June 25 to July 1 Russians are invited to vote for new amendments to the Constitution - in addition to 46 updated articles, it is proposed to reset the presidential terms of the current head of state, which means that the Russian president will have the opportunity to lead the country all his life.
Immediately after the announcement of the new Constitution, YouTuber Alexander Kharchevnikov gave a prank and wrote to a large group of bloggers with a proposal to advertise the amendments. Despite factual errors in the text of the letter (for example, the date of voting was indicated there on April 12), many of them responded. According to Kharchevnikov, he received specific prices for advertising posts on different sites, their price ranged from 10 thousand rubles to 8 thousand dollars.
Almost five months later, such publications did appear on the Instagram accounts of famous Russian influencers: for example, the singer Keti Topuria, the businesswoman Aiza Anokhina and the ex-participant of Dom-2 Natalya Varvina called on to vote. Producer Yana Rudkovskaya, along with her husband Yevgeny Plushenko and son Sasha, starred in a commercial, the founder of the design studio Artemy Lebedev did the same for the RT channel - but later said that he was deceived. “I was sure that the proposal to nullify Putin's terms had nothing to do with the text of the Constitution. I thought that the idea is that since the Constitution is new, then the terms are calculated from scratch,”he said. We are already talking about a state campaign in which bloggers participate at the suggestion of the Kremlin's political strategists.
However, Instagram celebrities were not approached strictly according to the list. Someone was not offered to advertise the Constitution at all. Blogger-millionaire Ida Galich said that before the current campaign, “she had already given up several political campaigns and, apparently, is no longer held in high esteem (among political strategists - Approx. ed.) ":" I got my portion of negativity with this stupid kebab (we are talking about the "Shashlik Live" festival, which the Moscow mayor's office held in spite of the summer protests. picket to the city hall. Approx. ed.). Now there is no desire to earn that kind of money. Although I am offended that now any action under the auspices of “Russia! Russia! "Is perceived with hostility, even the parade in honor of the Great Victory," the blogger summed up.
At the same time, some bloggers openly admitted that they were offered to advertise the amendments to the Constitution, but they refused to do so. We talked with Ellen Sheidlin, Diana Korkunova and Ksenia Hoffman about the conditions under which they were supposed to campaign, what they think about the amendments and whether they are not afraid to openly oppose the new Constitution.
Anton Danilov
Ellen Sheidlin
artist, 4.6 million followers on instagram
I was offered such a publication, but we did not move on to discussing the price: the conversation focused on the issue of the possibility of advertising amendments to the Constitution with the wording “vote against”. I was told that they would consider such a possibility and return with an answer. Of course, all these questions were a provocation on my part, and in reality I did not even hope for a positive answer. I knew in advance that participation in the advertising of amendments was absolutely excluded, so I did not even consider such an option. I very soberly assess my chances of becoming a defendant in a criminal case of “disrespect for the authorities” (Article 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, “Insulting a representative of the authorities.” - Approx. ed.) or some other absurd article. I am absolutely sure that no one there now cares about me and my opinion. The government is very weak, it is at a historical minimum in terms of support from the population.
In my opinion, an influencer can only advertise a vote if she does it sincerely. Please tell people about the amendments and ask them to vote for! But if for this you do not spend public funds, money from my taxes. The biggest irritation is caused by people who were previously not noticed in politics and in loyalty to the authorities. In their posts, the commercial component is too visible. But I cannot judge other people's choices. Perhaps their poor financial situation pushes them to this. Maybe a person does not even think about the consequences of his choice, he is outside the political agenda and does not quite understand how this will affect his reputation. Sometimes a person just doesn't care what to advertise, and he agrees to everything.
Xenia Hoffman
blogger, 700 thousand subscribers on YouTube
They wrote me a letter with a proposal to advertise the amendments, but as far as I know, it was a provocation to see which bloggers are willing to sell their ass. But literally two or three weeks before this letter, my colleague suggested that I do the same. He said that it was necessary to cover the voting itself, that there should not be any clear position on the amendments themselves. He asked how much money I want for this. I refused and said that there was no such amount for which I would agree to do this. I did not even discuss the possibility of deleting the post or somehow changing my shoes on the fly, because, as it seems to me, I am a conscientious person, it is difficult for me to go against my views. I place only those ads that I like, that are close to me. And in this case, it would be strange for me to have a civic position, and a clear opinion on the amendments to the Constitution, and their advertising - regardless of how it looked.
