Julia Ioffe reports on why the Kremlin fires a couple of mid-level individuals after every crisis, but never makes any big changes. Money quote:
“The idea of political responsibility [in Russia] is now seen as political terror, as Stalinism." The fear of repeating the purges of the late 1930s has swung so far the other way that now "there's a tendency to look for that one specific person who didn't put the metal detector in the right place, and maybe his boss, and fire them…the people who matter -- whose departures could significantly improve the ministries and agencies they head -- never get fired. The officials who are publicly fired are usually of middling deputy rank, sacrificial lambs whose departures rarely make a difference save for a quick political catharsis, and quick political hay.
Speaking today at the FSB board, Medvedev seemed to acknowledge the futility of this approach. "Unfortunately, it always happens like this here," he said. "After unfortunate events, we mobilize all our resources, everyone is called upon to be extremely attentive. Everything works in this way for a while -- the armed forces, the law enforcement agencies. Even the citizens have a more responsible attitude." And then? And then "there is a loss of control and vigilance."
And then Medvedev asked his interior minister for the list of people to fire.
“The idea of political responsibility [in Russia] is now seen as political terror, as Stalinism." The fear of repeating the purges of the late 1930s has swung so far the other way that now "there's a tendency to look for that one specific person who didn't put the metal detector in the right place, and maybe his boss, and fire them…the people who matter -- whose departures could significantly improve the ministries and agencies they head -- never get fired. The officials who are publicly fired are usually of middling deputy rank, sacrificial lambs whose departures rarely make a difference save for a quick political catharsis, and quick political hay.
Speaking today at the FSB board, Medvedev seemed to acknowledge the futility of this approach. "Unfortunately, it always happens like this here," he said. "After unfortunate events, we mobilize all our resources, everyone is called upon to be extremely attentive. Everything works in this way for a while -- the armed forces, the law enforcement agencies. Even the citizens have a more responsible attitude." And then? And then "there is a loss of control and vigilance."
And then Medvedev asked his interior minister for the list of people to fire.
