We do not believe in the signs and omens of the New Year, and therefore what happens on the eve of the New Year according to the Gregorian calendar or immediately after it is no different for us from what happens at any other time. But let us not forget that Allah does not only send His signs to the believers, but also to the superstitious… And if we look at what is happening in Russia these days from this perspective, through the eyes of those who believe in signs like «As you meet the New Year, so will you spend it», the self-perception of its rulers these days should not be the best.
So, first of all, on December 31 there was a collapse in the city of Magnitogorsk due to the explosion of a multi-storey building, which has already resulted in the death of 20 people. Once in a blue moon, the «national leader» decided to live up to the propaganda image created for him and immediately went to the scene of the tragedy. Then, in the middle of New Year’s celebrations, in the very center of the Russian capital, a bridge collapsed during the singing of the Russian anthem. As some commentators sarcastically noted, it is significant that the bridge collapsed during the words «Glorious be our free Fatherland,» and that screams could be heard from under the rubble during the still echoing words «Brotherhood of Ages.
By the way, both incidents showed that the value of human life is very different for the Russian authorities. Not only in comparison with the lives of the Syrians who remained under the rubble of the buildings due to the Russian bombs, which, by the way, the majority of Russians did not particularly grieve over, forgetting the boomerang effect… But also in terms of the value of the lives of Russians themselves. It was announced that the families of the victims in Magnitogorsk would receive 100,000 rubles in compensation, while those affected by the bridge collapse in Moscow were promised a whopping 500,000 rubles.
A media disaster of sorts for the Kremlin was the public reaction to its leader’s New Year’s address on Youtube. This year, it gathered a record number of negative reactions — dislikes and comments, to the point that the comments were eventually removed.
And finally (?), yesterday in the same Magnitogorsk, not far from the same exploded building, a minibus exploded, resulting in the death of three people. Immediately, information began to spread on social networks that both the collapse of the building and the incident with the minibus were not the result of a gas explosion (the vehicle, as reported, also ran on gas), but rather a terrorist attack on the city, which is being covered up by the authorities.
In turn, a political émigré from Magnitogorsk, a former activist of the local trade union movement, Andrei Romanov, who was driven out of the city and the country by the FSB, expressed the assumption that the terrorist acts were organized by the real owner of the city and the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Plant, Viktor Rashnikov, through the local special services, in order to obtain carte blanche from the «national leader» to take full control of them.
This is one of the many conspiracy theories that have been put forward during these strange events, which we will not comment on, as we do not have the necessary information to do so. However, regardless of which one is true, one thing is clear — people’s trust in this authority is rapidly eroding, so the official versions are no longer believed by many. An interesting subjective impression shared by many during these days is that the «grandfather», as he is increasingly called, was re-elected president only last year, and he still has a whole presidential term — almost six years — ahead of him. However, after all the negative events, starting with the pension reform and the failure of Kremlin loyalists in the gubernatorial elections, many feel that he has already overstayed his welcome in power.
So it is safe to say that 2019 has symbolically got off to a very bad start for the authorities. And how they will spend it, one can only speculate…