Everything that I say or, for example, write in my blogs is just my opinion. I emphasize that everyone can have their own, even if I disagree with him. I would be glad if one of my subscribers gives facts or examples of exactly where I am mistaken, what is wrong. I calmly admit my mistakes, because I am not a professional politician or political strategist, but an ordinary citizen of my country who has the right to his vote, his opinion and its expression. Therefore, influencers have the right to advertise everything that is offered to them - whether it is a product or an initiative, it does not matter. But to what extent do they understand their responsibility for such advertising? Do they understand what the consequences could be after such a campaign?
I never thought that political proposals should be rejected. Will explain. There is a specific blogger, and he is not just a blogger, but also a citizen of his country, in our case, the Russian Federation. He, as a citizen, supports, for example, a party. She comes to a blogger with an offer of advertising and says: “We really like what you are doing. It would be cool if you supported some of our initiatives in your social networks. " He studies her, this blogger likes her. And I do not see anything wrong with the fact that he expresses his civic position in this way. Yes, perhaps he will be paid for it - or some other nishtyak will be repaid. But this is not bad if you do not change your views and understand what you are advertising.
But if the blogger who advertises the amendments to the Constitution does not even study them, for me it is strange. I have an acquaintance who also advertised this vote - and I am absolutely sure that she did not even try to grasp the essence. If you do not understand what you are advertising, you need to refuse. Political is an initiative or advertising of some kind of cosmetics or curd. It sucks. Recall, for example, the story with Fem Fatal (cosmetic brand. - Approx. ed.). It was advertised by many millionaire bloggers, and then Katya Konasova (YouTube blogger. - Approx. ed.) discovered exactly how this cosmetics is produced, that it contains antibiotics (according to the laws of the Russian Federation, they should not be in cosmetics. - Approx. ed.) Of course, there are people who support the amendments to the Constitution, let's not write them off. But why exactly are you talking about amendments. Because you believe in them? Or because you were offered a little more money for a non-standard post?
It seems to me that people agree to such advertising only for one reason: they pay very well for it. Previously, the institution of reputation in the media did not exist and you could do whatever you want - and then, for example, say: "I am not me, and my ass is not." But now the institution of reputation is just emerging. For example, according to the scandal with Regina Todorenko, we can judge that people see and remember what you did. Therefore, only some old-timers of show business cover the voting, and young influencers mostly bypass it. But not all, of course: some, as we see, also do not disdain.
I cannot say that I am a super-oppositionist, that I am shouting "Down with power". I just express my civic position, I cannot go against my convictions. Of course, sometimes I think, and I get a slight tremor: I realize that it can be unsafe. Therefore, I try to express my thoughts tactfully and correctly so that nothing comes back to me.
Diana Korkunova
blogger, 1.4 million followers on instagram
Several years ago I received many requests for political posts - I was offered to advertise elections, to write thanks to Sergei Sobyanin and other politicians. Then they were ready to pay three hundred thousand rubles for such posts. Now requests for the publication of such an advertisement no longer come to me - I think that their customers cannot but pay attention to my oppositional attitude. If we consider any advertising publications, then their removal carries penalties or a full refund of the contract fee. But in the case of political ads, there are no contracts, so they can be removed at any time. Who and what can show you after that? Everything is on the conscience.
After I started covering the topic of amendments, they wrote to me a lot that I was sold out - although I write critical posts. I think these people just inattentively read my posts or watched my stories. Moreover, in our country they are used to the fact that the topic of politics and social responsibility is something complicated. Of course, this is partly true. I am currently doing repairs, during which I ran into a bureaucratic system in housing and communal services and management companies. You won't wish that to your enemy. In Russia there is little faith that something depends on us - and this really pushes people away from some serious policy.
Bloggers who advertise the vote are either lacking in conscience or simply acting unwise. I believe that they should talk about the fact that this vote will be completely useless - or, for example, about the need to vote against. The amendments contain several really adequate points, but they cover the main changes that will affect the future of our country. Opposition opinions are divided: someone takes Navalny's position and believes that the elections should be boycotted. Someone - that you need to gather strength and fight back the forged voices. I still stick to the second option.
I don't see anything wrong with anti-advertising of the amendments. Who am I afraid of? Who will come for me? Will they jail me? Oh well, I'm not afraid. If suddenly something happens to me because of my harmless posts on social networks, I will arrange such a public scandal for them, which will turn out negatively only for them. I am not guilty of anything, I abide by the law, I do not pay bribes, I criticize the system of our government, but I do not engage in libel. I just want a different system, a different life for my own and future generations. I do not see anything illegal in this. I am campaigning not to be afraid of anything, so to speak.
COVER: Diana Korkunova / Instagram