Nikita Mikhalkov vs. Yeltsin Center: How the Conflict Developed. Mikhalkov and the leadership of the Yeltsin Center - a dialogue in one note
"Children get poison"
Last Friday, the parliamentary hearings in the Federation Council (the format, you understand, does not imply sensations, intrigues and investigations), and together with them the whole country, was unexpectedly rocked by a powerful information bomb. V Lately after all, just give a reason, be it Mannerheim or Ivan the Terrible, and the society split into two camps will argue until hoarse, defending its own and ignoring someone else's point of view on common history... What can we say when it comes to practically a contemporary - Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin. More precisely, about the Center in Yekaterinburg, named in his honor. The museum complex has once again become a bone of contention between liberals and guardians. The latter were represented this time by director Nikita Mikhalkov, who fell from the rostrum of the upper house of parliament criticizing the Yeltsin Center.
“There can be no culture without an objective understanding of history. Today, there is a center in Yekaterinburg where the destruction of the national self-consciousness of children is injected every day, ”he said, proposing to adjust the museum's program to show a different point of view on history. “This is a matter of national security, since hundreds of children receive this poison every day. There must be a consistent policy to ensure that children understand that the country in which they live is a great country. ”
Here, for example, is an episode from an interview with the director in June this year. According to him, Mikhalkov's claims are clearly clear.
“In the center of Russia, in the Urals, there is a huge stunning building, equipped with the latest technology. Small children - five to six years old, all free. I wonder how! The cartoon is shown about the history of Russia. What's in this cartoon? What is shown there? And it is shown there that everything that was before 1990 is all abomination, dirt, betrayal, slavery, blood, abomination and so on. The only light ray in the dark kingdom is the appearance of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin. Everything else is deleted. Generally! This was not the case. And what kind of children will grow up as a result? "
"How can you criticize what you have not seen"
They took a break in Yeltsin's camp. Almost a day later, the widow of Boris Yeltsin, Naina Iosifovna, responded to Nikita Sergeevich's attack:
“I am deeply outraged by Mikhalkov's statements. And not only because they are deceitful, having nothing to do with either the Yeltsin Center or its activities. It is striking that for several months now he has been spreading lies about how the history of the country is presented in the museum of the first president of Russia. Do not hesitate to pull the elements of the exposition out of context, hang labels and directly insult people who worked for the good of our country in those years.
However, he has never been to the Yeltsin Center. This does not fit in my head, how you can criticize what you have not seen. I remember how Nikita Mikhalkov was Boris Nikolaevich's confidant in the 1996 elections, and then he evaluated the reforms of the 90s and the contribution of Yeltsin's team to construction in a completely different way. new Russia... To be honest, I am very bitter to write these words. I could not imagine that in twenty years he would easily deny what he said and did. But despite the director's false statements, as well as the malicious comments of rabid communists who, by their efforts, led our country - Soviet Union- to destruction, "Yeltsin Center" is filled with people from morning until late at night, which I am very happy about. "
Indeed, in 1996, Nikita Mikhalkov in one of his interviews called Boris Yeltsin a “dynamic leader”, crediting him with the fact that he was not a member of any party: “Boris Nikolayevich is Russian. He, forgive me, man. And Russia is a feminine noun. And she needs a man, ”Nikita Sergeevich said then.
"I have never renounced"
All these days we tried to contact the director, but he closed himself from journalists. Obviously preparing an answer to Naina Yeltsina. And on Sunday it was made public as an open letter. Here are some excerpts from it:
“I deeply regret that I caused you grief, but I am sure that you were misled by interpreting my words from a certain angle. I spoke not about the memory of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin and not about his activities at the Federation Council, but about how and who composes and implements programs of dubious historical content with dubious historical conclusions ...
I really personally, because of constant traveling, was not in the Yeltsin Center, but several film crews worked there, specially sent there, who completely filmed all the expositions, exhibits, interiors, cafes, people's opinions, and so on. And, believe me, I have a very complete idea of what is happening there ...
