The young, "however," do not understand. Mikhail Leontiev and the new gerontocracy
Source: svoboda.org
Minus 12 million voters
It is difficult to determine whether Mikhail Leontyev, a professional journalist and winner of the "Golden Pen of Russia" award, thought about the consequences of such statements. Verbatim:
“We will face the need to deprive young people of voting rights, probably in the near future. Because otherwise we will lose the country. It's true. Because these people do not know anything, this is almost Ukraine, monstrous ... Because young people are a painful condition that goes away with age ”.
Leontiev has an extensive track record and public experience. Therefore, it is believed that he thought over every word, that the scandalous statement was not impromptu. The option of voicing a certain collective opinion regarding the sanity of youth is not excluded. Reconnaissance in force, so to speak.
The consequences of such sayings of not the very last person in a large state corporation make one think. Perhaps it's worth starting with the fact that Mr. Leontyev actually spat on the school system. If by 2020, according to the top manager, young people have forgotten how to distinguish between good and evil, liars and righteous people, then the teachers and the entire Russian school are worthless.
We move further along the logical chain. By the age of 25, young people are unable to consciously choose the leaders of their own state and legislators. Not only do 100% of young people have a school behind them, but also a considerable share of citizens have higher education and experience in military service. Could state structures fail to form a critical civic position of a young man? Then questions to the consistency of these institutions: the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and the Ministry of Defense. Why did you work so badly for 25 years (at least) that Mikhail Leontyev compares our youth with the Ukrainian one?
By the way, the conclusions about the development of Ukrainian youth from a person who have been banned from entering Ukraine since 2006 look strange. It is much more professional to talk about what you understand and not to row one size fits all.
Source: ru.wikipedia.org
Unfortunately, Mikhail Leontyev on the radio did not fully disclose the reasons for this rejection of young people. There was an attempt on the air to link the imperfection of youth with ignorance of the national storiesbut this is honestly a cheap argument. History, as you know, is a very slippery discipline, and in such cases it is always necessary to clarify in whose presentation the story is. If in the version of Mr. Leontyev, then, of course, it would be better not to know her. And, most importantly: what should change in the "dark historians" by the age of 25? Should they see?
Leontyev's thesis "because these people do not know anything" is very extensive and does not give a clear idea of the level of our youth. What should they know? The foundations of democracy, the right to freedom of speech, the right to peaceful protest - this is what modern youth have already understood, including through school subjects: social studies and law. Is not news for the younger generation and a special attitude in our country to these concepts. Obviously, this is the main idea - to restrict the right to vote to those who have already understood everything and put it on the shelves for themselves. People under 25 usually have two flaws: they have a heightened sense of justice and have little to lose. Having passed this age, many young people start a family, a permanent job, have children, and this makes them conform to a certain extent. Mikhail Leontyev, obviously, would like very much that such “accommodating” people would go to vote in the first place. And young people from 18 to 25 years old in our country, by the way, are about 12 million. And they are trying to exclude all of them from the electoral process.
Adults rule
Expressions discrediting the honor and dignity of an entire generation: it is with such a formulation that a hypothetical trial of Mikhail Leontyev could be started. Still, the situation when a 61-year-old man speaks so vilely of an entire generation and considers youth to be a disease looks like a reason for the proceedings. One of the problems of many "successful" people at this age is excessive egocentrism. Such people believe that it is their life experience, established views that come to the fore. Through the prism of their lives, they see the whole world, they consider themselves the very salt of the earth. Mikhail Leontyev, judging by his biography, was looking for his purpose in life until the age of 27. First he graduated from Plekhanov University, then unexpectedly became a cabinet maker and only in the late 80s realized that his true vocation was in journalism. Now it is clear why all young people under 25 seem to Leontyev to be inferior and incapable of making a conscious choice ...
If we tear ourselves away from the personality of the Rosneft press secretary, who desperately defends his assets with such statements, the situation will be even more dramatic. It is logical to assume that the ban on voting under 25 is somehow related to life expectancy in the country. By analogy with the extension of the retirement age. If we have an increase in life expectancy, then, quite likely, the period of growing up will also lengthen. Such a relationship is quite possible. The speed of technological progress is increasing, the world around is becoming more complicated and people need more and more time to fully analyze the situation. However, for our country, this is not entirely true. For many reasons, the average life expectancy in Russia lags behind developed countries and roughly corresponds to North Africa and South America. And with technological progress, as we know, not everything is in order in Russia: for many decades the country has been classified as a developing country. Therefore, we sweep aside the demographic reason for Leontyev's initiative.
