Monday, May 18, 2015

Out of the chessboard

The disappearance of Boris Nemtsov from the scene on 27 February 2015 is widely believed to be a result of a political assassination. Whatever the cause of the disappearance, assassination is not likely. Nemtsov and other people like him are part of the political ecosystem, moved arbitrarily around the political chessboard. Sometimes pawns and figures disappear from the chessboard, but this need not imply a physical death.

In both communist and postcommunist systems, and there is little difference between the two, no people, who might challenge the status quo, are admitted to the inner circles of power. Communists and postcommunists are not stupid. Keep in mind that Nemtsov advanced on the political ladder throughout the 1990s, reaching the post of the vice premier of Russia in 1997. He remained at the top of the Russian "opposition" since 1999.

Such advance and visibility is reserved to the most trusted cadres of an entirely falsified narrative. His "criticism" of Putin (corruption blah blah) is chicken feed.