Following on from my last post in which I revealed the neoliberal, anti-Russian inclinations of Dmitry Medvedev (pictured left, sporting his new Hitler mustache), let us know consider another question – what to make of his much vaunted liberalism, his humaneness, his consciousness? The Western media as with their liberal Russian running dogs have traditionally presented DAM as the polar opposite of the evil statist Putin, who we are told worships the authoritarian values of the KGB and seeks to turn Russia into a neo-Soviet Union. Now look at the following comments.
1. “Talking of mandatory treatment – one can talk about anything. But mandatory treatment for alcoholism and drug addiction is ultimately worse for ourselves. We have to convince that person, encourage an internal motivation, and understanding of the necessity to conquer these ills. It is important that that person doesn’t feel himself alone, so that he understands and feels that if he fell into this trap, he should feel that he hasn’t been abandoned, that he isn’t alone, that his family and friends, relatives, parents won’t abandon him to the winds, nor will his school, his work collective, wherever he may be studying or working, the state won’t abandon him.”
2. “Concerning testing schoolchildren for drugs, I would be satisfied with any manner in which it is carried out. Practically continuous testing. A situation should be created where not testing becomes inconvenient for the schools… Drugs influence the demographic situation and destroy our nation’s gene pool, people’s health… Everyone, be they young or old, getting a job, should have to think that even if he consumes drugs even just once it will be discovered, and this will stop him from further drugs consumption… I think this idea should be developed. I instruct the Minister of Education* to look at this in the sense of updating the policy documents of state and private universities… The popularization of drugs consumption is simply a crime, not only legally but morally. I am simply shocked by the degree of this popularization on certain Internet information portals.”
One of these statements belongs to a Dostoevskian appreciation of humanity’s universal brotherhood and respect for true liberal values. The other belongs to the world of the Soviet Union, of modern-day GULAG’s (such as the US prison-industrial complex) locking up 1% of their citizenry, of moral hysteria and populist threats against things like the Internet or night clubs which the speaker doesn’t understand. Dear reader, care to guess which statement is whose?
Putin is the nuanced humanitarianism. And it is, of course, the Medvedev Abomination which has moralistic authoritarianism oozing out of every one of its slimey pores.
All those ideas go against the growing consensus of global researchers on the drug problem. They are also deeply illiberal and socially unjust, values which DAM pretends to champion. Just what is he smoking???
For Medvedev is the type of “liberal” who believes dropping bombs can bring democracy. He is the type of person who wants to lock up poor people – say, drug users, or homeless people who steal $100 – while letting billionaire crooks go free; granted Medvedev hasn’t outright admitted to wanting to pardon Khodorkovsky, but his language on the matter – one of “neutral” legalese mumbo jumbo that no normal person cares about – as well as calls for MBK’s pardons from his circles (by their friends shall ye know them) reveal his true standing for what it is – a stooge of finance capital.
In other words, he is a neoliberal Stalinist.
If Medvedev gets a second term in the Presidency, then Russia will evidently not be long for this world. That is why Russians have to take their country back. Get him out of the Kremlin, or burn him out!!!
* The Education Minister Andrei Fursenko (as is Putin, is against mandatory drugs testing in schools. Thankfully not everyone there is insane like Medvedev.
PS. In the latest news, Medvedev embarks on his latest campaign to destroy the Russian defense industry.
Depends on your point of view. Half a million Russians die a year related to alcoholism, God knows how many more from drugs. Planes drop out of the sky, riverboats sink as we have sadly seen, women are trafficked into the fleshpots of Europe and the middle east . Nearly all Russian intellectuals/proffesionals with a skill in demand in the west leave. Anything that is a step in the right direction is just that, although admittedly testing schoolchildren is somewhat ineffective as most don’t start drugs when they are kids and those that do would just drop out. But for someone very much into demographics like yourself why oppose something that would allleviate the demographic crisis?
I understand the hatred towards liberasts.
Let’s think… because US-style “wars on drugs” have been discredited by health experts all over the world as being utterly ineffective at stemming drug use in addition to ruining millions of lives, corrupting the state, militarizing police forces, and pandering to moralistic bigots?
This is basically what Medvedev wants, though he wants to go an extra step and prosecute websites that “promote” drug use. In other words, he hates freedom of speech. (Which should not be a surprise to anybody, as Russian liberals – with a few exceptions – only support free speech for those they agree with. E.g. see the liberal habit of banning dissent on their LJ blogs.)
Re-Nearly all Russian intellectuals/proffesionals with a skill in demand in the west leave. No, they don’t. Neither is Russia the only country where boats sink and planes crash.
Ha, Medvedev doesn’t sound so liberal now.
Not an expert on methadone but Russian government seems to be against methadone-based drug rehab, a lot of activist say it’s a disastrous policy.
That American government continues to pursue its counter-productive “war against drugs” against all factual and statistical evidence is due to fact that many bad people profit from this war. Scientific approach = legalize recreational drugs, but regulate in sensible manner (same as cigarettes or alcohol).
Medvedev’s approach (copying Western model that clearly doesn’t work and is destructive) shows that he is foolish, incompetent, and even cruel. I wonder what could have made him such a mean person? It’s okay to copy great things that America has produced (computer technology, Starbucks, etc.), but why copy the worst thing they ever did?
