HOW DO YOU SLAY A DRAGON?

In contrast to the West, most Russians recognise class boundaries, and don’t try to break them (an individual might jump over them, that’s fine; but don’t break them). But this notwithstanding, they demand that the quality of life within those class boundaries be maintained and even improved. And if there’s any small lowering of standards, however insignificant in might seem in the grand scheme of things, they will react with howls of protest. The question as to whether it’s possible to break these class barriers in the near future, let alone whether it needs to be done, remains an open one. This question is certainly not at the forefront of people’s minds, because for it to be so there would have to be a genuine revolution in their consciousness.

The class nature of Russian society hinders the development of a genuine left-wing programme in the country. Apart from the nationalisation of the economy, what’s a typical left-wing agenda in Europe? It means a progressive rate of income tax. But there can’t even be any discussion of this in Russia. People simply don’t understand how making things worse for one level of society can improve the situation for their own level. They just don’t see any connection. The 13 per cent tax rate in Russia is simply not considered to be a subject for serious discussion. So in Russia there’s no structured left-wing agenda. It would have to be created, bearing in mind the specifics of the class system.

A properly built social policy is a powerful lever for overturning the pyramid of power. Why is this so important? Putin isn’t a mixed politician; he’s a radical right-winger. The left is simply a false cloak he puts on. As he imitates the technologies of fascist-type leaders, rather like Solaris he changes his mask to suit the situation. Since 2003 he’s been covering up his course with left-wing slogans. But like all of those in his regime who promote a left-wing programme, it’s just for show. There’s actually nothing new in this. Just as there’s no self-rule and no genuine federalism, Putin has no genuine left agenda. He will, though, continue to use the left-wing mask in the future as the situation demands, as his regime becomes ever more decrepit.

Given all this, the situation will only continue to go downhill. Matters will go from bad to worse, since in the global division of labour there’s no place for Russia in the industrial production sphere. That particular conveyor isn’t ours; and, in any case, it’s already taken. Only highly-qualified labour could save us, but unfortunately we’re lowering the prestige of education and cutting off the funding for it. The class nature of society keeps growing. Our children don’t see the value of higher education, and consequently they’ll have nowhere to go when they grow up. It’s programmed mass impoverishment.

It’s quite possible that there’s a subconscious political element here: it’s easier to manage a poor society. Poor people’s expectations are lower.

In this way, too, Putin is ensuring that the class system will remain for decades to come. The model is being laid down that means that the majority of the population will be unable to break through to the top because of a lack of qualifications. You can’t evolve out of such a system. You can only smash it.

The regime can be and has to be caught out on this. The democratic movement should put forward a genuine left-wing tactical programme in opposition to the regime’s leftist show. Not an abstract European programme (that wouldn’t work in Russia), but one designed for the reality of the Russian class system. What does a tactical left-wing programme for contemporary Russian conditions look like? It’s nothing supernatural. It’s a combination of two things. A consistent battle against over-consumption and strict guarantees of conservation; and where possible, raising specialised measures of social support for the broad mass of the population.

It seems that it’s impossible to fight against over-consumption in Russia, because there’s no clearly expressed demand for this from society, despite the opposition’s clear anti-corruption campaign. People express their indignation, but this simply borders on philistine curiosity and doesn’t develop into the need for political action. As a result, everything runs into the sand.

There is, though, one small but significant detail. People are ready to accept over-consumption by the fathers, but they’re not prepared to recognise the children’s rights to it. The legitimacy of inheriting large fortunes in Russia, be they in the families of oligarchs or the dynasties of officials remains an open question. Tolerating the class system doesn’t pass on to the next generation. So there’s a window of opportunity for an evolutionary solution to this problem, through the introduction of expropriation taxes for the inheritance of super-large fortunes.