I have never given up and never give up a single moment of my past. I took part in the elections quite consciously and said everything that I said, completely sincerely, because for me and for many other people at that moment there was no alternative to Boris Nikolaevich. Everything that was in sight and claimed power was much worse. In addition, at that time no one, at least of those who voted for Boris Nikolayevich, including myself, could have imagined the full depth and tragedy of the situation in which the country would find itself. These are sold out factories, and ships sold for a penny, and a humiliated army, and an impoverished people, and destroyed science. But I am sure that it is unfair to place all responsibility for this solely on the shoulders of Boris Nikolayevich ...
I have never renounced and will not deny what I have done and said, and I continue to insist that the museum of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin is needed, but it is impossible to destroy the historical truth with his name, brightening it up with free visits, entertainment and pastime in the beautiful interiors of the Yeltsin Center, while the same time, penetrating into the fragile consciousness of young people with a false understanding of the history of Russia ... "
FEEDBACK
"The split of people by" soft power "
Listeners of Radio "Komsomolskaya Pravda" (97.2 FM) supported the director
Here are just some of the live responses:
Leonid:
I often visit Yekaterinburg. The citizens who are there have nothing to be proud of, except for their mayor, who has a criminal record, and Yeltsin. The Yeltsin Center is going to rehabilitate Krasnov, Shkuro, SS Gruppenfuehrer ... They are supported by international funds, to which we have not felt sympathy for two years.
Sergei:
The point is not how Mikhalkov feels about Yeltsin. It's personal. And how the story is presented to future generations. I myself have not been to the Center, but I heard the recordings. Specifically - on the history of the Russian state, where all the rulers are despots and loafers. But for some reason the people lived the worst of all during the reign of Yeltsin. And the children are told the opposite.
Novel:
I lived under Yeltsin. This is enough to understand what kind of processes were in those days. And these centers are needed to split people by the so-called "soft power".
Evgeniy:
Mikhalkov supported Yeltsin in 1996. I think there is nothing surprising here. Because the reforms have only been going on for five years. Yeltsin has been in power for only five years. The course of the reforms is still not clear. The position of the West in relation to the country is not clear. The default is ahead. From a democratic standpoint, Mikhalkov supported Yeltsin.
Prepared by Alexander IGOREV
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Nikita Mikhalkov's speech at the Federation Council.
AT THIS TIME
Yeltsin Center historian Nikita Sokolov will sue Nikita Mikhalkov
The scandal around the Yeltsin Center in Yekaterinburg will not subside in any way. Last Friday, December 9, Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov spoke out against the presidential museum in Yekaterinburg, stating that “citizens are injected with poison here every day that destroys national identity,” which offended the center's staff and even the wife of the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin. ()
Why Nikita Mikhalkov took up arms against the "Yeltsin Center"
We are trying to understand the air of Radio "Komsomolskaya Pravda" [audio] ()
REPORT FROM THE MUSEUM
Visitors to the Yeltsin Center: "Mikhalkov" ran into the museum to once again promote himself "
Director Nikita Mikhalkov said that the Yeltsin Center is destroying the national identity of children and the real idea of people about what the history of Russia is. Correspondents of "KP-Yekaterinburg" went to one of the most modern museums in Russia to find there confirmation of the words of the venerable director. Or not to find
BETWEEN
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HAVE AN OPINION
Milonov: Mikhalkov lived well under the Communists, under Yeltsin, and under the current government
Mikhalkov's attack in society was assessed ambiguously. Most people in Russia have a negative attitude towards the Yeltsin Center, says State Duma deputy Vitaly Milonov.
