Аннотация: Governor Sergei Furgal and the Bureya problem. The experimental essay - an attempt of a partial biographical reconstruction.
Governor Sergei Furgal and the Bureya problem. The experimental essay - an attempt of a partial biographical reconstruction.
Any resident of Russia, who is able to reflect on the Russia's modern political inner device, has a some sympathy for Sergei Furgal. This is how life works ... We wish Sergei Furgal to come out of this situation alive, healthy and with effective life prospects.
The probability of Sergei Furgal returning to the post of governor of the Khabarovsk Krai after the events is approaching zero.
Therefore, there is reason to summarize the activities of Sergei Furgal as governor of the Khabarovsk Krai of Russian Federation to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of his work.
We do not have statistical data on the development of the Khabarovsk Krai.
But we watched Sergei Furgal from about December 2018 to December 2019 - in connection with the emergence and solution of the Bureya problem, and we have our own opinion.
Recall that in December 2018, news came of a catastrophic phenomenon - the closure of the Bureya River by a huge rocky mass of fantastic volume. This event was extremely dangerous. The Bureya River is a powerful, huge Siberian, Far East river. At the first stage, the accumulation of water masses occurred. A huge spontaneous reservoir accumulated above [over, upstream] the spontaneous dam. According to some estimates, there was a risk of flooding of the entire Verkhnebureinsky District of the Khabarovsk Krai, as well as a number of strategic sites, objects. At the second stage, a breakthrough of the spontaneous dam could occur. A huge wave would rush down the Bureya River in the direction of China - with the risk of international problems and the risk of change in the entire political situation in the region (similar to the Chernobyl disaster). (Бурейский Дневник. Bureya Journal)
Around the time the information about the Bureya problem appeared, our situational observation in relation of Governor Sergei Furgal began.
Although I am a resident of a region very far from the Khabarovsk Krai, I personally was extremely alarmed by the news of the Bureya events.
Why such an emotional reaction?
Many events take place far from us, but are related to us.
For example, the Chernobyl disaster (April 26, 1986). Although this disaster happened very far from many people, it affected the population of the whole world through different chains of causal relationships.
The behavior of Soviet officials in connection with the Chernobyl disaster was distinguished by a peculiar frivolity. Already at that time, the importance, role and level of technical intelligentsia began to decline (in the political and public consciousness, in practice), and the complexity of technical and technological problems continued to grow. But the ruling top is accustomed to a high level of reliability of technical systems, to a high level of reliability of technical intelligentsia, to the fact that everything will be 'somehow solved' due to the exceptionally high level of technical safety (which was accumulated in previous periods).
December 2018 (when the news about the Bureya problem came) is, as you know, the pre-holiday time (you can draw an analogy with the Chernobyl disaster).
Sergei Furgal heads to Moscow and participates in a number of high-level New Year's events.
One can - theoretically - imagine a different style of behavior. The behavior of a real statesman.
Sergei Furgal (loudly) rejects Moscow New Year's invitations ('The fate of the region and the country is in danger!' 'We will leave aside the traditional New Year's affairs!'). He hurries by helicopter, accompanied by officials, to the place of the Bureya catastrophe. He immediately makes an appeal to the population. Such a way he is putting the federal authorities in front of the need for an immediate decisive reaction to catastrophic events. He announces an emergency regime. He draws up a plan of action: formulates optimal solutions, outlines an evacuation plan, recommends the involvement of international organizations ...
Nothing like this. In fact, Sergei Furgal is located in Moscow. He takes part in pre-holiday events in a pleasant atmosphere (oil prices are high, everyone is in a good, kind mood).
This is followed by holidays and after-holidays. In some high-rise building, as a result of some incident, the entrance [part of building] was destroyed, debris is being cleared, and it's even somehow inappropriate to talk about some other problems (the Bureya problem) - according unformulated (implicit) concepts this would mean 'escalating the situation' .
I confess that I was silent for several days, about a week.
The events with the destroyed entrance ended, at last.
The Bureya problem again got its place on the Internet.
But even in this brief period, Sergei Furgal was not visible and was not heard.
Only after the federal center clearly identified itself, Sergei Furgal showed his activity.
The main burden of solving the Bureya problem fell on the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Sergei Furgal showed interest, provided assistance (as a governor) and, apparently, there can be no complaints against him.
But during this period, the topic of the remote villages, settlements of the Khabarovsk Krai gradually began to be discussed in the media space - what are their prospects?
Again Sergei Furgal did not prove himself as a major statesman. Again, Internet users did not see at him a broad view of the problem, understanding of high-level, a large-scale strategies, and a comprehensive action plan.
Sergei Furgal began to discuss private minor issues of the lowest level.
Nevertheless, Sergei Furgal was, although not the most main, a participant in the solution of the Bureya problem, for which he deserves gratitude.
We say thanks to him.
Sergei Furgal could have been awarded ... Some state award - some order not of the highest level of some third degree, he could receive (among the other participants in the solution of the Bureya problem) ...
No less strange, disappointing, when compared with the pre-New Year and New Year periods, was the behavior of Sergei Furgal after the finishing of solving the Bureya problem.
His maneuvering continued around small, private, completely insignificant (in terms of the general problems), but financial issues. Among critically minded people, this could only cause a suspiciously ironic reaction.
About a year, Sergei Furgal did not cancel the emergency regime introduced in connection with the Bureya problem - perhaps this turned out to be the longest emergency mode in the Russian Federation (we do not have accurate statistics - we are putting forward a version).
At last, the emergency mode was canceled. And we stopped observation Sergei Furgal.
The general impression of Sergei Furgal's participation in the events was not particularly favorable.
Where history brought him to the forefront, he did not demonstrate the qualities of a major statesman - the head of a vast region. He did not demonstrate speed, decisiveness, ability to take responsibility, breadth of thinking, scale planning, quick actions, obvious positive results.
Someone will say that if Sergei Furgal had demonstrated all these qualities, he would have lost his political prospects. Maybe this is the right opinion. But, under this option, Sergei Furgal, with the inner sensation, inner feeling of a person who has fulfilled his duty, would now rest in his dacha ... He would go to the river for a swim, drink tea with honey ...
For completeness, we mention two more cases related to Sergei Furgal that came into sphere to our attention.
Once he wrote a letter to the governor of a neighboring Chinese province, drawing his neighbor's attention to large-scale fires in Chinese territory and to the smoke that was the result of these fires. We then asked the question: in what language was the letter written: in Russian, Chinese, French? ... We still do not have an answer to this question.
Another case is the transfer of a governor's certificate (signed by the chairman of the election commission) to a local museum. Apparently, Sergei Furgal decided to use a governor's certificate of another kind.
Even if our very fragmentary biographical essay looks critical to Sergei Furgal, does not present the reader with the figure of a major statesman, the head of a huge complex region (to a greater extent we see a person with narrow horizons of thinking and with a penchant for relatively small financial issues, with a small-scale maneuvering, a servility), we do not deny the fact of his useful participation in the solving the Bureya problem. And even, not touching, regardless of, this fact of participation, we feel a certain sympathy for him. Like all of us, he probably showed some naivety - but at his level, in his personal "world" ... We wish him to get out of the situation alive, healthy and with real life prospects.
July 9, 2020 05:29
Translation from Russian into English: July 10, 2020 08:06.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Губернатор Сергей Фургал и Бурейская проблема. Опыт частичной биографической реконструкции'.