People often ask me questions in the street. Besides “What will come out of these people?” meaningless question-complaint, people also inquire about exact subjects, for example, “Why people have taken to the streets inMoscow? Is Putin not a good leader? Are those rallies organized by the rightist forces?” There still are millions of people on the post-Soviet territory who claim that Stalin was a “good leader” – he was strict, there was law-and-order during his rule, one was executed for stealing a nail, factories were built, they won the war. However, if we balance his doings, in my opinion, the bad will be more, than good. However, in any case, I would avoid unambiguously labeling this or that leader “plus” or “minus”. Putin is not an exception in this regard – in 2000s he gave stability to some extent to the internal life of the country, the explicit manifestations of banditry and “bespredel” (lack of any restraint) of 1990s became more concealed and coordinated, during Putin’s years in office the war inChechnyacame to an end, the standard of living rose. On the other hand, the right to freedom of speech was restrained, the oligarchic-monopolistic system crystallized, the opposition was eliminated.Russiaentered a period of deep stagnation that certainly influences and will continue influencing the economic condition of that country. I.e. at the moment, I am under the impression that Putin’s “balance” is positive, but it can turn into a negative one during next 12 years of his rule. One can say many positive and negative things about Putin, as well as all Soviet and independentArmenia’s leaders and if they ask about someone whether he was a good or a bad leader, I cannot answer that question.
People take to the streets, not because Putin is a good or a bad leader, but because they watched the Duma election rigged on an unprecedented scale and they realize that the prospect of Putin’s becoming another Brezhnev will lead that country to an explosion. As famous journalist Leonid Parfyonov has said recently, Brezhnev ruled the country for 18 years and he started to pin various medals on his chest during the second half of that term, becoming a character of many funny stories. Putin has been ruling for 12 years and he is going to rule for another 12 years and that desire isn’t reasoned by any serious argument. It was clear after Yeltsin what his mission was and now it is not.
I shared these ideas, in particular, during a conversation with a citizen. His last question was the following “who else, if not Putin?” Can’t that huge country really find another leader? Even in a small country like ours it is possible that a new leader will emerge and not the whole “plot” will be about three figures and their being a “good” or a “bad” leader. That newcomer just has to convincingly explain what he is going to do.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
