everyone who believes they deserve an answer to join in.
I have submitted an application for a rally and march in Moscow on March 26.
We will also be able to submit applications centrally in several of the largest cities.
But your local initiative is far more important. Let’s hold these rallies/pickets everywhere. Here is a sample application; it’s all very simple. Submit it to your city hall for March 26. Applications are filed 10–15 days in advance, and today or tomorrow you still have plenty of time to do it.
Bring your friends, make a couple of funny signs. Even if it’s just a 10-person rally in a small town, you’ll feel like a citizen, have some fun, and upset Dimon and his cronies.
Everything depends entirely on our activity and our belief in ourselves. If tomorrow everyone in Russia who watched our film and is genuinely outraged takes to the streets—or fine, at least those who clicked “like” under it on YouTube—then tomorrow Dimon will be headed first for resignation, then for investigation. And the day after tomorrow, the level of corruption will genuinely decrease. Because the guys in the Kremlin will understand: the people themselves have drawn a new red line. Crossing it is dangerous.
March 26. In any city in the country. We come out and ask politely. But now in the street, since they pretend not to notice online.
Here is the Facebook group for the Moscow event.
If you agree with me, then share this video, write that you’re going too. Submit applications and join everyone else in your city.
Only those who ask persistently get answers.