The very reason for the introduction of the age limit for elections, obviously, is not fully understood by Leontiev. It is no coincidence that the notorious qualification in Russia coincides with the age of majority. Until the age of 18, a person is still under the care of parents, and after this age, theoretically, he should take care of himself. And taking care of yourself, among other things, lies in the ability to choose the government that will create appropriate conditions for young people: decent jobs, infrastructure, healthcare, and so on. Ideally, parties in the fight to get into legislative and executive bodies would have to take into account the interests of those who are between 18 and 25 years old. Otherwise, they will lose a considerable part of the electorate. Let's assume that Leontyev’s initiative will be supported and allowed to the polling stations from the age of 25. From this moment on, not a single party will be interested in the problems of this age category of the country's inhabitants: why is this if they do not vote? This will, in turn, lead to the marginalization of youth. If there are no legal levers of influence on the government, they will find illegal ones. How can one fail to remember that there are about 12 million people with the "disease of youth" in Russia!
Source: istoriarusi.ru
But this, of course, is an extreme scenario for the development of the situation. It is much more likely that a new gerontocracy will appear in the Russian power structures, which our country has already gone through. Young people under the age of 25, who, as we have already found out, are not needed by anyone, will cease to be interested in state affairs, politics and become obsessed with their mercantile problems. This, in turn, will cause an acute shortage of personnel in the government and party structures, which the children of current leaders will not be able to fully satisfy. The average age in the country's leadership will grow rapidly, and Russia will plunge into an era of gerontocracy. Perhaps Mr. Leontyev is quite happy with this scenario.
Mikhail Leontyev can only advise him to understand one truth: as soon as in the young generation you start to see completely some idiots who know nothing, it's time to immediately get ready for retirement.
Popular cry
Leontiev, of course, got excited. He gave up such a juicy excuse to gloat over the recently overheated liberal and oppositional public. And here is a small selection of the most deliberate and verified answers to the press secretary of Rosneft.
“The press secretary of Rosneft proposes to deprive the youth of Russia of voting rights, because otherwise people like him will lose the country. Well, at least he honestly said ... Tomorrow he will propose to physically eliminate the youth of Russia. "
“An interesting initiative against the backdrop of a situation when senators and State Duma deputies proposed extending the youth age to 35 years. Who then will vote? However, taking into account the latest legislative innovations, it is no longer so important, almost to the point "no difference."
“Somehow unconstitutional ... It seems like children are now the main treasure of the country. And as soon as this property grows, it turns into social rubbish. "
“Apparently, a person who has classified his income cannot understand young people from ordinary working families, whose parents work for 15 rubles a month and are, in Putin's opinion, the middle class. About paid education that is unnecessary for employers, about a low standard of living - if you can find a job, and 000-30% of young people in Russia are unemployed. Probably, for all this, young people should love power, according to the official. But this is not the case. Because of the problems that the authorities do not intend to solve, young people are increasingly going to the opposition. "
“The State Duma just recently rode through the already dead electoral system, passing a law on three days of voting. It is clear that in specific Russian conditions this is an additional instrument of falsification. Now Leontiev… went on the same topic. Perhaps the issue of the final transfer of the voting institution to an imitation format is being resolved. Hence the sudden and feverish activity. Leontiev is, of course, right about youth. She is almost universally disloyal to the Kremlin regime. And something needs to be done with this ... "
“An interesting initiative against the backdrop of a situation when senators and State Duma deputies proposed extending the youth age to 35 years. Who then will vote? However, taking into account the latest legislative innovations, it is no longer so important, almost to the point "no difference."
“Somehow unconstitutional ... It seems like children are now the main treasure of the country. And as soon as this property grows, it turns into social rubbish. "
“Apparently, a person who has classified his income cannot understand young people from ordinary working families, whose parents work for 15 rubles a month and are, in Putin's opinion, the middle class. About paid education that is unnecessary for employers, about a low standard of living - if you can find a job, and 000-30% of young people in Russia are unemployed. Probably, for all this, young people should love power, according to the official. But this is not the case. Because of the problems that the authorities do not intend to solve, young people are increasingly going to the opposition. "
“The State Duma just recently rode through the already dead electoral system, passing a law on three days of voting. It is clear that in specific Russian conditions this is an additional instrument of falsification. Now Leontiev… went on the same topic. Perhaps the issue of the final transfer of the voting institution to an imitation format is being resolved. Hence the sudden and feverish activity. Leontiev is, of course, right about youth. She is almost universally disloyal to the Kremlin regime. And something needs to be done with this ... "
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