63other big cities with divisive rhetoric. His administration organised large rallies
in order to mobilise his target audience – the byudzhetniki (pensioners, workers
from state-controlled enterprises and citizens of medium-sized and small towns).
At one of these giant gatherings in Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium, Putin exclaimed:
“Let’s all die together near Moscow!” (Умремте ж вместе под Москвой). It was a
quote from the Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov, but it became a key phrase of the
presidential term. Two years later, it resulted in a hybrid war in the east of Ukraine.
The mobilisation tactics helped Putin draw the public’s attention away from
the protests of 2011 – 2012, but it is far from convenient at the start of a new po-
litical cycle. Moreover there is a significant demand for change in domestic poli-
cy. Ordinary Russians, especially those who vote for Putin, may not agree that af-
ter the annexation of Crimea, Russia is now in the same boat as North Korea and
Iran, but definitely feel that their country is not as it was six years ago. Managers
from state-owned enterprises and banks experience the increasing scale of the
problem as Russian money has become toxic for international markets as a result
of the sanctions.
The worrying sense that no one can be safe is now growing inside Russia. And
it is not only the result of state-coordinated attempts to re-establish the repertoire
of the Stalin period with the search for enemies and
traitors. The foreign agent law, which went into effect
at the end of 2012, was targeting NGOs receiving fi-
nancial support from abroad. And it has become in-
creasingly difficult for intellectuals to make independ-
ent films or theatre productions with government
funds. The clearest example is the case of one of the
most prominent theatre directors in Russia, Kirill Serebrennikov. He is now under
house arrest after charges of embezzlement of state money. His Gogol-centre
theatre is a progressive stage in Moscow and is often visited by liberal Russians but
also supported by some senior officials. After Serebrennikov’s trial, the well-known
editor and publisher Irina Prokhorova expressed her concerns, which are felt by
many now in Russia. “It is a clear message to all creative and intellectual people in
Russia that the same can happen to anyone who does not accept the will of the
ruling regime,” she said to reporters.
It is also a tough and dangerous time for those inside the system: federal min-
isters, regional governors and businessmen working on state contracts. Alexey
Ulyukaev, a former minister of economic development, was arrested and charged
with corruption in connection with oil sales. This signals rising tension inside the
Russian elite, especially between the so-called siloviki (those related to the security
services and military) and the semi-liberal groups of officials. The liberal governor
Ordinary Russians
feel that their
country is not as it
was six years ago.Putin and his monsters, Artem Filatov Opinion & Analysis