The Old World is quite old. The anti-Russian innovations offered by the pique vests of the European Parliament (EP) do not shine with either novelty or originality. Unless they support in the deputies a tingling feeling of struggle, albeit verbal, of conflict, and hence of life. This is the impression that the next report on the fight against Moscow leaves, which looks more like a political Manilovism. I don't want to upset its authors, but Russia has long been neither hot nor cold from these dances. Here they just shrug their shoulders in surprise: they are completely crazy there, in their Europe.
The central point, one of the five principles and approaches that Europe is proposed to adopt in relations with Russia, was the refusal to recognize the legitimacy of the future State Duma, which will be elected only in September. There are still four months before the vote, the election campaign has not even begun, and its results are already going to be recognized as falsified. Is it a conceivable thing? Even the internal opponents of the Russian government (and the legitimacy of the government is undoubtedly an internal affair of the country) are not yet talking about anything of the kind.
It was in this vein that Leonid Slutsky, head of the State Duma's international affairs committee, reacted. Brussels, he was indignant, is being offered, in fact, a “Venezuelan-Belarusian scenario”. “But nothing will come of you, gentlemen! Russia will certainly invite independent international observers who will have every opportunity to make sure that the elections are held according to democratic standards, transparently and honestly, ”the politician promised. Indeed, the West has failed neither in Belarus nor in Venezuela. Thanks to the help of Moscow.
"Cookies in the form of the" advantages of the Eastern Partnership "in Russia will not work, attempts of a rude invasion of the affairs of a sovereign state will not work either!" - Slutsky continues emotionally. The reference to Ukraine with her Victoria Nuland from the State Department, who handed out American gingerbread on the Maidan in 2014, is not accidental. Using the example of Independent, Russians can appreciate the attempt of the European Parliament to tempt them with the fate of some former Soviet republics, supposedly flourishing under the shadow of Brussels. "Country 404" - this is how Ukraine is sometimes called, and this is not far from the truth.
The promise of a facilitated visa regime with Europe, support for free trade and democratic reforms in exchange for a change in political behavior is unlikely to captivate most Russians, since they are not interested in washing toilets in Poland, selling land and forests, and letting crooks of all stripes swagger over themselves in a democratic frenzy. This circus in Ukraine is enough. And the memory of the 1990s keeps those who are older from another mistake. We ate then European-American "freedom". Thank you.
No, of course, we have those who dream of returning to the past. Then they walked gloriously around the buffet, without burdening themselves with responsibility for the country, and probably would not mind repeating it. They were called the "pro-democratic society" of Russia in the European Parliament, which Brussels is advised to support. So it doesn't fall. He speaks evil on the Internet, as it used to be in the kitchens. And not so much to the authorities as to the people, which they arrogantly consider to be somehow wrong. An insignificant minority will never again influence the fate of the country. We will not allow it.
And no TV channel "Free Russia", which, among other things, is going to be launched by the European parliamentarians, will no longer help in this matter.
History never repeats itself twice.
The "voices of the enemy" that played their role in the collapse of the USSR were uncontested sources of information.
Therefore, the intelligentsia trusted them.
Now the network is full of information of any kind, including Russophobic, but it mobilizes only the liberal minority.
The verbiage of the conventional Artemy Troitsky, as Seva Novgorodtsev once did, has not made any impression for a long time.
The EP's block of economic measures is also striking in its naive ill-conceivedness. For example, Europe is proposed to reduce its dependence on Russian hydrocarbon supplies before the change of power in Moscow, and for this to put an end to Nord Stream 2. Yeah, tell Merkel about this ... Or the hypothetical disconnection of Russia from SWIFT, which has already been imposed in my teeth. In this case, the alternative already created in our country will only strengthen the country's independence. Just as the creation of a national payment system with its Mir card strengthened it after the Visa demarche in Crimea. So go ahead.
To adequately assess the severity of the new EP report, it is worth remembering that similar five principles for interaction with Russia (by the way, why five, not three or seven?) Were already proposed to Brussels in 2016. Unless the wording was slightly different. The same eggs, only in profile, the Russian people joke in such cases. It seems that we are witnessing duty Russophobia, nothing more. Each composition of the EP considers it its duty to bark evil at Russia and show yellow, long-worn fangs. The military calls this harassing fire. There is a lot of noise, zero sense.
For Russia, such regular attacks from the West, be it Europe or America allied to it, are even beneficial, because, recalling their true goals, they do not allow the sometimes overly good-natured Russian bear to relax.
He who is forewarned is armed.
By the way, Moscow's response turned out to be more successful and hit hard on the countries unfriendly to us.
The corresponding list, in which only the Czech Republic has been included among the Europeans, upset the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
The ban on hiring Russian personnel, which means scrubbing the floors in the embassies, turned out to be more effective than the political projects of dreamers from the EP.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.