Every foolish act has a price. Monumental foolishness has a much higher one. Take this, for example: Moscow will soon hold a parade. And the whole country is baffled — what the hell do we need a parade on June 24 for? What is it for? Why do we need it? Polls show that even among older people, 89% do not consider holding a military parade now to be necessary.
Nevertheless, tens of thousands of people are being brought to Moscow. Just transporting military personnel has cost 290 million rubles (about $4.2 million at the time).
The clouds over the parade have to be dispersed — that costs 113 million rubles (about $1.6 million).
To show the parade to the whole country, which is apparently desperate to see yet another parade, a live broadcast is being organized for 83 million rubles (about $1.2 million).
Journalists will come to cover the parade, but so they do not infect Putin, they will not be allowed into the parade itself. Instead, a special international press center will be set up to keep them entertained in every possible way. That costs 135 million rubles (about $2 million). Flowers alone for decorating this press center cost 2 million rubles. Another 118 million rubles has been allocated for food and other needs: after all, a well-fed journalist will write about Putin’s greatness better than a hungry one. In total, this press center alone will cost 254 million rubles (about $3.7 million).
Hosting foreign organizations — 86 million rubles (about $1.3 million).
To cover up Lenin’s Mausoleum and once again annoy Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (leader of Russia’s Communist Party), we will pay 60 million rubles (about $870,000).
Putin has to look nice in photographs with veterans, and for that there is a special photography contract — 47 million rubles (about $680,000).
Postcards. Across the country, 2 million postcards bearing Putin’s facsimile signature and greetings will be sent out — 30 million rubles (about $435,000).
Foreign and honorary guests are supposed to be driven around in specially branded cars. I do not know what that branding will look like — maybe stickers saying “thanks to grandpa for the victory” and “on to Berlin” — but the branding alone will cost 12 million rubles (about $175,000).
That already brings the total to nearly 1 billion rubles. And that is only according to public procurement data. On top of that, there will be enormous fuel costs for armored personnel carriers, tanks, fighter jets, and helicopters — those are buried in the Defense Ministry budget, so we do not see them.
There is also the torn-up asphalt in central Moscow, these endless rehearsals, the traffic jams that cost the city economy dearly. Masks, gloves, hand sanitizer. And what I have told you so far is only about Moscow. In some regions, parades were canceled because of the epidemic, yet they will still go ahead in 60 regions and in most of Russia’s largest cities. It is just a river of money. And then add the cost of treating all the people who will get infected at these insane parades in the middle of an epidemic.
And let us not forget that there was already a parade on May 9 after all. Soldiers and military equipment did not roll across Red Square — that was canceled at the last minute — but there were rehearsals, there was an air parade, there was cloud-seeding, there were fireworks. Huge sums were spent on all of that too. And everyone, everyone in the country knows that this madness is being staged for one person. This parade has a single spectator. He is sitting in his bunker. He spent two and a half months there because he is afraid of getting infected himself. The only way to get near him is through a disinfection tunnel. Elderly veterans are being kept for him in a closed boarding house so it can be determined whether they are contagious or not. Vladimir Vladimirovich demands guarantees that he will sit at the parade surrounded by safe, noninfectious veterans.
And he personally needs this parade because he wants to begin the vote on resetting his presidential term limits with something ceremonial. “I want a parade,” Putin is effectively shouting, regardless of the insane spending and the epidemic. And he must be given that parade. It has to be produced for him no matter what. Billions of rubles. Thousands falling ill. The whole country is tapping its temple and saying: have you lost your mind? Buy medicine for pensioners with that money. Give people some kind of help. Everyone spent two and a half months stuck at home; half of them were without work and without pay. A parade is the last thing on their minds. But the old man in the bunker wants a parade; he needs to show himself off on the reviewing stand. And once again we will reach into our pockets and pay for it.
One mad, greedy man obsessed with power is forcing the whole country to engage in nonsense. And we will keep doing it until we finally organize collective resistance. First, do not recognize this vote. It is a fraud. We do not give Putin the right to run for another term after 20 years in power. The very vote on this issue is illegal. Do not go. But if you have firmly decided to go anyway, remember safety — and definitely vote against.
Second, before we know it, September will be here. Elections will take place in 31 regions. Six cities with populations over one million are involved. That is where they need to be hit. Putin and United Russia. Not a single vote for them, and mass campaigning for Smart Voting. In September, in real elections, we must make Putin answer for these parades, for the failure to fight the coronavirus, and for the fact that he refused to help ordinary people while helping his millionaire cronies. This is a simple and very realistic plan for the next two months. And everyone can take part, even if you live in other regions. If Putin loses his majority in these city councils and regional legislatures, his power will begin to unravel. Voters are already настроены against the authorities; only one thing is needed now: to make them vote together according to the Smart Voting strategy. Register and do your part. Otherwise, you will go on paying for Putin’s parade.