"It’s Not Me Who Is Lying but a Purse!"

It is paradoxical - but cancellation of state censorship led us as a result not to a freedom of speech but to degeneration of such profession as the journalist. That is profession of those who, by definition, first of all, fairly states the facts and their attitude to them - and, secondly, lives on earnings from specified work.

But some really live now on what is earned by writing - writing in key strictly set by the edition. Not a step to the right or to the left, God forbids to praise not in colour the one or to blame another - though even he would have fried babies for breakfast: it's too much for someone, while our Ivan Ivanovich will be healthy!

But this ceremonial fulfillment of obligations - not journalism any longer but ordering, press-servicing or you may give it other name. The ones who all the same risk to write freely, without escorting, for the fees making now for such liberty miser, will not earn their living. Then he is already not the professional - but amateur earning his living by something else.

And social interrogations say that the lion's part of readers does not trust present free press. The Soviet one, though being under censor, allowing though some truth escape between the lines which could be gotten from their by the one who got used, was trusted more.

But holy place is never empty And where our public - once the most reading in the world - has got used to see that sign of printing word, so-called «black PR» .has blossomed black colour.  This neologism has crept in our lexicon of last years as a flea on a body of our not totally clean democracy. Further the flea has grown into monstrous monster, into the industry with multi-billion turnover subordinated to itself all elections, from regional up to presidential.

This «black PR» has been already equated to Goebbels's propagation, but, I think, we have even gotten forward - both by number of occupied in this industry of lie and by technologies of its creation. The whole army of professional, highly paid liars ready to make from any villain and thief national hero for money - and vice versa appeared all over the country.

In this army fed by "black cash" there are a lot of former militarians and employees of the special services which were compelled to leave service to the Native land first of all by malicious lack of fodder. Strange confidence that using these mercenaries owning certain magic key is possible to make even a monkey the president - if there are only plenty of money - creates the demand on them. And on the contrary - even a worthy candidate can't win without them.

I had by virtue of already named death of a direct trade to participate in such PR - landing force - where I learned all this kitchen from inside.

First of all candidates are of two types. Representing themselves personally - or employed, as puppets by someone else. For example, one magnate - Jew wished to tidy up a certain industrial object - for that purpose he had whole "pool" of those candidates for a regional Duma. The victory even of a part of them guaranteed acceptance of such sub-law about privatization according to which the object would go to the magnate for pennies.

Our district was the poorest, therefore on a role of the candidate was chosen patriot and anti-Semite, the image and the program how to knock on the chest in front of people was defined. In other districts there were democrats, "Yabloko" - followers - they also knock themselves on their chests in their own way.

The staff is created for a certain candidate. His chief, often from former special services, is responsible for everything as in the army - and disposes "black" cash which is the main in this business on his discretion. Official candidate fund is in comparison with it - a pity trifle.

The brigade divides on "analysts" and "field workers". Political scientist, psychologist, statistics, "creative managers", journalists, counterpropagandists are analysts. The higher the level of elections - the wider is a circle of these direct "PR managers", inventors of the most attractive lie for silly people. Here they build this "creative" - a set of words and slogans for the candidate: «Strong - should work, weak - should have care! Market - with human face! Care of the childhood - investment into tomorrow's day!» - etc.

The political scientist creates so-called "slogan" - shock promise of the candidate so that everybody having lifted up trousers rushed off to vote for him. For example, if the candidate - Petrov, it is possible to choose four words beginning with the first letter of the candidate's surname - "P": «Petrov! Prosperity! And so on». It's botched on all wide portraits of the candidate.

The counterpropagandist tries to find out or invents the flaws of the competitors - and gives recommendation «on a shit»: to print, for example, false newspaper repeating local or central and place there some letter from the collateral child of the competitor: «Daddy! I want to look into your eyes!» The more black money are prescribed to this kitchen of lie, the more there are inventions and dirty tricks. It's the supreme flight - we shall tell, to scatter leaflets from the helicopter: «Such and such raped a woman, then fried her on a mangal and gobbled up his three-years old daughter» on the eve before voting, when all propaganda is already forbidden and the competitor has nothing to answer with. You can bring this matter to court then - but elections are already lost.