Its creation is a slap in the face to society, at least they chose a different name. The fate of Boris Nikolaevich cannot be assessed unambiguously, it would not be correct
BY THE WAY
Governor Yevgeny Kuyvashev wants to give Mikhalkov a tour of the Yeltsin Center
The controversy surrounding the Yeltsin Center, which flared up with renewed vigor after the speech of the patriarch of Russian cinema in the Federation Council, is reaching a new level. Governor contacted Mikhalkov from his Instagram page Sverdlovsk region Evgeny Kuyvashev
"In that it" is injected daily with the destruction of the national self-consciousness of children. " Mikhalkov also asked the speaker to pay attention to this problem. The politician replied that she "heard" the director.
The Yeltsin Center regularly hosts lectures and game quests for schoolchildren and students. The organizers talk about the Yeltsin era and its significance for Russia today.
For example, in one of the educational games of the center, participants are asked to imagine themselves as schoolchildren of the 80s or 90s. “There were many things that surprised the young participants in the quest. So, fourth-graders could not understand what they needed to do with coupons, why get up in line at six in the morning, if the store opens at 9 o'clock. Why it is possible to buy only tea or sugar and why it is necessary to take it for future use, but not more than the norm, "the Yeltsin Center Facebook page describes the gameplay.
The Yeltsin Center was opened in November 2015. The idea of the museum, according to its founders, is to show not only Yeltsin himself, but also the controversial era of his reign.
Putin himself never publicly allowed himself to criticize the late first president of Russia. Nevertheless, the current Russian leader has repeatedly criticized the 1990s, calling them "dashing" in one of his speeches.
According to a poll conducted at the beginning of the year, 36% of Russians have a negative attitude towards Yeltsin, and only 14% have a positive attitude towards the late president. By the way, the Levada Center itself is now included in the register of foreign agents.
"Mikhalkov's personal opinion is widely circulated, finds supporters and opponents, which means that there is no public consensus around the object of his criticism," the political scientist told Gazeta.Ru.
"Russia is behind him"
The attitude of Mikhalkov himself towards Yeltsin has changed over time. The director supported Yeltsin in the 1996 elections, when he opposed the leader. Mikhalkov acted as a confidant of the president, starred in campaign videos in his support.
“There are no parties behind Yeltsin. Russia is behind him. I am for Russia, which means I am for Yeltsin, ”said the director in one of the campaign videos. Mikhalkov also said that Yeltsin "saved the country from disaster."
True, in 1993 Mikhalkov indirectly supported Yeltsin's adversary, the rebellious vice president, during the confrontation between the president and parliament.
At the beginning of this year, Mikhalkov called for the recognition of the "crimes" of Yeltsin and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev "at the state level." “They have committed a real crime. Unwittingly, guided by ambitions - not ambitions, this is not what we are talking about now. Their accomplishments led to the collapse of our country! And this is the greatest geopolitical catastrophe that has happened in this century! " - said Mikhalkov in an interview.
Representatives of the Yeltsin Center said they would like to invite the director to the museum. “Personally, I am very eager to see Nikita Sergeevich Mikhalkov in the museum, we would be happy to show him exhibits with which he is definitely familiar,” said the executive director of the center, recalling the director's participation in Yeltsin's election campaign.
Drozdov noted that the expression of sympathy for the politician at that time was "sincere, which is always characteristic of Nikita Sergeevich in expressions of his love for the current government in any of its forms."
The former head of Boris Yeltsin, Sergei, also agreed with Drozdov. In a conversation with Gazeta.Ru, he said that Mikhalkov's opinion often changed "depending on who was in power."
“I remember when Yeltsin was nominated for the presidency in 1996. Now that Yeltsin is no longer alive, Mikhalkov believes that he can be doused with mud, ”Filatov said.
According to the former head of the administration of the first president of Russia, such a speech may be associated with the ideological position of Mikhalkov. “He has been imposing a monarchy on us for a long time, and he does it very rudely,” he said.
According to a source of the Yekaterinburg site Ura.Ru at the Yeltsin Center, perhaps Mikhalkov is simply offended that he was not invited to the opening of the center in 2015, which was attended by top officials of the state. “Mikhalkov was not at the opening. I cannot say with certainty that he was invited. Perhaps he was offended by this, ”the source explained.
