From: Matt Taibbi <exile.taibbi at matrix.ru> Subject: Yuri Luzhkov's Phallic conflict Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2000
the eXile Yuri Luzhkov's Phallic Conflict By Dr. N.I. Kimmelman
Less than a year ago Yury Luzhkov seemed the most likely presidential candidate. Now, his chances are so slim that he is not even daring to run. What has happened in the public psyche to cause such a dramatic decline of popularity?
We believe that Mr. Luzhkov's greatest weakness as a political figure is the unconscious conflict which causes certain peculiarities in his behavior. As we have mentioned in the previous article, Mr. Luzhkov displays characteristics of a phallic leader, the historic and rather natural choice for rulers of Russia, ever since the time of czars. Let us consider the apparent evidence of this. First of all, Luzhkov's basic promise is to feed the people, a continuation of the traditional phallic-oral dependence mechanism. Luzhkov's paternalistic stance is another sign of this, as well as his preoccupation with fate of the Crimean peninsula, a Southern appendage Russia was deprived of. His obsession with construction, or rather erection is clearly of phallic nature. If one makes a comprehensive survey of buildings constructed in Moscow over the last 10 years, it will be extremely hard to overlook the fact that almost half of them incorporate a tower or other phallus-shaped elements. In fact, it appears that Mr. Luzhkov identifies himself with a phallus to such an extent that he finds it inappropriate to leave his hairless apex undressed and covers it with a cap.
However, our argument is that Mr. Luzhkov's character is marred by an underlying neurotic conflict. We believe that his phallic personality was formed not as a result of normal, healthy psychic development, but as a defense, or compensation mechanism. Unconsciously, Luzhkov feels insecure in his phallic role, as he fears inferiority in his masculine performance. Whether this is a result of a certain physiological dysfunction, childhood trauma or simply the subject's moderate vertical dimensions remains an open question in absence of a thorough psychoanalytic investigation. Meanwhile, manifestations of this conflict are quite visible.
His relationship with Moscow is an illustrative example. Moscow was always perceived as a feminine, vaginal symbol in Russian culture, as opposed to St.Petersburg, build by Peter from ground up as a masculine, phallic replacement for the historic capital. Mr. Luzhkov now strives to revert this situation, despite the fact that a purely phallic personality would be content to have domination over a feminine formation. This pursuit is flawed by Mr. Luzhkov's unconscious pathology. He first builds the phallus colossum of Peter the Great monument, and then excavates the vaginal Manezh square complex just across the river. There are similar plans to build another underground mall right in front of the University high-rise building. Preference in Moscow urban development is given to anything oblong as well as anything cavity-shaped. Also consider the similar conflicting symbolism of the name of Luzhkov's electoral movement: Fatherland (masculine)-All Russia (feminine). These are signs of a confused sex-role identity, as the subject is torn by two conflicting needs: to compensate his complex of masculine inferiority by planting phallic symbols and to emphasize feminine characteristics of the object of his political courtship.
We are not the first to reveal this psychopathologic weakness of Mr. Luzhkov. Recently, it was exploited by his political adversaries with outstanding skill and striking cynicism. It was not allegations of criminal connections or mismanagement that murdered Yury Luzhkov's popularity - it was Sergei Dorenko's innuendo, cold-bloodedly aimed at Moscow Mayor's greatest weakness - his dostoinstvo. As you may remember, when elections approached, Dorenko proceeded to refer with increasing frequency to Yury Luzhkov's "dignity" in connection with the libel suit and the size of compensation demanded by the Moscow Mayor. He then divided the sum of the final award by the claimed compensation, and applied the resulting ratio to the size of Mr. Luzhkov's dostoinstvo. This demonstration was not very flattering to the Mayor, particularly if one considers that in Russian dostoinstvo has a clear connotation of a masculine attribute. Although completely irrational and rather harmless at first sight, this was the final and a devastating blow to Luzhkov's parliamentary and presidential prospects. It was an extremely effective signal to the public unconscious, a small detail which triggered an unconscious insight revealing his psychopathology. Respect and trust or hate and loathing a phallic figure normally causes in people were replaced by pity - a fiasco for Mr.Luzhkov's campaign. The way this brilliantly calculated intervention, which in a single gesture revealed to mass psyche a concept that took me this many words to rationally explain, makes us suspect behind-the-scenes involvement of a certain Dr. G. This man of no principles has on numerous occasions betrayed the psychoanalytic code of ethics by making this potent instrument serve dubious purposes. I hope that editors of this extraordinary publication will one day provide me with an opportunity to reveal the whole truth about Dr. G. and his role in many of pathological processes in Russian society.