Starting a conversation about power and opposition, one cannot but recall the words of M. Bulgakov: “All power is violence against people, and the time will come when there will be no power of either Caesars or any other power. A person will pass into the realm of truth and justice, where no power will be needed at all …”(“The Master and Margarita”).
Power and its manifestations
Is it possible the existence of any state without power? Unlikely. In human society, power is laid down at a subconscious level. Some yearn to rule and dominate, while others cannot imagine their existence without guidance from above. Freud interprets the primary source of power as the desire to realize one's libido, and according to Adler's theory, the desire to possess power is nothing more than compensation for one's own inferiority complex.
What is power? This concept defines the ability to manipulate (manage), realizing one's personal or public interests. Management can be carried out both at the level of one person, and at the level of the state or the whole world, regardless of the desire of those who are governed. Power is a toolwhich a person or groups of people united by one more or less similar interests and striving for similar goals (political parties and movements) can concentrate forces and resources around themselves that will help achieve the goal, suppress the will of others even against their will, dictate their own terms and control the processes and mechanisms for the distribution of the most important and scarce material, natural and social values. Political power implies the achievement of goals for the benefit of the entire community of people who are subject to this power. It, as a rule, has a single decision-making center, can operate in various areas and use all kinds of control levers. Political power has a clearly defined hierarchical structure.
Methods of confrontation between society and power
People are not always delighted with the way of management. No ruling politician, no matter how powerful, can be sure of his political future. Popular anger is a terrible force, because in anger the people turn into a crowd, and the crowd cannot be controlled. But in order for the people to start acting, they definitely need a person who would not be afraid to openly oppose the authorities. As a rule, these are desperate fanatics who firmly believe in their rightness.
With the advent of the era of "philanthropy" such fanatics were no longer burned at the stake and impaled. They were allowed to unite in groups that were called "political opposition". This was done in order to have some semblance of control.above them. For the one who knows the enemy by sight wins. In the era of the Union, the opposition could not exist as a real, somehow visible force in principle. These were units in power structures and outside the state apparatus, which had absolutely no political weight. In modern Russia, the political system allows the formation of opposition political parties in the sense in which the very concept of "opposition party" was originally defined. That is, structures began to appear that have a package of documents enshrined in law, aimed at observing the interests of citizens who do not agree with the line of the ruling party. The work of the opposition party is to promote its ideology to the society and carry out explanatory work. The result of this work is either the overthrow of the current government, or significant changes in public consciousness.
Power and opposition
The role of the opposition in the life of modern Russia is rather ambiguous. On the one hand, there are political forces that have a fairly high percentage of support from the electorate, whose programs differ in many respects from the programs of not only the leading party, but also other political entities that call themselves the opposition. On the other hand, no opposition party can be recognized as such in relation to the ruling political party. The alignment of political forces in Russia today looks like this: in parliament, the ruling party is represented by United Russia, while the Communist Party and the Liberal Democratic Party play the role of the opposition. It was these two parties that managed to gain more than 7% of the vote in the last Duma elections. This is truecalled systemic opposition. There is also non-systemic opposition. These are the political parties of Russia that have not overcome the 7% barrier, but are allowed to work in parliament. However, they do not have any weight. All other movements expressing their political point of view are recognized as marginal and are screened out by Rosregistration as those that could not prove their ability to perform the functions of the party.
A bit of history
The opposition has always existed in Russia. The most striking Russian opposition began to manifest itself in the early twentieth century, when the Bolsheviks came to power. And although the word “oppositionist” itself became something of a stigma, the parties that formed during this difficult period made attempts to negotiate with the new government. These attempts continued until 1929.
But again, the real force that opposed the Bolsheviks - the "White Movement" - at that time had already been completely destroyed, the opposition was allowed only within the Bolshevik movement itself. The possibility of the existence of an opposition outside the party at the level of the people was not even allowed to be thought. With the coming to power of Stalin, any dissent was punishable by death, so the very concept of "opposition party" ceased to exist. But the Russian soul is so arranged that it does not accept any violence against itself. In contrast to the regime of the most severe terror, at the end of the 1930s, a “moral opposition” arose. It found its expression in the revival of faith, underground, but the faith of all absolutely confessions. Malenkov, in a letter to Stalin, expressed his doubts aboutabout the possibility of conquering Europe SUCH people. This was the impetus for a new wave of terror in 1937, which destroyed almost all of the former aristocracy and intelligentsia of the Union. It was only in 1985 that the General Secretary of the CPSU Gorbachev, with his thesis on the democratization of Soviet society, actually allowed a multi-party system, thereby bringing the opposition back to life.
Arrangement
With the elimination of the CPSU as a single ruling party, the political community faced a difficult choice. Naturally, it was necessary to develop at least some kind of program that would allow a state with such resources not only to stay afloat, but also to regain leadership positions on the world stage. The process of alignment of political forces takes quite a long time. In the course of their formation, the authorities and the opposition underwent colossal changes. Democratization and liberalism of the new socio-political society are becoming a paramount task.
By 1993, a party system was formed, consisting of three blocs: center-left, center-right and centre-right. The centrist bloc supporting the president became the leader. It included DPR, PRES, Yabloko and Russia's Choice. The struggle between the ruling and opposition parties is developing against the backdrop of a recession in the economy, when the pro-government party loses its positions, stimulating opposition political parties. In addition, inter-ethnic conflicts along the borders allow the far left and far right to build up electoral power. Suchthe situation undoubtedly put Russia's opposition parties in a leading position.
