peresedov wrote a very intriguing article, "Russian Liberalism: Is There Life After Death?" With the coming of spring, supporters of independent democracy will have plenty of time to hold a funeral feast for the deceased and reflect on how it wasted away, grew ever more boring, marginal, senile, and finally passed into the next world. Sad as it is to admit, liberalism as a real political force in Russia no longer exists. What remains is a medium-sized regiment of mourners, a couple of heirs greedy for a meager inheritance, and millions of indifferent eyes who greet the absence of any notable liberal politicians in the established power structure with the crude saying, "Maxim is dead — and to hell with him" (a Russian dismissive expression). One can say, of course, that this state of affairs is the result of the Kremlin’s ruthless struggle against the opposition, expressed in pressure, intimidation, information blockades, and malicious propaganda. But today, perhaps, it is time to admit that in response to the authorities’ actions, the opposition of recent years has produced nothing but banal criticism of individual events, blind enthusiasm often multiplied by hysteria, groundless bravado, and complaints. And the fact that liberal leaders continue to reconcile and quarrel with one another randomly and without any system even after the train of political opportunity has irretrievably left the station suggests that, even with full access to the levers of public influence, they would hardly have achieved any positive result. *The article ends with a curious and, to me, unexpected conclusion: *Russian liberalism can exist, but it must forget about Putin, storming the Kremlin, and elections, and instead choose as its main target of struggle the "religion of the broad masses" — nationalism. ** There is only one question: how much further can this go? The liberal movement is already 90% a clique obsessed with fighting the "dark instincts of the Russian people." All that remains is to move on to armed struggle. And then we will be able to watch Sergei Adamovich Kovalyov tearing a fofuďya (a parody of ostentatiously traditional Russian garb) off Kholmogorov; Alla Gerber burning Holocaust deniers in ovens; and Yulia Latynina beating up teenagers in apartment entryways for wearing tall lace-up boots.
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