Alexey Zakharov: "The government leaves a loophole for loyal citizens for their self-deception..."

Sociologist Aleksey Zakharov drew attention to the next blow that the authorities inflicted on the opposition: the signatures collected by him and his headquarters for nomination to the State Duma were not registered for the independent candidate Roman Yuneman. Although two years ago, before the elections to the Moscow City Duma, Yuneman managed to register the signatures; but then he was not supported by the so-called "Smart Vote" and lost. Zakharov believes that this was, perhaps, the only, but very noticeable mistake of the UG in Moscow. This time, they simply decided not to let Yuneman in - suddenly the district would win.

“I think that the following statement is not far from the truth: all candidates who are registered bring false signatures; those few who manage to collect signatures according to the letter of the law are not registered because of the lawlessness. This is the principle by which power is organized in modern Russia - nothing can be entrusted to the rules written on paper, all important issues must be resolved solely according to concepts..."- Zakharov comments on the situation. This tactic is very convenient for the authorities, the expert believes:

“Why is the dictatorship not taking shape de jure? For example, a law could be passed according to which each candidate must be approved by a commission appointed by the president, which has the right to refuse without explanation. Indeed, in fact, the state of things now is exactly the same. But that would be too obvious. The dictatorial power is forced to pretend to be a democracy. People who are loyal should have a loophole for self-deception - for example, to say to themselves: "maybe everything really happens according to the rules" or "in the West everything is exactly the same as in our country"..."

Russian voters think this way because the idea that the authorities are deceiving their trust is too inconvenient; it threatens, ultimately, with a decrease in self-esteem. And the psyche knows how to protect people from this, Zakharov is sure.

This, according to the sociologist, is the answer to the question "why there is no alternative to the existing government in Russia":

“Because everything is very simple: Anyone who sticks out and starts playing an independent game will be removed from the elections, or imprisoned... Yuneman is only 26 years old, but he has already managed to prove himself as a public politician and, at the same time, an outstanding organizer. He was not allowed into the State Duma. Sergei Furgal won the gubernatorial elections (while violating the tacit agreements with the Kremlin) and became insanely popular in his region. The result is an arrest, a criminal case, a year in a pre-trial detention center..."

These are just two examples.

“Therefore, it is important to watch our hands and not let the authorities instill in us thoughts that are convenient for them, such as “who else if not us”, or “everything is just as bad in the West”, or “the opposition is weak, no one needs it”, or , for example, "the people have not yet matured to democracy"...", - Zakharov concludes.