It looks tempting. But maybe a warning sign is that when they did something similar in Ukraine and Georgia it didn’t really help.
For the reasons given above (“you can’t shoot them all”), there’d be no one left to do the work;
There’s no guarantee that those who take their places would be much better;
Many of those who work in the power structures these days carry out their roles honestly and, at great risk to their lives, fight against terrorism and criminals.
It’s true that our judges are all corrupt and bought out by lawlessness. But perhaps it’s not so much the fault of the judges as of those who’ve interfered with their work? If we remove the Kremlin gang, if you conduct a serious debrief, if you give professional people the chance to be both people and professionals… No, of course it’s much better to start afresh, with a new page; but where are we going to find this new page? Yes, and millions of our fellow citizens are not just dust…of course, you could just wipe them away and lo! There’s Stalin’s pockmarked mug staring back at you from the mirror…
I’m against a total purge. It’s never really been completely successful anywhere. The Bolsheviks went further with this than anyone else. They effectively carried out a purge using the meat-grinder of the great terror in 1937, but they still didn’t achieve what they’d set out to do.
As a rule, approaching everything with one and the same template rarely produces a good result. Of course, we have to conduct a thorough and large-scale investigation of the crimes of the regime and identify the key beneficiaries of the mafia state, the real culprits of the escalation of repression and despotism. These people must be judged and punished publicly and under due legal process (with all legal guarantees being observed; those very guarantees that they denied others), even if society then decides to grant them amnesty.
As for those who are less responsible for what the regime has done, they can be dealt with using conditional measures.
A different matter is the “institutional purge”, that should be carried out as strictly and consistently as possible. The point is not that KGB officers weren’t purged, but that the KGB itself was set up as a totally repressive institution that carried out the role of a second (sometimes the first) government. Such a purge is not a witch hunt, but a ruthless thinning out of a dense forest, which turns people into witches and goblins.
Things usually happen the other way round with us. In the battle for justice we seem ready to shoot the wild bird, but not touch the reservation that produced it. The solution, that has to be real, long-term, and not just temporary, is not one of settling scores, nor about purges, but in profound institutional reforms. We won’t get by without purges, but they should be carried out with the same degree of mercy that will lessen the desire to seek revenge.
Revolution. Everything is leading to the idea that yet another revolution in Russia is inevitable. The regime is stuck in a rut of repression, from which it wouldn’t be easy to extract itself even if it wanted to; and it has no desire to do this. It has just one desire: to hold onto power at any price. The key word here is “any”. This sense of an impending revolution is gradually creeping into every layer of society, affecting even those who are loyal to the regime and have gained the most from it. What can we say about those who’ve chosen the path of professional revolutionaries...
The authorities have done so much to turn revolution into a scarecrow that they’re now reaping the opposite reaction. For many people, a revolution – and the bigger, the better – appears to be the most desirable and most positive solution to the growing crisis.
Is the revolution as good as our imagination makes it out to be? Far from it. A revolution always has its very dark, hidden side. It’s counter-intuitive for a person to want a revolution, because it’ll be a huge shock for the whole of society. But it’s too late to think of that now. Now, it’s as necessary as a scalpel is to a surgeon. Given the understanding and the historical necessity we have, and the experience behind us possessed by few nations of the world, we have to do everything in our power to ensure that the revolution does not become the end in itself. We mustn’t put an end to despotism and violence by organising a festival of violence and despotism.
Revolutions costs society too much for them to become instruments for settling scores or re-allocating resources. While admiring the revolutions that have taken place in the post-Soviet space, we must remember that their medium-term results turned out to be far from the expectations of those who inspired and created them.
We must never lose sight of the main aim of the revolution: to make society more humane, more tolerant and more free. As well as the political and economic results it brings, the revolution should usher in added moral value, which is why it can’t be handed over to the mercy of cynics and political strategists.
The revolution can be for the whole people, who, having passed through it, will be morally cleansed and freed. Despite the cost, such a revolution is good for society. Or the revolution can be for a revolutionary party. It carries out the revolution in the name of the people but in reality it’s in its own interests. Such a revolution is worthless – except for the party functionaries.
A revolution isn’t needed to destroy the old order. You don’t need to be very clever to work that out. A revolution is needed in order to build something new in place of the old order, something based on equal measures of justice and mercy.
If a new order doesn’t arise out of this, then the revolution will have failed. Today, in the heat of the struggle, we’re often too focused on the negative side of the revolution, on the need to demolish a regime that’s hated by many. This is understandable, especially now that this regime has switched to a policy of open mass repression. But if we fail to switch the centre of gravity onto the positive side of the revolution, onto our ideals, onto our dreams about a fair society and state, then we will devalue any victory over the regime and end up even further away from our goal than we were before.
The passion of the fight, the desire to take revenge, the desire to see the ghouls at least nailed to a pillory: all these are understandable and largely justified. This regime has provoked in its opponents feelings of hatred and rejection. But if, as we look into the future, we’re ruled by these emotions alone, then we won’t go far. Ultimately, the one who wins will be the one who can rise above these emotions and give everyone the chance to take part in creating a new, open Russia.
Conclusion (The Dragon in Custody)
The dragon has gone too far in its war against the people, and therefore all of its heads, however many there are, should remember that they carry personal responsibility for what has happened and that this price will not be forgotten. At the same time, I wish to address myself to those who entered the Russian Colosseum to watch the battle against the dragon, hoping to applaud the heroes from the safety of the stands. When I was sitting in my prison cell I used to read your articles praising the heroes, and I still read them today. I see in them the desire that someone will slay the dragon for you. I see a terrible disappointment when this doesn’t happen.
I became interested enough to ask: do you understand that should your wish come true and someone slays the dragon for you, your disappointment will be even greater?
In order to become a professional dragon-slayer a person must themselves either be a dragon at the outset, or else become a dragon in the process. And then their team will be a typical dragon’s team, with the same methods and aims.
And if you think that the hero will fight the dragon and that you’ll receive the benefits (freedom and democracy, at least), then you’re naïve (if, that is, you expect to receive freedom and democracy, and not simply work as a slave). We already went through this with Boris Yeltsin.