On December 9, Nikita Mikhalkov, director and head of the Russian Cultural Foundation, spoke at the Federation Council at parliamentary hearings"On the implementation of the Strategy of State Cultural Policy for the Period up to 2030: Regional Aspect". Of all his statements, the assessment of the activities of the Yeltsin Center in Yekaterinburg received the greatest resonance.
9th December
Nikita Mikhalkov: "Every day hundreds of children go there, they get this poison"
"In Yekaterinburg, there is a center in which daily injections of destruction of people's self-awareness are carried out," Mikhalkov said at a hearing in the Federation Council.
He expressed the opinion that educational programs the center should be adjusted. “The conversation is not about punishing someone or introducing censorship, I’m talking about the possibility of changing the vector, adjusting the program. This is a matter of national security, every day hundreds of children go there (to the Yeltsin Center. - TASS note), they get this poison. "
Mikhalkov's position on the activities of the Yeltsin Center has been known for a long time. Back in March this year, in one of the issues of his Besogon TV program, he already criticized his work, believing that the center allows itself an ideologized interpretation of history.
December 10
Naina Yeltsina: "Spreads lies ... and at the same time has never been in the center"
The widow of the first president of Russia personally reacted to the words of Mikhalkov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, unlike Mikhalkov, were at the Yeltsin Center, in their speeches they praised both the center itself and its founders. I think that the leaders of the country are no less concerned about the decent upbringing of the younger generation than Mikhalkov.
Naina Yeltsina
What is "Yeltsin Center"
Public, cultural and educational center in Yekaterinburg, opened by the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center Foundation.
The basis of the "Yeltsin Center" is a museum dedicated to modern political history Russia and the personality of the country's first president. The center regularly hosts public events, lectures, exhibitions.
Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center Foundation - non-profit organization, the purpose of which is to preserve and study the historical heritage of the first president of Russia. The Board of Trustees of the Foundation is headed by Anton Vaino, Head of the Presidential Administration of Russia.
Continuation
Speaking about the exposition of the Yeltsin Center, she noted: “I saw this museum, walked through it more than once and I can say: there is no varnishing of the era, there are no assessments at all - only documents, only facts, only eyewitness accounts.”
Naina Yeltsina expressed the opinion that Mikhalkov's statements "are false, having nothing to do with either the Yeltsin Center or its activities." At the same time, she drew attention to the fact that, "by hanging labels and directly insulting people," Mikhalkov "had never been to the Yeltsin Center."
"This does not fit in my head. How can you criticize what you have not seen ?!" - summed up Naina Yeltsina.
December 10
Mikhalkov was reminded of his support for Yeltsin in 1996
Part of the Internet community reacted to Nikita Mikhalkov's speech by reminding him that during the 1996 presidential election campaign, the film director was Boris Yeltsin's confidant and supported him.
An excerpt from a 1996 TV report appeared on the Web, in which Mikhalkov, in particular, states: "Boris Nikolaevich is Russian. Forgive me, he is a man. And Russia is a feminine noun, and she needs a man."
Personally, I am very eager to see Nikita Sergeevich Mikhalkov in the museum, we would be happy to show him the exhibits with which he is definitely familiar. We have several very touching documents - Mikhalkov's appeal to the first president as his confidant in the elections. It was sincere ...
Alexander Drozdov
Executive Director of the Presidential Center B.N. Yeltsin
Executive Director of the Yeltsin Center Alexander Drozdov said: “Personally, I am very eager to see Nikita Sergeevich Mikhalkov in the museum, we would be happy to show him the exhibits with which he is definitely familiar. We have several very touching documents - Mikhalkov's appeal to the first president as his confidant at the elections. It was sincere, which is always characteristic of Nikita Sergeevich in expressions of his love for the current government. "
December 11th
Mikhalkov regrets that he upset Naina Yeltsin, but does not refuse his words
Nikita Mikhalkov published an open letter in which, addressing Naina Yeltsina, he expressed regret that his words had caused her grief. At the same time, the director noted: "I have never renounced and will not deny what I have done and said."
