Not trusted – don’t overtake

On January 31, presidential candidate Vladimir Putin met with his confidants at Gostiny Dvor. They had to impress a special correspondent of Kommersant Andrey Kolesnikov – and they did.

The meeting took place in Gostiny Dvor, just like six years ago. And around the same time. And the people were the same. Not in the sense that the list of surnames has been preserved “from” and “to”. And the fact is that they are the same.

Some names, of course, could not change. Nikita Mikhalkov approached Andrei Konchalovsky. Andrei Konchalovsky rubbed his brother’s left cheek with his right hand and looked at something on his phone, searched and, it seemed, couldn’t find it. Nikita Mikhalkov also began to mechanically peer at this phone. And finally Andrei Konchalovsky said to his brother with a sigh: “Do you actually see anything there?..”

Six years ago they would not have talked like that at such an event. No, they didn’t, I think they had such problems six years ago.

It must be admitted that the organization of the event looked impeccable, except for the unmotivated early (in the opinion of independent observers) closure of Ilyinka and Varvarka. The day before, Gostiny Dvor, for example, had impeccably organized the delivery and reception of PCR tests: there were invariably more empty seats for visitors, of whom there were too many. (True, the guests discussed passing the tests among themselves, it seemed with bewilderment: “We are trusted. That means they trust us! Why else are there tests?!”) The badges that had to be picked up at Zaryadye also went to waste. No, there were no queues anywhere at all. This means that the event participants and journalists went to work as if it were a holiday.

Some became trustees for the first time. For example, I could never think of this about Mikhail Kovalchuk, president of the Kurchatov Institute. It seemed to me that he had been in business for a long time. But no.

It was difficult to talk to him: other trusted persons kept coming up: either the director of the Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky (“Beautiful! Yesterday we did a grandiose thing!..”), then the same Nikita Mikhalkov, who at that moment, walking past, surprisingly prudently did not answer the endless questions about the “naked” party.

And yet I reached out to Mikhail Kovalchuk:

– First they asked my opinion, then they sent me a letter, and I became a confidant! Yes, they haven’t sent it before!.. I got it for the first time!..

Mikhail Kovalchuk, like the others, received a certificate on how a trusted representative should behave. There are many restrictions. You cannot use a company car, for example, when traveling to election events (“Today, by the way, I was driving myself!”). While performing official duties, you cannot agitate.

When participating in events such as today, it is necessary to take leave, even if only for a few hours. (Then you can leave your vacation – until next time. It’s not a prison, understand.)

– This is very correct! – said Mikhail Kovalchuk. – This made me very happy! Everything is described in great detail, all explanations. And I understand: we have the best election system in the world!

– The most? — just in case, I clarified.

– Certainly! – exclaimed Mikhail Kovalchuk. – First of all, it is universal. Everyone votes here! And men, and women, and national minorities, as they say… Everyone! Americans, as you know, have electoral votes. Pointless thing!

– So much?

– Well, yes! In Great Britain, the Tories and Whigs sit and determine the fate of the country…

– Parties compete…

“And then they recruit all these people… Our people must understand.” What did the Americans do in their time? They took as a basis, like us, the Communist Party, that is, the party in power, but artificially divided it into two parts! And they made Republicans and Democrats. And they had a Politburo, which balanced and decided whether it was time to transfer power from one party to another or not. And they didn’t let go of power just like that. And now their Politburo has disappeared, because the whole country was focused on fighting the Soviet project. All! And with the collapse of the Soviet Union, their Politburo also closed. They turned the page and decided it was closed forever. Everything related to the Soviet Union is closed forever! And this page was closed, but – before the arrival of the current presidential candidate!..

– Russia? – I clarified again.

– Certainly! Well, not Trump! Suddenly it turned out that we exist!

Here he was distracted again, but still, Mikhail Kovalchuk, in fairness, managed to say the main idea.

— Is this your first time working as a trustee? — I asked Ivan Okhlobystin, who was passing by.

Yes, he worked here, in the hall, as a person, just for the first time – as a confidant. The actor can hardly do otherwise.

– How come you ended up here? – I asked him.

“I was nominated by all those with whom we hang out at the front,” said Ivan Okhlobystin. “The heart beats there.” But here it’s still sour. Actually, I don’t really like all sorts of private events, but why not help?! The situation is such that we should not remain on the sidelines!

– How do you intend to help?

— How will I carry out all these actions as a trustee? It’s still unclear! – admitted Ivan Okhlobystin. – Only actions mean something. Words don’t mean anything!

“You can now answer for your words.” Confiscation of property, and even prison—I drew attention to everyday life.

“In this matter I’m talking about, we need to act.” “I will lead by example,” Ivan Okhlobystin finally decided. “I have a huge audience – both at the fronts and in culture.” I’m wild, finally!

– It’s hard to argue.

“People know my wild views,” he nodded, “and they forgive me.” And there are friends who share them. Yes, I won’t even need to campaign!

– And how then?

– The very fact of my presence! – explained Ivan Okhlobystin. – This is enough.

– What if they assign you something?

“I hope it won’t happen,” he answered firmly. “But if there is an administrative order, I will try to cope.” I am a committed person.

He paused and added with a feeling of complete self-awareness:

– Risky.

“In general, I’m ready,” I realized.

“Yes,” he agreed. “The very fact of my presence attracts a lot of people!” I work in cinema, I do humanitarian work, I work with large families (primarily with my own.— A.K.), with veteran organizations… I have a huge staff!.. And most importantly: they know that I am not corrupt! They know that I’m crazy – yes! But it’s not corrupt, that’s for sure!

The positive attitude was palpable here in the hall. Producer Igor Matvienko was asked if there was a chance for those who left to return.

“I think,” said Igor Matvienko, “that those who change their opinion, position on some issues, of course, will return, because our Russian people are like that… With a kind heart.” Forgives. And they will go to concerts… Well, because the past achievements of these people cannot be canceled.

Well, Igor Matvienko will be glad to see the return of Alla Pugacheva.

Yaroslav Dronov (Shaman), standing in the foyer, promised not to write new songs yet. And really, why? New ones, as you know, are written by those who have bad old ones.

In the front row of the hall, the three of us sitting honorably were academician Alexander Rumyantsev, head of the federal territory Sirius Elena Shmeleva, general director of KamAZ Sergei Kogogin – co-chairs of Vladimir Putin’s 2018 election headquarters. When asked how their followers were coping, Alexander Rumyantsev unexpectedly answered:

– Let them finish the job first!

And Elena Shmeleva meaningfully raised her index finger.

It should be noted that the CEC rightly regarded this meeting as a pre-election event. So there won’t be a word about her in the report.

It remains to be said that it was about four o’clock in the afternoon when the soft voice of Vladimir Mashkov, artistic director of the Moscow Oleg Tabakov Theater, was heard in the hall: “Please turn off your mobile phones. Thanks for understanding”.

And that’s all, this was enough for the viewer to completely immerse himself in the atmosphere of the theater.

The performance began.

Andrey Kolesnikov