some kind of alternative debates will emerge in Moscow to compete with the first ones, and the number of participants and topics discussed will be measured in the dozens Maxim Kononenko, the prophet from Mosrentgen. (By the way, the unofficial mascot of the debates. Kind of like a seal mascot for a football team in America. If next time I don’t see him in his red jacket with a beer in hand, I’ll get nervous. Seriously.) I was waiting with interest for the alternative debates to appear. That they would appear was already clear after Debate-1 between Parker himself and Belykh. They’ve appeared. The funniest part is that the "Volnodumets" club is also made up of representatives of Moscow’s YABLOKO (a Russian liberal political party). Self-organized party members who like to talk. Nice people. You can take a look at them here. I won’t lie: the prospect of a million projects called "Political Debates," "Public Debates," and so on does make me a little uneasy. But we should remember that the stated goal is to draw attention to politics. And the emergence of alternative debates shows that the goal is being achieved. The idea works. By the way, we’re currently advising people who are organizing debates in St. Petersburg and Perm. Franchising!! As for club debates dying out, the key phrase in Parker’s comment is: "And as political life becomes mainstream, club debates will naturally die out on their own." I agree, and I hope that public political life in Russia will become mainstream again. Why would anyone need club debates if they’re being organized on television?