"I am sure that you were misled by interpreting my words from a certain angle. I did not speak about the memory of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin and not about his activities, but about how and who compiles and implements programs of dubious historical content with dubious historical conclusions." , - he wrote.
Mikhalkov admitted that he had never personally been to the Yeltsin Center, but he had "a very complete idea of what was going on there." "Several film crews worked there, specially sent there, which completely filmed all expositions, exhibits, interiors, cafes, people's opinions and so on," he said.
12 December
Governor Kuyvashev - Mikhalkov: "If I knew your films only from retellings, I might not like them either"
The Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region Yevgeny Kuyvashev invited Nikita Mikhalkov to visit the Yeltsin Center. The head of the region published this message on his page in social network Instagram.
"If I knew your films only from retellings, I might not like them either. Life taught me that you can only trust your own eyes and feelings. Therefore, come to Yekaterinburg, I will personally conduct a tour of the Yeltsin Center, together we will go to the museum Boris Nikolayevich. He ruled the country in difficult times, he had to make difficult decisions, but as a real Ural Yeltsin he endured this burden, "Kuyvashev said.
According to the governor, he is proud to have taken part in the creation of the Yeltsin Center. "This place is loved by many Sverdlovsk residents, they even come to see it from Austria. And you (Nikita Mikhalkov. - TASS note) from Moscow will never get there. I look forward to visiting!" - wrote Kuyvashev.
Nikolay Fedorov, First Vice-Speaker of the Federation Council, also reacted to the statements of Nikita Mikhalkov. “Indeed, a visit to the center named after the first president of Russia is a kind of injection. finger and teach with mentoring intonations, "- said Fedorov in an open letter to Mikhalkov.
10.12.2016
Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov on Friday, November 9, within the framework of parliamentary hearings "On the implementation of the Strategy of State Cultural Policy for the Period up to 2030: Regional Aspect", sharply condemned the activities of the Yeltsin Center.
We are talking about regions, but we cannot but understand that there can be no culture without an objective understanding of history. There is a center in Yekaterinburg where daily injections of destruction of people's self-awareness are carried out.
The conversation is not about punishing someone or introducing censorship, I’m talking about the possibility of changing the vector, adjusting the program, ”the director explained. - This is a matter of national security, every day hundreds of children go there, they receive this poison. This should not be allowed to flow, then it will be too late
- said Mikhalkov in his speech.
The leadership of the Yeltsin Center did not leave the director's words unanswered, reminding him of the support of Boris Yeltsin when he was in the post of President of Russia:
Personally, I am very eager to see Nikita Sergeevich Mikhalkov in the museum, we would be happy to show him the exhibits with which he is definitely familiar. We have several very touching documents - Mikhalkov's appeal to the first president as his confidant in the elections. It was sincere, which is always characteristic of Nikita Sergeevich in expressions of his love for the current government in any of its forms.
- said the executive director of the Boris Yeltsin presidential center, Alexander Drozdov, during a press conference at the Ural regional TASS center.
The collective conscious Internet did not stand aside and promptly found a video recording of Mikhalkov's speech, as a confidant of Boris Yeltsin, during the 1996 election campaign.
Some of our fellow citizens have recently begun to feel that our Russian life has ceased to improve. Or rather, life is getting worse. But, thank God, there is a cultural and other elite that can always successfully refute the groundless doubts of the unconscious masses. And the worse these masses live, the more insistently they try to remind them how bad it was in the "dashing nineties", how "dashing" it was then Russian President compared to the current head of state. By the way, as far as I know, Putin himself never asked for such a service. But, as they say, the trend exists, and even the president of the Russian Cultural Foundation, a successful film director Nikita Mikhalkov, who was successful under any government (both under Soviet rule, under Yeltsin’s, and under Putin’s), tried to integrate into it. True, he did it a little awkwardly, and all last weekend he even had to make excuses.