From government’s POV (point of view), Putin’s approach is best one: humane understanding for human weakness coupled with generous fundings for medical and rehab services for addicts seeking such services. But sometimes best thing to do with addicts is to simply leave them alone.
I think treatment over jail is the lighter policy than the current one (and I highly doubt legalization is in the cards). However I would like to point out that legalization is not a sensible solution either. Many of the available drugs in Russia will be of dangerous quality even if the government decided to regulate them, because that is already true of alcohol. (Recall the 2007 outbreak of poisoned samogon.) Also the vast availability would probably create an enormous disaster in and of itself since a lot more would be willing to try it. That is actually the problem with the current situation – it is hard to argue that the law has actually driven users into the shadows. It is very difficult for a heroin user to give up on the substance because their brain is chemically dependent.
It would be sensible to punish only the people who sell and distribute the drugs, but I do not think Medvedev has enough confidence in law enforcement to carry this out.
Heroine is a perfect example of a drug that is much healthier when legal. For instance legal heroine won’t be injected.
Every addict knows that injecting a drug is the best way to experience its strongest effects. I think legal heroin will result in expensive drugs for the rich, and cheap illegal (or counterfeit) drugs for the poor. Just like it is with samogon and vodka. And there also a lot of people who believe everything is safe because it is legal.
So what? Let adult people drink, smoke, or inject whatever they please (within sensible rules of government regulation, for example, you can’t fly a plane while drunk or high, etc.). Then Darwinian natural selection will take care of the rest.
I see Russians do lack sympathy for their compatriots. Unfortunately, the problems these days are with Russians killing themselves off, and perhaps taking the rest of the country with them. Of course, people can also make mistakes that are hard to correct. We should quit pretending that they are just weak-willed.
Throwing people in jail is not the solution. Then you would end up with American-type Gulag, one of the cruelest and most unjust prison systems in the world. Russia can do better than that: Government assistance and voluntary rehab for those wanting it; leaving people alone to be themselves for those who don’t. Plus legalization and regulation of narcotics to cut out the criminal element. It’s really not that complicated. What I propose is mostly Putin’s program, plus going a little further…
Heroin is a a very cheap legal drug ($1 a day) so i don’t see why people would use the illegal version as illegality as it own costs and would in all likelyhood cost more.
Also moonshine is easy to make, Heroin isn’t
And there also a lot of people who believe everything is safe because it is legal.
How many people believe that tobacco is safe because it is legal?
Do you live in EU? I am sure that it is not $1/day (unless you use a small fraction of a gram)
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/stats11/ppptab2a
Heroin is readily available in Russia – unlike EU countries – because it has long porous borders with Central Asia where it is produced and no natural borders. Also, law enforcement is too corrupt to make sure legal heroine is distributed properly.
Otherwise, you have more addicts and fewer employable people and the state must pay for their medical care (or let them die).
The price of legal heroin would be of that order. It would be cheaper than a pack of cigarettes a day habit. The black market price isn’t so high because it cost so much to produce in Afghanistan but the smuggling operation is so expensive
charly – You have presented no evidence to all of your assertions so far. How could anyone know if they are true?
Yalensis – throwing people in jail for using heroin IS the current policy. Offering them rehab and recovery instead is the more libertarian policy. Neither Putin nor Medvedev has legalized buprenorphine, which makes no sense since they allowed pharmaceutical companies to test more dangerous anti-addictive drugs in Russia.
(Legalizing both sides – using and selling would be a disaster since there are many examples in history where substance abuse completely crashed the nation. China – for example – had such a catastrophic century century because it no longer had the means to pull itself together without terrible violence.) Why don’t you look at some of the writings of Theodore Dalrymple about the decline of Western culture?
What assertions did i make?
Price?
i recently saw the price for pharmacy described morphine and that was of the order of a $1 a day. Morphine and heroine are chemically very close so the price of heroine is also about the same.
Easy of production?
For heroin you need opium poppies. That can’t be easy because i never have heard stories about them being grown in the west for black market opium
Legal thus safe?
I gave the tobacco counterclaim. Is that enough or do you believe that smoking is safe because it is legal?
China in the 19th century and opium?
Russia now and alcohol, Yemen and qat. Or for a more successful story Britain and alcohol in the 19th century
Dear Anatoly,
Medvedev says lots of rubbish about law and order. The impression is of a weak man trying to act tough. I think I read somewhere (you can check it) that he was recently advocating the castration of sex offenders. Putin does not have to prove he is tough so on these questions he is free to talk sense. Having said this, I think I should say that on these issues it is Putin who consistently wins out. What I have read about the recent law on alcohol licensing and sales, which is currently before the parliament, suggests that it is full of good sense and may have a real impact on the problem. Hopefully the same will happen with drugs policy.
Dear Anatoly,
On the general subject of Medvedev, I do not think he is quite the deranged liberal that some would like him to be. Whether he is or not, the point is that Russia today has evolved past the point where one person can wreak the kind of havoc that Yeltsin did back in the late 1980s and 1990s. The parliament is far stronger today then it was then, there is a much more developed party structure now and the population is far more more politically aware and sophisticated than it has ever previously been. I strongly doubt that Medvedev if re elected could do the sort of things you are afraid he might do even if he wanted to do them, which I also doubt. Having said what Russia needs most of all at this time is stability to allow its institutions and economy time to develop. The price of stability, like freedom, is eternal vigilance, which is why I think your posts about Medvedev are justified and useful.
Good point!