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When Navalny Becomes the President of Mother Russia
Alexey Navalny is the most famous Putin opposition in social media nowadays. He is active in many social medias like Livejournal, YouTube, Telegram, VK, etc. I think he is the most success anti-Putin figure in Russia in internet not in the real life. Not everyone use internet, you know. The older generation may not use internet as the younger.
Here is my question to Navalny if he became the president of Mother Russia. In my opinion, he is actually a politician not a journalist so it is not something impossible for him to do that in near future.
Please, play the anthem while you read this post
Can He Manage the System?
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| REUTERS/Alexei Nikolskyi/RIA Novosti |
If you know the term "State Mafia", you have already know that in Russia, it is not something strange that government is ruled by mafias. So, this is not just Putin but the system itself is corrupt. Even he can not solve the corruption or maybe he himself is a mafia, Putin brings the stability to the country. And, if Navalny become the President, will he be able to do that.
When he became president and can't do his job, the consequence will be something big; the stabilization will be effected.
Everyone knows that Putin's government is corrupt but it is not just about that, it is about the stability that Putin can achieve. People wanted justice but they also wanted to live.
If we look at the 90s in Yeltsin's era after the collapse of Soviet Union, government failed and people suffered. All in all, it was something that people were afraid of; going back to the 90's when the government can't manage the new system.
Can He Bring Back The Proud of The Past?
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| Soviet Flag Over Berlin (edited) source DevianArt |
Everyone may see the USSR is a bad country but actually there are legacies that people can't just ignore it. For Russian people, USSR is part of country's history that had many great legacies like the defeat of Nazi, Space race, advancement of technologies, etc. There can not be abandoned. It was such a big civilization and people can not just forget about it.
In another words, USSR was the memory of Russia. Just like other memories of the past, there was bad and good about.
That was Putin who can brought the proud after the collapse of USSR in 1991. He brought back the Soviet anthem. He made Russian soaring again in the world once again. He became the symbol of Russia power nowadays.
Will Navalny do that if he became President? Or, maybe he will do something better?
Can He Give Up His Own Cult Media?
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| Navalny has his own media. source his own Telegram Channel |
Since the era of USSR, the media culture in Russia was that government was backed by media. Western may say it is undemocratic, propaganda, or whatever to say it but we have to understand that the USSR was different to the West. They share different values so when we views propaganda in Western view, it maybe too exaggerated in Soviet views.
The problem with Navalny is if he becomes the president, he also will be backed by the medias and journalists. He has millions of followers in Internet medias. Not just in one platform but in many platform from LiveJournal, Telegram, YouTube, VK, etc. If he will not give up his own cult, the propaganda problem will not be cured and will continue.
Why it is important for journalistic to not be used by politics or governments is that the function is to correct the government by providing information. If a journalist is the government itself or contains political agenda, the government will be the sole and totalitarian ruler of a country. Like the what happened in the USSR era.
Would be Radical Change or Soft Transition?
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| Motherland Calls source civillizaition.wikia |
So, if he managed the country, what would happen? Radical change or soft transition. Radical change will be something risky and can be violence but the goal will be more immediate if it successes. While, soft transition can be something more peaceful but the progress may consume more times.
In Russian history we can see both happened. October Revolution was something radical and The Nikita Khrushchev era or known as Thaw era was something softer form of change or I call it soft transition.
Navalny will be the President, there will be radical revolution or softer reformation. Will Navalny be persistent on his ideas or he more adaptive to the situation?
In my short conclusion, Russia after Putin will be something very interesting. The change regime in Russia will be matter for the future of Russia, the West, and eastern Europe. The legacy of Putin era, the memories of the past, and the great Russia will be inherited to the next President. Does anyone can be better or maybe even worst? The topics will be something very interesting.
Navalny as a man who is the opposite of Putin will face huge challenges. In positive way, we can say it will be challenges but in negative view, can he serve the Motherland better than Putin in term of the stabilization? Would his era will be something brighter, or just repeating the 90s Russian nightmare?
This writing is only my opinion.
If you want to know more about Russian problem related to Putin and Media in English, I recommend to read Anya Artyunan's works; Putin's Mystique and this article of her Who'll Make Rusia Great Again. She was a Russian-American journalist who had worked in Russia. Her writing maybe outdated to the current problems but it can give you an overview about the background of nowadays problem.
Otabek Akromov Putin's Russia in the Making of a New International Order and Arkady Ostrovksy's The Invention of Russia, I also recommend. For videos or interviews, you can search Vladimir Pozner.