Speaking at parliamentary hearings in the Federation Council, Mikhalkov said that in the Yeltsin Center "the destruction of the national identity of children is being injected every day." Allegedly, a one-sided and harmful point of view on history is imposed there. A little later, Nikita Sergeevich had to admit that he himself had not been to this center.
Well, since he was not, then we will briefly tell him what is there. This is not a "Yeltsin Museum", where the figure of the first president would be deified, and the values of the "dashing nineties" were imposed on someone. Yes, many of those who found themselves in that troubled era active people there is a certain nostalgia for the amount of democratic freedoms and entrepreneurial opportunities that it has provided. But these people are not at all the main guides of the Yeltsin Center. By the way, there are not so many photographs of Yeltsin there. Because this center was conceived as an interactive club for a variety of interests, as a place where platforms for communication and discussion are provided. That is why it has become one of the most popular spots in Yekaterinburg. Well, if you go back to the first president, then in this center you can see not only his speeches, but also a selection of parodies of him, and all the episodes of the program "Dolls", in which the steps and actions of Boris Nikolaevich are bitingly and step by step criticized. This program, we recall, was one of the most popular, but it was closed already under another president.
Well, if Nikita Sergeevich Mikhalkov does not know the subject that he criticizes, it means that he was driven by a single task: to throw brushwood into criticism of the era that was bad compared to the current good one.
But excuse me, Nikita Sergeevich, who, if not you, was the face of “that bad era”? Who of the prominent Soviet filmmakers has not lost the opportunity to shoot large-budget films that criticize the "past, Soviet" life? And these films, by the way, I personally liked. And who was President Yeltsin's confidant? And who explained on television their position about why cultural figures have no right to turn their backs on a president with a falling rating? It seems that you, Nikita Sergeevich, said something like this: "The task of the intelligentsia and everyone who loves their country is to support the government that can lead the country out of ruin and prevent chaos." You supported her.
By the way, the wife of the first President of Russia, Naina Yeltsin, was surprised by the newfangled speech of Nikita Mikhalkov.
“I am deeply outraged by these statements by Mikhalkov. And not only because they are deceitful, having nothing to do with either the Yeltsin Center or its activities. It is striking that for several months now he has been spreading lies about how the history of the country is presented in the museum of the first President of Russia, not hesitating to pull the elements of the exposition out of context, hang labels and directly insult people who worked for the good of our country in those years. I remember how Nikita Mikhalkov was Boris Nikolayevich's confidant in the 1996 elections, and then he evaluated the reforms of the 90s and the contribution of the “Yeltsin team” to the construction of a new Russia in a completely different way. To be honest, I am very bitter to write these words. I couldn’t have imagined that in 20 years he would easily deny what he said and did, ”she wrote on her website.
Mikhalkov thought and answered in the same way in writing: “I never said that Boris Yeltsin was not worthy of a museum. But I have not renounced and will not deny what I have done and said (just not 20 years ago, he always renounced this, but the other day. - Auth.) And I continue to insist that the museum of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin is needed, but not in his name to destroy the historical truth, brightening it up with free visits, entertainment and pastime in the beautiful interiors of the Yeltsin Center, at the same time penetrating into the fragile minds of young people with a false understanding of Russian history. "
The last phrase Mikhalkov personally takes out my brain. What is meant by a false understanding of history, a talented but very flexible person who has always faithfully served any government, literally supported it on his shoulders. And under the new government did not hesitate to mix the previous one with the dirt? Indeed, in the Yeltsin years, he no less bitingly criticized, for example, the Stalinist, Khrushchev or Brezhnev era. Without ceasing to be proud of the fact that the Stalinist anthem, like the current Russian one, was written by his dad.