Hyde Parks will not create Pussy Riot-style repercussions that could trigger political movements. They will not become popular in Moscow or anywhere else in Russia. The authorities are afraid of crowds of over 100,000 people. If half a million gather, they will be scared into making inevitably certain changes and concessions.
The Moscow Government is creating public spaces for unauthorized political demonstrations of up to 2,000 people, following the model of London’s Royal Hyde Park. It has also borrowed the concept of the park’s famous Speakers’ Corner. The authorities maintain that these spaces will ease political tensions in Moscow and allow the opposition to freely hold rallies. But will such public spaces be popular in Moscow? Will the authorities hear what people have to say?
Alexander Prokhanov
, essayist and editor-in-chief of the Zavtra (Tomorrow) newspaper speaks about the prospect of parks with speakers’ corners in an interview with the
Valdai International Discussion Club
.
What do you think about the idea to create two Hyde Parks in Moscow?
I think this idea bears the markings of political design – it is not profound and won’t change the alignment of forces in Russian politics. This idea cannot reconcile or weaken any party in a political clash. Moscow parks in the manner of Hyde Park are a replica of Western liberal-democratic arrangement, even by their name. They will not become popular in Moscow or anywhere else in Russia. I think they will see a lot of amusing episodes bordering on circus performances. They will become a wonderful source of inspiration for bloggers and journalists. Serious politicians will not speak for fear of ruining their political reputation. I think they will attract people who are a little bit crazy, enthusiastic and slightly naïve. Clownery will always be part of such parks, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are tame bears on chain leashes there.
Hyde Parks will not create Pussy Riot-style repercussions that could trigger political movements. This is why I’m absolutely at peace with this – neither irritated, nor in raptures. We will just have one more sign in English in Moscow.
Are having these kinds of Hyde Parks important for Russia?
Absolutely! These Hyde Parks will obviously bring Russia its long-awaited economic development, and the construction of the Vostochny spaceport will be completed soon after. Hyde Parks will help us develop state-of-the-art spacecraft and our astronauts will be able to explore the universe. Hyde Parks will change the Russian nation beyond recognition. I think they will even reduce heavy drinking by 80%. They will also attract streetwalkers and become brothels, which our deputies have wanted for a long time. To sum up, the creation of Hyde Parks will be a turning point in Russian history on a par with Peter the Great’s reforms and Stalin’s industrialization. They will be the ambitious undertaking I have been looking forward to my whole life.
Could these parks become a venue for extremist propaganda?
No, any propaganda requires big audiences. These parks will not bring together enough fanatics chanting “Heil Hitler!” There might be occasional episodes, but they will be localized and will not reflect a change in public opinion.
How will the Russian public react when sexual minorities demonstrate there?
Sexual minorities already have their own Hyde Parks – gay clubs. These people are vulnerable, refined and fragile. They won’t want to go out into the streets during a snowstorm or cold weather, not to mention a hurricane with pelting rain, just to get a political reaction. They need comfy, warm places to sip their cocktails, whereas Hyde Park is crude reality. There will be lots of people who are intolerant of sexual minority in such parks.
Why have the authorities decided to create these Hyde Parks now rather than in the mid-1980s, when they could have been really helpful?
We had our own Hyde Park. I lived on Pushkinskaya Square and Hyde Park was right below my window all throughout perestroika. Who didn’t go there! At one corner a speaker said something like, “Comrade Jews, we are asking you to get out of Russia.” Some 50 meters away from him Ms. Novodvorskaya was saying on the air, “Comrade Nazis, you are repulsive and there is no room for you in Russia.” But this Hyde Park came to an end when the State Emergency Committee (GKChP) took over, and later Boris Yeltsin embarked on the formation of the new Russia. There was logic behind the transformation of Russian Hyde Parks.
People will be allowed to stage rallies with up to 2,000 people in Moscow’s Hyde Parks. Is it possible to bring urgent issues to the attention of the authorities in this way?
The authorities are afraid of crowds of over 100,000 people. If half a million gather, they will be scared into making inevitably certain changes and concessions. Otherwise, these actions will not evoke any political response whatsoever.
