I’ve been accused here of trying to hide my real position behind jokes about Belykh becoming governor. As in: since he’s your buddy, you’re turning a blind eye to the fact that he betrayed his comrades and the ideals of democracy. Making excuses for him. That’s why I’m writing this long, rambling post. I am, so to speak, denouncing Nikita, but unlike others, I’m not the least bit surprised. Belykh became governor because he was never really much of an opposition figure in the first place. I’m not insulting him here, just stating a fact. Where did Nikita Belykh come from? He was deputy governor of Perm Region. And before that? How did he end up in SPS (the Union of Right Forces, a liberal political party)? He was one of the “Novosiltsy” crowd—part of Kiriyenko’s movement (spit on him). Is Kiriyenko an opposition figure? Was he ever one? Not to mention that SPS was a party of hypocritical crooks and thieves. Yes, yes, yes, there are excellent people there, and I’m friends with them. And among those who went over to Right Cause there are decent people too (Permyakov, for example), but that doesn’t change anything. Belykh was always drawn to the role of “a decent man inside this fucked-up system.” In fact, that’s exactly what he is. He stayed inside that system, even if he did run in a couple of Dissenters’ Marches. He ran for office, went into the executive branch, became a deputy this and that, and always wanted to be governor, minister, and who knows what else. President. Well, now he’s taken his next step up the executive-power ladder. It’s not that Nikita has only now betrayed_set up_sold out someone. The cognitive dissonance happened when he got mixed up in all these Solidarnost projects, and even earlier, when he came to Moscow and for some reason fell in with that whole “demshiza” gang. Not even demshiza, really (so as not to offend the honest demshiza—slang for the radical democratic intelligentsia), but the kind that pretends to be demshiza and loves to chatter about who is and isn’t “untouchable,” while in reality selling itself wholesale and retail (M. Chudakova and other old, decorated members of the intelligentsia). Belykh is one of those guys who think you can lead the country to democracy by building a bridge over the Kama River. Well then, let him build his bridge. Everyone in Solidarnost can confirm that from the very beginning of that movement I said Belykh would never join it. Never. Everyone argued with me, but it was obvious. As long as SPS was still alive, there was always the option of folding Solidarnost into it. That’s why Nikita hung around there. From the start, Solidarnost was a bargaining project (and yes, yes, yes, there are good guys there too, people I’m friends with, and Garik is a good guy, etc., but it was still a bargaining project). Belykh was just the first one to cash it in. That’s why everyone’s upset. I worried about Belykh when I saw that his fate might be endless meetings in the company of washed-up has-beens, spinning fascinating intrigues: *we need to talk things over with one group of unwashed party-congress delegates so they’ll team up with the group in torn jackets against the group of uncombed delegates, because the uncombed ones are blocking me from the political council. If it all works out, then I, and not someone else, will be discussing the all-important statement in support of Georgia in the company of Yury Samodurov. *Apparently Belykh himself worried too and didn’t want that kind of fate for himself either))) Yes, for Solidarnost this is a major blow, because Belykh was the only leader who could convincingly play the part of “a democrat of the new wave, a man of action rather than just a talker.” Now there’s no one there who can even pretend to be the man of action. But come on, hands up—who feels sorry for Solidarnost? That’s what I thought. Another point. Remember the name Grigory Yavlinsky? A lot of people don’t anymore. This guy repeatedly turned down posts in the executive branch. And this was back when there wasn’t much of a “bloody regime” to speak of. And what’s left of him now? Just the reputation of a windbag. I agree, it’s a trap. If you go into government, you get smeared by association with them; but if you don’t, then you have to answer the question: “You criticize them? Well, you were offered a chance not just to talk shit but to actually work—so why did you refuse? Are you only willing to work in an Ideal Russia?” Everyone decides for themselves how to avoid that trap. What should we firmly condemn Nikita for? What we should condemn him for is his extremely ugly behavior toward SPS. That’s what I think. Even in private conversations, Belykh argues with foam at the mouth that the governorship was not payment for helping dismantle SPS. But we all understand that it was. I don’t feel sorry for SPS, but I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of those few SPS members who, at the leadership’s call, sincerely rushed off to battle the authorities and then got flushed down the toilet. Chubais was the one pulling the string, of course, but Nikita stood nearby, looking away and saying, “Come on, faster, we have to get this done before the end of the month.” That’s what I condemn you for, Belykh. Masha really let you have it. As for the people doing the condemning. I understand the emotions of m_**gaidar, **rank-and-file SPS activists, and just politically engaged LiveJournal bloggers. But when Belykh is being denounced by: Yabloko people. The same people whose Artemyev works in Putin’s government. Guys, why lie—to yourselves, of all people? I remember how thrilled I was, along with everyone else, when after YABLOKO’s defeat in the 2003 elections, rumors started that Mitrokhin would be appointed to the government. Everyone was demoralized, there was no money, no prospects, nothing to do—and then bam, the government. Awesome. Everyone was already drafting speeches and posts along the lines of: “At this difficult moment, we want to work for the good of the country. We are not going to Putin, but to the Russian people.” Every new wave of rumors about Yavlinsky being appointed somewhere gets everyone indecently excited. some of Belykh’s former comrades from the irreconcilable opposition. Damn, there’s nowhere to stamp these guys—they’re marked all over. The bastards never leave the presidential administration alone. In the last election they licked everyone there just to get places on the party lists, and now look at them! So honest! If Kasparov were denouncing him, that would be one thing—but Kasparov is calm, even though he suffered from this more than anyone. It’s disgusting listening to these “old democrats.” So basically, to all these hypocrites I say: Boooo. And to everyone who’s genuinely outraged, I say: I understand your emotions, but tell me honestly—what would you have done in Nikita’s place? Belykh’s governorship will be difficult. Kirov Region is a godforsaken hole (sorry if anyone here is from there). Population: one and a half million. Forest and thicket in the moonlight. Terrible owls. When I argued with Belykh about Kirov Region, his final argument was: yeah, but... yeah, but... they have the biggest bears in Europe there! I have a strong feeling that the forces of evil are preparing some nasty little initiation for Nikita. They’ll ask him to ban something, or break something up. We’ll see how he wriggles out of it. By the way, Kirov Region was almost the only region where the Russian March was held legally this year. There weren’t many people, but nobody dispersed it. We’ll see how much OMON (Russia’s riot police) will be in demand under the new leadership.