The Duma did not understand why privatization is needed

Okhotny Ryad has developed the practice of discussing all unsolvable problems for any reason. This is the deputies’ response to the practice of substituting the necessary complex systemic decisions with partial scattered amendments. Deputies have always spoken of such a vicious system in lawmaking. In the current conditions, when a mobilization policy is needed, such an approach by discussing details looks especially strange.

At best, the amendments look like non-systemic concessions to an artificially created chronic problem. For example, at the plenary meeting of the Duma on Tuesday, September 20, a government bill on the possibility of channeling maternity capital for paid educational services from individual entrepreneurs without presenting an agreement and from consumer cooperatives was adopted in the first reading.

Deputies Nina Ostanina and Yana Lantratova started talking about the general problems of the Pension Fund. People may not be aware of the payments they are entitled to. Officials do not report this and also steal. Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection Andrei Pudov suggested going to court, they will provide assistance through the court.

Nina Ostanina was surprised: what court if they don’t know?

Officials like to send citizens to three letters – to the court. That the court has become inaccessible is modestly silent. Andrei Pudov promises to receive survivor’s pensions without visiting the Pension Fund and submitting an application, but only until the age of 18. There is no fact of dependency in information systems. The draft law he presented was adopted in the first reading, but deputy Aleksey Kurinny demanded the automatic assignment of all pensions.

Valery Hartung believes that the state has every opportunity to automatically assign pensions. But at the same time, it indicates the scale of errors in the Pension Fund.

Sergey Lisovsky recalled almost a million rural workers, they are not subject to the pension increase if they were forced to move to the city. When rural settlements fall into urban municipal districts, the allowance for rural workers should be maintained.

A draft law on monthly material support for citizens for outstanding achievements and special services to the Russian Federation was adopted in the first reading. Citizens awarded with three Orders of Courage and (or) “For Personal Courage” are entitled to a payment of 330% of the social pension.

Another government bill “On Amendments to the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Social Protection of Citizens Affected by Radiation as a Result of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Catastrophe” adopted in the first reading establishes the right to receive social support measures for the second and subsequent generations of citizens affected by radiation exposure. Support is extended to the children of the victims, but the victims must prove the connection of the disease with radiation.

The deputies demanded that support be extended to all victims of radiation, formally these are three more zones. Aleksey Kurinny pointed out that it is difficult to prove the connection of some disease with radiation. Radiation is such a thing that it can shoot out in a generation.

Committee speaker Mikhail Terentiev explained: “If a parent has a disease caused by the Chernobyl disaster or radiation, then his child is entitled to support measures. If, for example, a child no longer has a disease, then this child, i.e., a great-grandchild, will not have the right to the CFA, but if the great-grandson is determined to have a disease in connection with the Chernobyl disaster, then the great-great-grandson will have the right to the CFA, that is, this is the design proposed by the government.

It turned out to be a very strange design. Russia is paying for what the Ukrainian SSR did by limiting similar support to accident victims in the RSFSR. It seemed to me that Ukraine should pay Russia both for the damage from the accident and for the elimination of the consequences.

In addition to the political problem, there is a genetic one. Radiation refers to the so-called non-delayed mutagens, the action of which is not passed on to the next generation. What MP Kurinny had in mind with his medical education and work experience, I do not know.

The genetic illiteracy of deputies leads to defects in sovereignty.

In disputes on general philosophical topics, the first reading of the government bill “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On the Privatization of State and Municipal Property” was held. It is aimed at reducing the amount of the deposit when selling public property.

Mikhail Delyagin, with his characteristic bluntness, raised the question of why privatization is needed at all.

“Everything is clear about the need to simplify privatization. It is not clear what the need for privatization itself is, because budget revenues are scanty, obviously, there is no improvement in the quality of management. The conversation that any private property is always more efficient than any state property was dispelled back in 1997 by the report of the Petr Karpov commission, and even now we see that the most efficient business in the oil industry, and in banks, and in information is the state business.

And as for what was just said about the need to remove the heavy burden of property from local and regional authorities, do I understand correctly that they are considered so insane that they are not able to manage their property? But if so, then they can be taught. And on the other hand, we are now constructing a public vertical of power, in general, insanity will be easily treated within the framework of this vertical, if it really is meant. Why privatize? Delyagin asked.

Deputy Minister of Finance Aleksey Moiseev answered figuratively: “Well, I have a great desire to answer a question with a question. Now, if you have an old refrigerator, yes, and you don’t need it at all, then you will try to give it to a neighbor or sell it on Avito or, excuse me, on some aggregator, or you will still keep it just in case ? That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

Next came the discussion of the functions of the state.

Deputy Viktor Sobolev indignantly recalled that colossal damage had been caused by privatization.

Another very strange government bill of the first reading about ethyl alcohol from sawdust for the defense industry. It is proposed to abolish the mandatory requirement to comply with the minimum use of production capacity in the production of ethyl alcohol from non-edible vegetable raw materials. The document is accepted only for one enterprise, and what is the meaning is not clear.

By the way, hydrolysis alcohol from sawdust is chemically more pure than that obtained by distillation after fermentation. Why this happens, I don’t know. When, as a result of Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign, imported alcohol poured into Russia, it was a rather dangerous muck.

When discussing the bill, deputy Biysultan Khamzaev was indignant: methyl alcohol was on the shelves. Khamzaev, in principle, is dissatisfied with the answers of government representatives.

There is an unprecedented upsurge of patriotic spirit in the Duma. The warmly endorsed norms on responsibility in defense aroused enthusiasm.

“We are increasing liability for violation of the terms of the state contract for the state defense order. Moreover, the measure of responsibility will affect not only the executor of the state contract, but also the customer. In addition, we are increasing the penalties for refusing to conduct hostilities or hostilities, for the unauthorized abandonment of a unit in an armed conflict or hostilities, for damage or breakdown of weapons, military equipment and ammunition. We increase the responsibility for voluntary surrender. And, finally, we are increasing the responsibility for looting,” Andrey Krasov told reporters before the start of the Duma meeting, voicing the position of the United Russia faction.

According to him, the United States is waging two wars – to the last Ukrainian to weaken Russia, and to multiply the European Union by zero, the US military-industrial complex is profiting from the supply of weapons. The question is, is its potential exhausted or will it continue indefinitely?

Deputy Krasov, slightly stammering, replied with the words of Vyacheslav Molotov, chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR, on June 22, 1941: “Our cause is just, the enemy will be defeated, victory will be ours!”

Unfortunately, it seems to me that with this approach there will again be a lot of victims. Russia pays the highest price for peace in the world.

Lev MOSKOVKIN.