June 12, Russians celebrate the holiday, known as the "Day of Russia" - perhaps the most controversial date in modern history of the country. The Declaration on State Sovereignty (Independence) of the RSFSR, adopted on that day 17 years ago, did not formally signify the disintegration of the Soviet Union, but in fact became one of the significant milestones of this process. However, after Vladimir Putin called the collapse of the USSR "the biggest geopolitical catastrophe," and Russian propaganda has been exploiting images from the Soviet past for many years, it's becoming more difficult to write this holiday into the general propaganda line, writes Ksenia Kirillova for LB.

The fact is that over the past few years the Kremlin has quite successfully taken advantage of radical patriotic groups and movements, primarily distinguished by a pro-Soviet bias. The benefits of using them seemed obvious. On the one hand, the radical elements play an important role in the militaristic mobilization of the population, with a simultaneous emphasis on the role of Vladimir Putin himself as the "leader" of Russia "rising from its knees". On the other hand, such groups are very convenient for using to blackmail the West by the fact that after Putin, conditional Girkin can come to power, and therefore it is more profitable to negotiate with the "sane" Russian leader.

Moreover, in a country that is unable to offer any specific ideology and positive development model, the heroization of the past becomes the only filling of a loud, patriotic rhetoric. In fact, instead of the Soviet myth of a "bright future", Russians have only an idealized past.

In addition, the "radical patriots" are very convenient for performing current tactical tasks: reprisals against unwanted oligarchs under the guise of "fighting corruption," "intercepting" the anti-corruption theme from the liberal opposition and channeling it into a convenient power channel and.

However, in the process of permanent artificial mobilization of the population around the Soviet myth there is also a downside - an artificially arising request for a totalitarian ideology. The constant artificial creation of extreme conditions, the incessant war, the escalating threat, the suggestion that "Russia is in the ring of enemies," the calls for patience for new hardships in the name of struggle, the merciless exploitation of historical myths, symbols and images to justify the Kremlin's current policy are inevitable Leads to an increase in the active part of the population, sincerely seeking to revive the "Soviet paradise".

But at the same time, the Soviet myth, along with the imperial complexes, readiness for privation and approval of the militaristic policy of the authorities, is firmly connected in the minds of Russians with the idea of ??social justice and total rejection of the oligarchy (which is firmly associated with the current government). Against the backdrop of the economic crisis, it can be noted that in parallel with the "liberal" protests, an increasing number of people artificially immersed in the past will begin to demand "genuine socialism": with guaranteed jobs, lack of crime, free education and health care, and so on. That is, the requirements are precisely what the Russian authorities are not able to provide to their electorate.

So, the Day of Russia seems to have become a vivid example of how one part of the propaganda policy came into conflict with another part of it. So, on the eve of the holiday on the pro-government Urals portal "Ur. Ru "there was an article by the historian Maxim Artemyev about why June 12 is not celebrated in Russia with the same feeling with which, say, the Independence Day in the US or the Day of the Bastille in France.

In particular, the author complains that the Declaration adopted on this day became "another stage in the collapse of the USSR, now recognized as" the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century ". Further, in the best traditions of the modern ideology of the "Russian world," Artemiev states that "the Soviet Union was a historical Russia, and its effect was the truncation of itself by half, the return to other countries of twenty-five million ethnic Russians, the artificial division of one people, the legitimization of the Leninist- Stalin's borders ". Such a postulate, of course, is good for justifying Russian military aggression in neighboring countries, but it does not go somehow to tie it to solemn celebrations on June 12.

And finally, Artemyev's last thesis directly beats the current Russian authorities, alternately calling themselves the heirs of the USSR, the Russian Empire, or post-perestroika Russia:.

"The current government is extremely cautious: how does it refrain from most of the Soviet holidays and names, with the exception of not even odious, but uncomfortable for any reasons (for example, November 7), so does not renounce its closest pedigree. And it occurs precisely from people who took power in the RSFSR in 1990 ... There is a paradox: in words the Kremlin is tearing up with those who "broke up" the country, in fact, is careful about their heritage ".

Of course, this article does not yet prove that a monster created by Russian propaganda began to get out of its control, but such sentiments begin to divide an increasing part of the active "patriotic electorate". It is interesting how, at the same time, Russian propagandists themselves are trying to disguise the ideological schizophrenia created by them, trying to "combine the incompatible".

So, contrary to the discontent of the "patriots", the odious propaganda channel NTV called the Day of Russia "the holiday of national unity, freedom, civil peace and shared responsibility for the present and future of our Motherland". It's funny that the festive broadcast on the channel starts with the historical film "Russian Riot".

"During the reign of Catherine II in the deep Russian province, escaped convict Emelyan Pugachev declared himself Emperor Peter III. Under the banner of the impostor stood up detachments of Cossacks and escaped serfs, "- said in the announcement. It should be recalled that on June 12 large-scale anticorruption protest actions were appointed, and therefore the propagandists are trying their best to make the disgruntled population sit on the screens and was horrified by the "destructiveness" of the Russian rebellion of 300 years ago, instead of taking part in something like that today.

The "First Channel", in turn, decided to reconcile with the new holiday out of control Soviet nostalgia, and therefore prudently launched on the eve of the holiday a documentary-feature film "The Land of Soviets. Forgotten Leaders ". On the Day of Russia, the propagandists found nothing better than how to exploit two of their most favorite topics: World War II and Crimea, showing "the premiere of Natalia Guguyeva's documentary about military pilots who had to make a difficult choice -" Crimea. The sky of the motherland ".

Channel "Russia 1" seems to have decided not to bother with complex propaganda structures and announced for the holidays a stream of entertaining series, and then - broadcast from the Kremlin the ceremony of presenting state awards of the Russian Federation and a festive concert.

However, all these half-entertaining television products are unlikely to remove the emerging tension between the Kremlin and the "new communists" they have generated, which are increasingly claiming to be the creator. If we add to this a series of mass "liberal" protests, the mood of the Russian authorities can hardly be called a holiday.

Editorial site is not responsible for the content of blogs. The editorial opinion may differ from the author's.

Join the group "Browser Blogs" on Facebook, stay tuned!.