From: Eagle_wng
Russia’s Young Bolsheviks: An Imitation Opposition for an Imitation Democracy
Created: 16.08.2005 20:50 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 20:50 MSK > document.write(get_ago(1124211045)); </SCRIPT>
Gazeta.ru
Replacing real institutions with imitations is one of the main aspects of the current presidency in Russia. Surprisingly, this successful approach of running the government is being used both by those working for the current regime and those that oppose it.
By reversing the ruling of a lower court to ban the National Bolshevik Party, the Supreme Court restored the rights not only of Eduard Limonov’s supporters, but of contemporary Russian politics as a whole.
The government’s recent activities aiming to implement a “special” form of democracy that takes into account “Russian nuances” has led to the appearance of all sorts of plaster casts, imitating and replacing authentic public and political life. Instead of the <NOBR>Federation Council</NOBR>, initially created to reflect the opinions of the regions, a certain State Council was set up, the rights and responsibilities of which have still not been articulated. Meanwhile, the upper house of parliament still remains, except that now its functions can’t be readily explained. The transformation of the <NOBR>State Duma</NOBR> into a voting directorate that answers to the executive powers has brought to life the Public Chamber – an organ that appears to have been created to reflect the opinion of various social groups. The implementation of such plaster casts was naturally supposed to affect the life of parties. And that’s where the National Bolsheviks came in.
Today the young Limonov supporters have unknowingly taken on the role of an immitation of a party supposed to oppose <NOBR>President Vladimir Putin</NOBR>’s regime. And that’s because the NBP is the only party that not only talks, but does something too. As best as it can, of course.
Their revolutionary zeal and trappings would make any reasonable person at least somewhat familiar with 20th century history shudder. Their storms of government buildings can also be assessed in different ways. It’s hard to deny that they’re breaking the law, but there’s also no other way to draw attention to the fact that not all is as well in the kingdom of Denmark as it appears on television. No one other than the NBP activists can infiltrate festivities around Putin’s visit to the Zhukov airport and cry out “freedom!”
The NBP work for themselves, and for everyone else. Had there been a real opposition party in Russia that represented the opinion of those that don’t agree with the current regime, the NBP could have remained a small radical sect, as it was at the end of the 1990’s. But as it is, anti-Putin groups can consider themselves to be anything they want – parties, movements, interest clubs – but not real political forces. The popularity of the NBP and the sympathy it has from those people who would otherwise find the words “National Bolshevik” disgusting proves that there is something obviously unhealthy about the current state of Russian politics. Still, it’s all the more difficult to judge the ideological component of the National Bolsheviks.
Their platform has no meaning at all because the party’s mission is, first of all, to protest against the current order.
The party isn’t really interested in anything else: it’s no accident that Eduard Limonov himself announced that he does not want to take part in parliamentary elections.
And here we get an interesting effect: the plaster cast of the opposition is becoming a mirror reflection of the plaster cast of the ruling party. It makes no difference what program <NOBR>United Russia</NOBR> has. The mission of this obviously bureaucratic party is to maintain the status-quo. It neither wants – nor is able to – do anything else. For United Russia, taking part in the Duma elections is not a means to implement its programs, but a way to maintain what today is called stability.
Neither the ruling party, nor the only truly active opposition party have an ideology. They have no articulated aims, and from this standpoint, they compliment each other.
By trying to destroy the plaster cast called NBP, the Moscow District Court disturbed the agreed-upon balance of imitations of a political system. The decision of the Supreme Court reestablishes that balance. Even a plaster-cast democracy needs to live by certain rules.
http://www.mosnews.com/column/2005/08/16/nbp.shtml
