by Fabrizio Dragosei
The bans proposed by the Putin party united Russia: “They could take currency out of the country”. The citizens who cannot go out are already over 2 million
A country in which democracy was interpreted in a very special way, but which was otherwise becoming ever closer to the rest of Europe. With growing prosperity, which gradually spread from the cities to the countryside, to the great North and Far East. Russia in the early years of Putin’s presidency no longer exists, and more and more people are convinced that it will not return, at least for a few years. So who can pack their bags and start a new life somewhere else? Who can. Because the regime reacts to this distrust of the dynamic part of society with ever more restrictive rules. In a short time it is possible that even the highest levels of banking institutions will be banned from leaving the country on “national security grounds” for soldiers, police officers, secret agents and scientists in possession of confidential information, as is already foreseen. “Back to the USSR”, where nobody was allowed to leave the workers’ paradise without special permission.
So, in anticipation of possible new restrictions, the great flight continues. Thousands came to former Soviet republics where visas are not required, including Georgia, which Russia fought with in 2008. Then Turkey and of course for the few who have a Schengen passport, Italy, France, Germany, Austria. The political scientist Mikhail Komin, who knows the state machinery well, says that in all ministries of economics, where one knows exactly how things really work, things are seething. “On the lower floors there is a veritable flight of officials and managers; whole departments are empty. And even at the Central Bank there is a bleeding of cadres ».
For this reason, the Duma is preparing a draft law presented by Putin’s United Russia party, which is intended to ban the expatriation of top positions in banks, insurance companies and pension funds. The excuse is that managers and employees could also take sacks of money with them. There is also talk of another law for IT technicians, but according to some calculations, at least 70,000 IT specialists have already left Russia since the start of the special military operation. All of these citizens affected by the new regulations would add to the approximately two and a half million who are already unable to leave the country.
For those who stay, the censorship nets are getting tighter and tighter. Officials of all grade levels, teachers and MPs are being urged to be vigilant. According to reports published on Telegram, there is a circular from the Kremlin explaining what needs to be said to promote “cohesion”. Standard phrases identically repeated by various parliamentarians: “In the face of pressure from the West, the Russian people are increasingly united”; “In the most trying times, the Russians have always rallied around a strong and independent leader, from Alexander Nevsky to Alexander I fighting Napoleon.”
April 11, 2022 (Change April 11, 2022 | 09:15)
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