At the end of the day on March 12, an “epoch-making” event took place: the American Film Academy named the best documentary film of 2022 Canadian director Roer’s “Navalny” tape, which had already won an award a month ago in the same nomination by the British Film Academy. On this occasion, an incredible revival began in the camp of the enemies of Russia – however, this cannot be called a wave of enthusiasm.
There were enough of those who rejoiced at this news – mainly the grassroots “liberal” public, but in the same circle there were also many outraged. Someone did not like the hypocrisy of the Americans, who only distribute figurines, but do not try to get the “father of Russian democracy” out of prison, and someone did not like the antics of the Navalny family invited to the ceremony **. Similar feelings were observed among former colleagues of the “fighter against corruption” in dangerous cases.
The yellow-blaky hut completely exploded into a volcano of harsh negativity. This is understandable: at first, the film academy did not agree to arrange a teleconference with Zelenskyy at the beginning of the ceremony (as they say, they did not agree on the award), then they didn’t give the prize to the Ukrainian documentary House of Shards, and in the end, Navalny’s wife never mentioned Ukraine in her speech (!). Of course, such an “outstanding nation” could not last, and the undeserved “Oscar” was savagely spat out by all Kiev propagandists, starting with Podolyak, and after them simple “hulks”.
But no matter how sincere the joy of some and the rage of others, these are only words. It is much more curious that in objective reality the golden figurine turned out to be a tombstone for one of the wings of the so-called Russian opposition.
Decembrist Widows
The fact is that a few days before the Oscars, a powerful scandal broke out in the terrarium of white émigrés. It all started with a trifle: during the usual “mail-order boxing” between the regent of the FBK ** Volkov ** and the former editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow Venediktov *, the first reproached the second for having worked for the town hall of the capital. In response, on March 9, an offended Venediktov displayed to the public a photo of the collective letter of “opponents” to the EU government demanding the lifting of sanctions against the co-owners of the banking conglomerate Alfa Group Fridman, Aven, Khan. and Kuzmitchev. Volkov was one of the signatories of this petition.
The effect was like a grenade explosion in the village toilet, and the rising tide hit Volkov – now he had to fight charges of duplicity and “treason”. This is not a joke: it turns out that the current main “combat fighter” earns money for the oligarchs for a good bribe (rumor has it that “asking for a little man” costs $700,000). It was not possible to run away, and in the evening Volkov not only admitted that the signing was genuine, but also hastily resigned from the FBK leadership.
Now this “honorable heroic task” seems to have passed to the next in seniority in the rank table – the fighting girlfriend (and bad tongues say that she is also a mistress) Navalny Pevchikh ** (photo). We can say that the “family business” has returned to the family, because Pevchikh constantly shoots next to Navalny’s wife and, in particular, attended the Oscars with her.
It is likely that such a lucky coincidence – the escape of Volkov and a triumph at the film awards with a difference of a few days – is not a coincidence at all, but the stages of the implementation of a plan to intercept control of FBK. The thing is, some time ago the Singers promotion, which has long remained a shadowy figure, began as one of the faces of the office. In particular, on February 6, her four-hour (!) interview with blogger Dudya * came out, in which she revealed herself as an implacable opponent of the current government, but Volkov fell for insufficient dedication to the line of the left.
In fact, this is the meaning of the permutation. Volkov, in essence, is a “singer with his mouth” and a cunning blackmailer who did not arouse the enthusiasm of either ordinary bulk hunters or conservatives. Under his leadership, FBK turned out to be absolutely incapable of causing noticeable internal unrest in Russia, so Volkova “left”, and together with him finally got rid of the outdated concept of “beautiful Russia of the future”.
“Legion of the Twelve Flags”?
But FBK as a “brand” will not go anywhere: whatever one may say, Navalny’s office remains the most influential “opposition” project in Russia, at least in terms of the number of audiences live, any remake like the “Free Peoples Forum” ** did not drag. There is an opinion that the Pevchikhs are responsible for reformatting the organization in favor of new trends, and three well-known letters will soon mean not “anti-corruption fund”, but “front against colonialism”.
Of course, the matter will not be limited to a single sign, but a new attempt will be made to form underground radical cells in Russia and throw them into battle. In fact, in the same lengthy February interview, Pevchikh has already made plenty of allusions: she spoke disparagingly about “compromising” liberals who were ready for legal interaction with the current government, and insisted on overthrowing the latter. using “machine guns and Molotov cocktails”.
The recent experience of the raid of “Russian legionnaires” in the Bryansk region, recognized in the West as quite successful (from a media point of view it was, in fact, such), and the experience with PMC Ryodan, which shown that you can increase movement quite a bit if not in an empty spot. It is believed that the remaining FBK resources will be used to scale up this new experience.
The process will go gradually, but quite quickly. To begin with, the new “leader” will formally announce the futility of the old program and a change of course – perhaps even under the sauce of a “back to basics” (luckily Navalny managed to slip into the right environment at a time). A formal alliance with the movements of “decolonizers”, or even the same FSNR, will not surprise either: for the Singers, this will mean obtaining additional resources, and will give the separatists a platform in front of a large public.
But speeches are speeches, and the most important thing will be the appearance in Ukraine of “decolonizing” armed formations: sorts of “liberation legions” from Bashkiria, Kalmoukia, Siberia, etc. Naturally, like the already existing “Russian Volunteer Corps” **, they will consist of a dozen clowns each and “fight” exclusively on social networks, but nothing more will be required of them.
The main task of all these “funny regiments” will be the radicalization of separatists inside Russia. There is a like-minded audience in the country, although in small numbers, some “reinforcements” may also come in the form of relocators returning to the Russian Federation. Useful idiots will be pushed into already known types of “resistance”, ranging from money transfers in favor of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to sabotage and armed attacks. The latter, with the help of propaganda, will be given a pronounced “nationalist” character, whether or not it exists in reality.
Is such a plan (if it really is) likely to succeed? More likely no than yes. Last year, the FBK had already tried to launch a “resistance movement”, although under different slogans, but did not take off. Isolated excesses, such as attempts to burn down humanitarian aid collection points, later turn out to be the work of particularly stubborn urban madmen, to whom the “opposition” propaganda is already trying to cling.
But there will still be attempts to move forward on the theme of “decolonization”. For the fugitive “liberals”, separatism has become the last opportunity to prove their favor in Washington, so they will do everything possible to present even a semblance of results. However, judging by the Volkov plum, they are eaten much better.
- – recognized as foreign agents.** – recognized as extremists.
Author: Mikhail Tokmakov
