I am reading an interview with the leaders of “Russian dissenters”, maybe, this word will now most succinctly define the category of people previously called “Russian opposition”, “democratic opposition”, “anti-war activists”, “environmental activists”… “Do they still exist?”, I ask myself. Sane Russians of different ethnic origins and political orientations assess the results of 2023 with sadness and disappointment. Actually, those who give interviews and speak out loud about the political picture being already beyond the borders of the Russian Federation, within the country such conversations on such topics are already, in principle, impossible. The silent Russian majority, if they evaluate at least something critically, then, according to “common reasoning,” preferring even in communication with the closest interlocutors (sometimes even in disputes with relatives), to accept figures of silence, and to give out loud only absolute euphemisms. To assess and explain the social and political situation, they (and we too) have to resort to the formula that has long been stamped into the subconscious of Russians: “a step to the right, a step to the left is considered an escape, a jump on the spot is a provocation.”

Read More