One more funny case: one candidate didn't give anything during the whole campaign but one day prior to elections put the following to each letter box:

«My program: increase of the salary to the teachers - in 2,7 times; medical personnel - in 2,4; drivers of buses - in 2,17; drivers of lorries - in 2,2 ... » - all in all about 20 items. He won with a crash!

The field staff, using a slang - "feet" is engaged in distribution of grocery payoffs, recruitment of local active workers, visiting apartments with stories about boundless love of the candidate «to people» for the sake of whom he will his native mother give away in parts... He himself works all day long - day feeds a year or even all ten.

Press conferences, meetings with voters - the best way with a concert of local players spoons or imported actors after a meeting. All this has its own price: visit of the journalist from the newspaper, the veteran, priest. It is a shame to say but I saw also such a price-list where services of all without exception pop stars: performance of a song or two in propaganda - concert, handshake with the candidate with words: «It is my old friend, I call to vote for him!»

One more important part - distribution of pre-election gifts to the addresses influencing the will of people: computers - to schools, medicines - to the hospitals, slate - to the housing department. The local head having giving up a hope after elections long time ago won't give the candidate a hall without this real piece of wool - not talking about winking for him in day of voting ...

Thus for the period of elections our mass-media turn into a smelly drain of the most shameless lie - also not from a good life. Already right at the beginning of Putin's time they with the help of economic crutch were put into the total unprofitability, death of any kind of honesty: «It's not me who is lying but a purse!» And a life after that death could continue only with other familiar expression: «Serve to masters!»

Even gradually in our press a word "to print" was changed into: "to place". PR - offices now have in their computers similar price-lists as for the services of the stars for placing material: the price for each newspapers for a strip, a half-strip, third, a quarter.

The strip in the trump federal newspapers costs "in a black way" about 50 thousand dollars for which there everybody will be discredited or worshiped. That is as a matter of fact the only channel of a freedom of speech we have now: to pay the black rate - and then you can speak everything you like for sure. And this parasitic flea has already totally changed by itself our democracy.

People deprived of fair information cannot choose correct authority - therefore it live incorrectly: poor, humiliated as not in their native country but on some church porch. «Kind man, give me, please, for a slice of bread!» - this awful voice of dirty rural babies, that I heard during one PR - campaign, is not a rarity, it became habitual in our dying out province. Here no interdictions on free laundering of candidate's dirty underware, such as Veshnyakov unsuccessfully tried to issue in due time, will help. They do not cancel, but only make this flea lies finds more refined channels.

Real democracy as authority of people - and not as authority of shaggy PR, is real only at really free press. At presence of such trade as fair journalist - who, though in a pursuit of sensation, but true one would rush off his feet to prove really that Ivan Ivanovich guzzles babies. Or does not guzzle. And thus will earn his fee dependent on profit from circulation and authority of the edition among the public.

To tell you the truth, I do not know how to reach it. Those who should do it because of the post not only do not wish to know but by virtue of their skin interests in muddy present water will stand up for this dregs. And now all our elective authority is much more responsible before that black money for which it is given, than before people and country. It is possible that it was direct duty of the president - to cancel direct governor's elections. But this thing by itself does not demand a lot of thought: it's very interesting to know what else is on the mind of our state head? It has already turned to some kind of "transcendental object" and for itself, that on its background all secrets of Stalin's, Brezhnev's, even Yeltsin's court yard - simply an open secret.

Putin's, Medvedev's and other supreme persons impenetrable masks necessarily suggest about some terrible fear which Gulchatay had before Pet'ka to show for a moment their original faces. All Medvedev's elective campaign was so grounded and protected from any unforeseen debate as though he didn't agitate native people - but in Stirlitz's spirit played masterly surrounded by enemies. And only somewhere being locked up, with curtains densely drawn he gives an output to his real feelings and a face without make-up because of going to bed.

What is the base for this fear? A skill of a scout eaten in the blood - or the fact that our authority is still under someone's cap? The fact that there is really some cap is shown by narrowness and discrepancy of its actions in connection with Kosovo, Abkhazia, Ukraine, ours Stabilization Fund, etc. But it itself - does it really want to overcome our majestic ruin or all its movements in this direction is only a pretence, a legend under which it fulfils someone's will?

That is what we want to know having broken today's shell of total PR, to understand. Otherwise these elections are blind, a life is blind, following one economic trend become unproductive and pernicious finally for a soul and for the country.

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