US-East-2 (Ohio)
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dmitry
medvedev抯 article, go russia! (september 10, 2009) |
i also think
that technological development is a priority public
and political task because scientific and
technological progress is inextricably linked with
the progress of political systems. experts believe
that democracy originated in ancient greece, but in
those days there was no extensive democracy. freedom
was the privilege of a select minority. full-fledged
democracy that established universal suffrage and
legal guarantees for the equality of all citizens
before the law, so-called democracy for everyone
emerged relatively recently, some eighty to one
hundred years ago. democracy occurred on a mass
scale, not earlier than the mass production of the
most necessary goods and services began. when the
level of technological development of western
civilization made it possible to gain universal
access to basic amenities: to education, health care
and information. every new invention which improves
our quality of life provides us with an additional
degree of freedom. it makes our existential
conditions more comfortable and social relations
more equitable. the more intelligent, smarter and
efficient our economy is, the higher the level of
our citizens?welfare, and our political system and
society as a whole will also be freer, fairer and
more humane.
the growth of modern information technologies,
something we will do our best to facilitate, gives
us unprecedented opportunities for the realisation
of fundamental political freedoms, such as freedom
of speech and assembly. it allows us to identify and
eliminate hotbeds of corruption. it gives us direct
access to the site of almost any event. it
facilitates the direct exchange of views and
knowledge between people all around the world.
society is becoming more open and transparent than
ever ?even if the ruling class does not necessarily
like this.
russia's political system will also be extremely
open, flexible and internally complex. it will be
adequate for a dynamic, active, transparent and
multi-dimensional social structure. it will
correspond to the political culture of free, secure,
critical thinking, self-confident people. as in most
democratic states, the leaders of the political
struggle will be the parliamentary parties, which
will periodically replace each other in power. the
parties and the coalitions they make will choose the
federal and regional executive authorities (and not
vice versa). they will be responsible for nominating
candidates for the post of president, regional
governors and local authorities. they will have a
long experience of civilized political competition:
responsible and meaningful interaction with voters,
inter-party cooperation and the search for
compromises to resolve acute social problems. they
will bring together in one political entity every
element of society, citizens of all nationalities,
the most diverse groups of people and territories of
russia endowed with ample powers.
the political system will be renewed and improved
via the free competition of open political
associations. there will be a cross-party consensus
on strategic foreign policy issues, social
stability, national security, the foundations of the
constitutional order, the protection of the nation's
sovereignty, the rights and freedoms of citizens,
the protection of property rights, the rejection of
extremism, support for civil society, all forms of
self-organisation and self-government. a similar
consensus exists in all modern democracies.
this year we started moving towards the creation of
such a political system. political parties were
given additional opportunities to choose those
occupying leadership positions in the federal
regions and municipalities. we relaxed the formal
requirements for the creation of new parties. we
simplified the conditions in place for the
nomination of candidates for election to the state
duma. we passed legislation guaranteeing equal
access to public media for parliamentary parties. a
number of other measures were adopted as well.
not everyone is satisfied with the pace at which we
are moving in this direction. they talk about the
need to accelerate changes in the political system.
and sometimes about going back to the 慸emocratic?
nineties. but it is inexcusable to return to a
paralyzed country. so i want to disappoint the
supporters of permanent revolution. we will not
rush. hasty and ill-considered political reforms
have led to tragic consequences more than once in
our history. they have pushed russia to the brink of
collapse. we cannot risk our social stability and
endanger the safety of our citizens for the sake of
abstract theories. we are not entitled to sacrifice
stable life, even for the highest goals. in his time
confucius remarked: "impatience in small matters
destroys a great idea". we have all too often
experienced this in the past. reforms for the
people, not the people for reform. at the same time
this will displease those who are completely
satisfied with the status quo. those who are afraid
and do not want change. changes will take place, but
they will be gradual, thought-through, and
step-by-step. but they will nevertheless be steady
and consistent.
russian democracy will not merely copy foreign
models. civil society cannot be bought by foreign
grants. political culture will not be reconfigured
as a simple imitation of the political traditions of
advanced societies. an effective judicial system
cannot be imported. freedom is impossible to simply
copy out of a book, even a very clever one. of
course we'll learn from other nations ?from their
experiences, their successes and failures in
developing democratic institutions. but no one will
live our lives for us. nobody is going to make us
free, successful and responsible. only our own
experience of democratic endeavour will give us the
right to say: we are free, we are responsible, we
are successful.
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