Russia marked its day with strikes on Ukraine. A summit in Odesa and Vučić’s demarche. Lev Shlosberg received a final warning.
Main Topic Good morning, dear friends! My name is Igor Yakovenko. Today is June 12, and we continue our morning reflections on what is happening in Russia, in the world, and in our souls.
Historical Rhymes Three events happened on this day. In fact, three events occurred one year apart that largely predetermined the collapse of the Soviet Union and the nature of that collapse. In 1990, two events happened simultaneously on June 12. First, the USSR law on the press and other mass media abolished censorship. That was, essentially, an absolutely revolutionary act. For the first time since the Decree on the Press, which had promised such a law, this promise made back in 1917 was finally fulfilled in 1990. The existence of the Law on the Press and the simultaneous existence of the Soviet Union were, in essence, completely incompatible. It was, essentially, the clinical death of the Soviet Union. This event took place in the meeting hall of the Council of Nationalities of the Palace of Congresses. And at the same time, on that same day, the First Congress of People’s Deputies of the RSFSR, which was meeting in the Grand Kremlin Palace, simultaneously adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR. Exactly a year later, on June 12, 1991, Boris Yeltsin was elected President of the RSFSR. These three events were, in effect, three nails in the coffin of the Soviet Union. First, the Soviet Union could not exist without censorship. Second, the state sovereignty of Russia, the RSFSR, and the presence of a president in the RSFSR essentially created a dual power structure in the Soviet Union. That is, Russia, which made up half of the Soviet Union, gained its own statehood. As you know, in the Soviet Union there was a strict policy that did not allow the so-called “Russian party,” which demanded the creation and strengthening of Russian statehood, including the creation of the Communist Party of Russia. The RSFSR had no party of its own. The reason is clear. The clever Soviet leaders perfectly understood that this would mean dual power. They avoided this in every possible way. So, the declaration of state sovereignty of the RSFSR and Yeltsin’s election as president signaled the creation of dual power. In reality, the existence of the Soviet Union at that moment was, let’s say, a situation of clinical death. That’s the story. For some time, this day was celebrated as Russia’s Independence Day. There were many arguments and discussions about this. The holiday didn’t catch on, because no one could understand what the independence was from — independence from itself? Because it’s clear that Russia is an empire. And everyone understood that — both the supporters of the empire and its opponents. The absurdity of the name “Russia’s Independence Day” was obvious to everyone. So the name didn’t take root. No one understood what was being celebrated. Just another day off. No one objected to the day off itself, but polls showed that the vast majority of Russian citizens had no idea what the holiday meant or signified. Later, Putin proposed removing the name “Russia’s Independence Day.” The word “independence” was dropped. And that was the right move. It was then decided to celebrate “Russia Day.” By the way, this didn’t help people understand what exactly was being celebrated either. In general, in Russia there is a strange attitude toward holidays. Essentially, the only holiday people actually understand is New Year’s. Everything else is a big question mark.
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