New Soft Power
sanctions vs. Glamorized and Corrupted Tyranny!
Fake “Hybrid” Non-Government Philanthropy
in Russia will not help Putinism to survive. Now it still serves to glamorize
Neo-Bolsheviks’ tyranny.
After 1917, Soviet and post-Soviet “moral values” did
legalize “justified” Violence and bribery “from above” as Philanthropy.
By 2017, the World Economy has been divided into the
State Sector and the Private Sector in proportion as 20:80. The latter runs its
non-government philanthropy.
Now, in Russia this division looks like 80:20 or less
(!) with a fake “oligarchic philanthropy[1].” It
covers 2500
charity funds with only 500 grant-givers under Putin’s cronies. Now, wives of “white”
and “shadow” oligarchs starts playing the increasing role of Humanitarian
Façade for Putinism to escape western sanctions.
Old forms of philanthropy (more or less) smoothed
social and other tensions in Imperial Russia. After 1917 all of them were
declared “counter-productive.”
Today, Russian pro-government philanthropy tries to
create democratic façade for Putin’s authoritarian regime.
Putin’s oligarchs may “practice philanthropy” only for
a few chosen/selected grant-receivers. It sometimes looks like a sad sarcasm. The
picture says: “Our veterans are very grateful for your priceless charity!”
But real philanthropic cultural and educational funds,
which conduct independent activity like The Dynasty under Dmitry Zimin, are
brutally punished with absurd financial and lawless action[2].
Oligarchic “philanthropy” serves
only a few from 15-25% of the population, dependent on the State-run sector of
Economy and/or repressive branches of power. Such an activity has created deep distrust in Society and business
circles.
Nevertheless, digital stages of
Globalization have enriched old forms of Russian philanthropy. The Russian
Society needs private enterprise and free-will philanthropic activity, as
George Soros demonstrated in 1990s.
Catastrophic fall of Russian economy
and culture under Putin has created alternative or “non-government”
philanthropy. The Kremlin’s permission to celebrate the Revolution 1917 still
may help to remodel some old and famous Russian art-posters for artistic protests
against tyranny of Putin’s “rich cronies” and their militarized servants.
Fine Arts vs.
Violence and Wars of the Kremlin
In response to Putin “hybrid wars”
non-government philanthropists are to use “hybrid philanthropy for peace”.
There are many variants of it.
This is a remade poster, initially
painted for the Red Terror initiators. It is a donation to developing hybrid
forms of non-government philanthropy.
Legend: In 1920, an artist Al Lisitsky (to
save his studio from chekist repressions) decided to show this poster to
founders of Red Terror (Lev Trotsky and Felix Dzerzhinsky). They read on
the railroad-station this huge poster, passing by a train over without a stop.
Trotsky saw the poster and commanded: “Stop! Go back!” Then he read: “Red
Diamond, cut White Diamond.” It meant: “The Red Terror, crush the White one”.
And they stopped the train to see what would change the whole Russia as a
state.
This renewed poster says: “Non-Government
Philanthropy, split Distrust.” It helps to overcome deep distrust and encourage
Western proprietors and their partners in Russia.
It is a challenge to “shadow money”
of Putin’s cronies who creates growing mutual distrust. And such a kind of
support by the Soros Foundation, Khodarkovsky’s Open Russia, Rockefeller Brothers
Fund and other tycoons of the non-government philanthropy can defuse this
crisis of trust to the whole Russia as a country to be successful, not a
neo-Stalinist symbol of degradation.
Global philanthropists might easily see that their support will be
another strike on Putin’s regime. It will feed anti-war and anti-corruption
NGOs to prevent further the Kremlin’s attacking nearby and far-away sovereign
states, democratic movements and NGOs themselves in Russia.
That is why philanthropy for such a network of global-acting NGO’s is a
must to strengthen civil societies in the former USSR.
Keep in mind, dealing with Putin’s oligarchs, their wives, daughters and
lovers under pretexts of fake or “hybrid philanthropy” that their activity has
never encouraged real Free Market, Liberty and Democracy, according to values
and standards of the 21-th century.
These persons should not be welcomed in any civilized society. It will
be essentially new Soft Power sanctions vs. Fake Philanthropy!
Vladimir Lukov (PhD), please donate via PayPal or to
Sberbank (MIR) – 2202 2003 8990 6437.
[1] It was like
this - http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2013/11/14/russia-the-rich-start-to-give-a-little/. In 2017,
there is far less «oligarchic philanthropy», if any.
