VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Russia must focus.
Carte blanche
The authorities have launched a political offensive and are snatching the opposition's initiative. They have cast aside apologetic explanations and the feelings of embarrassment that gripped them after the December parliamentary election.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's article, "Russia muscles up: The challenges we must rise to face," is the first and the most prominent symbol of the government's changing mood. In fact, it is the political manifesto of a government seeking a clean and honest election victory, which is vital for Russia's development as a global leader in the 21st century.
The primary element of Putin's political message, which is hence forth referred to as the "manifesto", is its future direction. He addresses issues of reform, change, growth and development, and stagnation, passivity, archaism and social irresponsibility.
Mission Putin 2.0
The political reform is a priority of the manifesto, in which Putin clearly outlines his mission for a third presidential term – to enhance the majority's role in state governance.
"There can be no real democracy until politics is embraced by the majority of the population, until it reflects the interests of this majority," he wrote.
Putin, and subsequently Medvedev, inherited a political system created in Yeltsin's presidency. Its distinguishing feature is the domination of an advantaged liberal minority over the majority of the population. In this respect, Putin echoes Stolypin, who wrote: "This is the beginning of a consistent, unhurried movement not towards radical, but rather gradual progress, and logical trends, with a guiding first and strong Russian political stream. This is the engine. If you break it, the work will grind to a halt."
Freedom as challenge
"Freedom is better than unfreedom," Dmitry Medvedev said in early 2008, inspiring the middle class. Putin went even further, clearly defining not only the goal, but also the challenges that may hinder advances towards reaching this goal. Freedom through the majority's participation in state governance is how this mission can be achieved, Putin writes, outlining the primary challenge that one should want and be able to use freedom.
"Unfortunately, their pride in their motherland or their patriotic feelings rarely get reflected in their daily activities such as participation in local policy-making, legal advocacy or real charity," he wrote.
Who is Putin's manifesto meant for? Russian society, but above all the middle class. The middle class is a new creative group that can and should operate within an expanded area of freedom, and a mature civil society where people respect the law and abide by democratic traditions. The authorities must learn to cooperate, communicate and work together with the middle class, which alone can ensure the development of a mature civil society, mass political parties and, ultimately, a society of freedom.
There are quite a few people who can be defined as the middle class. They are estimated to constitute between 20% and 50% of the population. Created in the era of Putin and Medvedev, the middle class and its ruling elites are so far searching for an answer to what Russia is today and what it will be like tomorrow. Not only experts and the authorities, but all citizens planning their life and the life of their families, need to know the answer to these questions. "True, it is possible to win over a considerable part of society for a short time with catchy slogans and visions of a brighter future," Putin wrote. "But if people later simply cannot picture themselves in this future – they will turn away from politics and social challenges for a long time to come. This has happened time and again in our history."
We need a meaningful policy – not a policy of slogans – a policy where immediate practical goals are complemented with clear targets formulated for a decade. This is the key to sustained development. This is the only policy people will believe. The past and the upcoming elections have highlighted the need for such a policy.
French political consultant Jacques Seguela wrote: "The constituent votes for the idea and not the ideology, for the future and not the past, for fortune and not that which is mundane."
This is the why Russia needs to consolidate. The government and society should work hand-in-hand to break through towards a new Russia of the 21st century. Putin's manifesto is a vivid, fundamental and at the same time deeply personal document of a national leader that offers a consolidating ideological platform for achieving this goal.
French President Charles de Gaulle said: "Choose the most difficult way and then you can be sure of at least one thing: you won't have any competitors."
Putin's manifesto is exactly such a choice.
By Andrei Ilnitsky, Supervisor, United Russia's Culture and Time Project, Deputy Head, United Russia's Central Executive Committee
