In every livestream from the Khabarovsk protests, people were asked: why do you support Furgal? He’s an official, after all. It’s not something you’re used to seeing—people coming out in support of a government official. ⠀ The answer was almost always the same: he started talking to people. He walked the streets. He answered questions. He didn’t shut us out, and he was local. He knew the problems and understood them. We’re tired of Moscow’s arrogance. ⠀ And now I’m looking at this footage. Mikhail Degtyaryov, just appointed by Putin as acting governor of Khabarovsk Krai, walks into the government building. Entourage. Security. Lexuses. ⠀ The embodiment not just of that same Moscow arrogance, but of Moscow’s stupidity in making personnel decisions. ⠀ He’d never been to Khabarovsk. He’d never spoken about Khabarovsk. But he entertained Zhirinovsky (the late ultranationalist Russian politician) in the bathhouse, and that’s why he became governor. A big, contemptuous spit in the face of all the region’s residents, whom the Kremlin now, evidently, sees as real enemies. They rejected the United Russia governor. They rejected the United Russia deputies. They take to the streets and don’t ask permission. ⠀ And now they’ve been demonstratively humiliated once again. ⠀ Something tells me Degtyaryov is in for a difficult governorship. ⠀ But at the same time, it’s important to remember, of course, that the problem isn’t Degtyaryov. The problem is Putin.