“Novaya Gazeta”: “Vladimir Kara-Murza: Topics of the Week”
A printed version of the January 8, 2010 programme
The anniversary of Boris Yeltsin's resignation. The shift of power
On the last day of 1999, Russians learned about the resignation of their President, Boris Yeltsin.
Journalist Alexander Minkin gives his interpretation of the simple game played by Yeltsin's entourage:
"This was done to appoint Vladimir Putin as President, nothing else. In winter, a new party whipped up by Boris Berezovsky won the elections. When it somehow managed to win the majority of votes, it became clear that the iron should be struck while it was hot. I don't know how they persuaded Yeltsin to resign, but when he announced his resignation before the New Year, it became obvious that Putin would be the President. The elections were no longer needed."
Writer Leonid Mlechin is convinced that the first Russian President paid too much for his right to act as he saw fit:
"I think that on the one hand, Yeltsin made a very precise move and achieved the goals that he had set at that time. On the other hand, it seems to me that he destroyed everything that he had planned to do when he started building Russia."
Writer Viktor Shenderovich believes that not all of our compatriots have realized what happened 10 years ago:
"Now I think that when Yeltsin apologized to us, he apologized not for what he might have done but for all this, for the future."
Historian Nikolai Svanidze thinks that we should not rush to conclusions:
"We will still have to assess Yeltsin's role - he is a historic figure. I think that future history text books will write about him with esteem. He played a tremendous role in the Soviet Union's peaceful disintegration and in Russia becoming a democratic state."
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The end of the holidays
The New Year holiday is over
Rescue teams and policemen register an enormous number of incidents caused by long-term drinking, and economists calculate heavy losses. This time, the holidays cost Russia 700 billion roubles. Writer Eduard Limonov believes that the timing for the holidays is wrong:
"It would make more sense to have the holidays during a short Russian summer. Let people improve their health, go to the country. During frosts, they will just be sitting again in their flats, looking at the annoying faces of their relatives and neighbours."
This tradition appeared in 2004, when the economy was on the upsurge. Dissident Valeria Novodvorskaya has this comment:
"There is nothing to do anyway. There is no industry, nor agriculture, nor political life - everyone is living at the expense of the pipe. Well, have a feast while you can because sooner or later oil will become cheaper and gas will run out. In European countries people have some urgent things and jobs, but we can have a country of never-ending holidays."
It was not easy for the government to preserve long holidays during the crisis. Writer Mikhail Veller thinks that social stratification is vividly manifest during the holiday season:
"The holidays are not good for all Russians. They are good for those who have higher income or who can ski in the Alps or go somewhere else, but bad for all others. The nation is not working, men are drinking, production is mostly idle, and the defence capability is falling, if it's not already down."
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The Beatles' last song
In January 1970, the Beatles gathered together for the last time to record their song "Let it be."
Journalist Maxim Shevchenko believes that the Beatles symbolized the generation of the 1960s:
"They have created the new mythology of the liberal trend by combining human freedom and talent with consumer society. John Lennon went to the left and Paul McCarthney followed the road of the liberal establishment, while George Harrison sank into nirvana."
Publicist Leonid Radzikhovsky thinks that the Beatles are "a cultural matrix":
"They started modern culture, not music or art culture but modern culture in general, the modern mode of existence. The erosion of social stratification, political correctness, and a considerable decrease in overall brutality are all linked with the Beatles. But for them Barack Obama would not have been elected President."
Konstantin Remchyukov, the owner of Nezavisimaya Gazeta, is convinced that they were men of genius:
"They were men of genius in everything - melodic, conceptual, behavioral, and stylistic men of genius. There is no sphere of modern society that they have not influenced. So many years have passed. Their fans were in their twenties, now they are in their sixties, but they still carry the values of the Beatles in their hearts."
Writer Dmitry Bykov compares the Beatles with our bards:
"I think the Beatles are consonant with Russian bards. Both have common backgrounds. Arbat was our street for bards in Moscow, and the Beatles might have had their own street somewhere in Liverpool. I think they are a great folk phenomenon."
The Beatles have expanded the range of rock music and made it respectable. Journalist Alexander Budberg notes the optimistic sound of their music:
"They were followed by other groups, some of which have become extremely popular, but I'd say that their music was gloomier. The Beatles composed new music evoking new sensations. Chicherin once wrote that Mozart's music belongs much more to the 20th than the 19th century, and more to the 19th than the 18th century. I think this applies to any classic, and the Beatles are no exception."