Unanimity
In the Duma of the 4th convocation (2003), the United Russia party takes the lead. With the appearance of such a strong player on the political arena, the prioritization is gradually changing. Political parties and their leaders are gradually being removed from leadership positions. The pro-government party secures its leading position for a long time, relying on the ideology of conservatism and immediately opposing itself to more radical movements. It is from this moment that a new stage in the development of Russian society begins. The main task of the party is to maintain leadership positions for 15 years. To implement this task, a civic consciousness must be formed, which will be supported by a stable economic situation and a single thought about Great Russia.
It is precisely on patriotic feelings that the leadership of the party stakes in the first place. One of the stages in the formation of national patriotism was the signing of an agreement on the adoption of measures to prevent xenophobia and racial discrimination. Political parties of the Russian Federation almost unanimously signed this document. Thanks to the clear implementation of the party program, the improvement of the welfare of the nation, the United Russia party received tremendous support from voters in the last elections to the Legislative Assembly, this also explains the majority of representatives of the ruling party in local governments at all regional levels. The presence of a powerful political force that hassuch support among the population of the state, put the opposition parties in Russia in a difficult position.
Fresh stream
The main problem that almost any opposition party faces is competitiveness. The mechanism of government and lawmaking is built in such a way that it is difficult for the opposition to influence its functioning. Getting support from the working population is even more difficult, because in order for the working class to start protesting against the ruling party, you need to find the cause of discontent. Well, what if everyone is full, satisfied with their work, spend their leisure time with interest? How to make people murmur? There are several options. The first is retirees. Here you can play on nostalgia for the Soviet past. But again, bad luck - the level of pensions fully satisfies the needs of citizens who survived the hungry 90s and do not want to change the well-fed “now” for an unknown “tomorrow”. The second option is the local intelligentsia and oligarchs, but their numbers are too small for powerful support, and they are unlikely to want to quarrel with the current government. The next generation remains. It is the youth that the propaganda of today's opposition is aimed at. Young people are easier to work with. They are more amenable to ideologization, have good mobility and practically do not require material costs. Youthful maximalism, inherent in almost all members of youth movements, with the skillful processing of experienced psychologists, becomes a really powerful weapon. It is unlikely that these movements can significantly affect the political life of Russia, but this is how the real streetthe power of such parties can be used by the opposition to achieve their own goals.
Foot march
The infamous events on Bolotnaya Street became a manifestation of such power. It is sad that the political parties of Russia, which consider themselves to be in opposition to the authorities, once again proved their complete failure as political parties. For the crowd gathered on Bolotnaya Square was not motivated by the slogans put forward by the opposition. Calls for the resignation of the government and re-elections were borrowed by the protesters from the Kyiv "Maidan", and the tactics themselves were quite similar, but that's not the point. The fact is that the very possibility of a protest became a signal for the authorities. A signal of a growing popular consciousness that has learned to think and draw conclusions. Against the backdrop of “colored” Maidans and motley revolutions, Bolotnaya could seriously harm not only the political image of the ruling party, but also Putin personally. The absence of leaders saved the situation.
A meeting of a fairly large number of people who allowed themselves to throw out the energy accumulated over the years of satiety ended exactly as it ended, that is, with nothing but a few dozen criminal cases and a general feeling of euphoria from overcoming their own fear of power. If the instigators of the popular revolt had a real leader, the change of power could be real. But, as they say, they shouted and dispersed. Today's opposition leaders are unable to move their electorate to any serious action, they are nothave the leadership qualities that would help captivate the crowd.
Missed Opportunities
The unfulfilled tasks of the rally on Bolotnaya and Sakharov Avenue determined the direction in which political parties from the opposition should move on. The first step to success is, of course, the creation of some kind of opposition headquarters, which will include those leaders who have the greatest potential. Work should be carried out using the maximum amount of resources. If propaganda through the media has rather limited possibilities, then the World Wide Web is not yet limited by censorship. Bloggers have great opportunities. Their activities can be directed to the formation of public consciousness, the collection of sociological data, and there are few options for unlimited imagination … There are chances for success for those movements that did not realize their political ambitions during elections at all levels. Joining a single opposition force gives a certain, albeit illusory, opportunity to return to former positions. There is no doubt that the new opposition will be strengthened by injections of private capital. Although the very mention of money in the plane of fighting corruption in politics can be called blasphemous, any force must have a real material base. Attracting we althy and successful people to the opposition party provides quite substantial support for all revolutionary undertakings. Well, the final, but by no means the least significant link in this chain should be the intelligentsia and representatives of the beau monde. Dear cultural figures, creativeelite - they are able to lead the people, at least their admirers.
Is there a future?
Given the experience of previous years, the question arises: "How long can the ruling political parties of Russia contain the opposition?" It is known that nothing is eternal. Recent events persistently make us think about the prospects for the current government and the opportunities for the opposition. The phenomenon that was observed in Moscow in 2012 speaks only of the political maturation of society, which became possible due to the change of generations. The society that has its own political vision and does not need leaders. A society that has managed to mobilize in a fairly short time and clearly express its position can be considered quite mature, ready for a dialogue with the authorities. And it is precisely this group that has the right to call itself the opposition today, ready to defend the interests not of specific individuals or parties, but of the whole people. Undoubtedly, such a phenomenon as popular opposition must develop, otherwise the development of society itself is impossible. Russian consciousness is no longer concentrated around one person, so the change of leader at this stage of the development of society is not a problem. Moreover, in modern society the concept of "leader" has disappeared. And the authorities should remember this.
It is possible and necessary to negotiate with the opposition, you need to be able to hear it. The authorities need opposition, if only to help correct mistakes and not let them relax.
