It would be a mistake not to admit that lobbying does not concern the individual citizen who leads a humble and peaceful life. Even the fact that alcohol and tobacco, which bring billions of dollars in losses to the state every year, are freely sold and cost a penny, speaks of total lobbying of state systems.
The term lobbying comes from the English word lobby, which means lobbies. And the lobbies, as you know, are utility rooms in the parliament building, intended for the rest of civil servants. Thus, the very term lobbying (lobbying) means negotiations and agreements hidden from the eyes of journalists and the public. It is difficult to name the exact date of the appearance of lobbying as a phenomenon, but it is known that lobbying has long roots and it existed even in the era of the USSR. In all cases, lobbyists represent the interests of private corporations or individuals interested in promoting a specific bill. In countries with developed social institutions, lobbyists resort to very cunning and intricate tricks, the list of which includes manipulation of public opinion through the media, distracting maneuvers in the form of high-profile events unencumbered by high meaning, as well as the direct participation of corrupt officials in elections and drafting the necessary bills afterwards.
Lobbying is directly linked to corruption. And, if in countries with an active society, lobbyists need to learn tricks, then in countries with an amorphous society, it is enough just to give a bribe.
Lobbying and lobbyists in Russia
Lobbying in Russia has two spectra: hidden and open. Open lobbying is carried out through various types of associations such as the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the federal and regional levels, unions of manufacturers and associations of service providers. Many are aware of the latest bill restricting the freedom to purchase through foreign online stores. This bill was initiated by the Association of Internet Trade Companies to protect their interests from foreign online stores offering buyers from Russia the purchase of high-quality goods at a very low price. Thus, an example of such a law shows a vivid example of lobbying on the territory of Russia, because the rights of buyers were severely violated due to a sharp rise in the price of goods. The example of lobbying is also very clear against the background of the state's alcohol policy.
Lobbyists always find illogical reasons to justify their actions. For example, citizens are told that restricting the sale of alcohol is a violation of the rights of alcoholics.
After all, beer in Russia is not officially an alcoholic product, even despite the fact that this drink contains alcohol. In addition, alcohol in Russia can be sold to persons who have reached the age of 18, that is, practically to children, which is also an example of lobbying for the interests of brewing companies. Latent lobbying can only be recognized by an absurd bill that violates the rights of ordinary citizens.
The absurdity of lobbying
The absurdity of the lobbyists' arguments can be traced to the example of alcohol. From school, people are taught that excise taxes from the sale of alcohol and tobacco bring substantial income to the state treasury. But in practice this is not true. When calculating state budget revenues, only the profit from the excise tax is taken into account, but no one takes into account the trillions of rubles that the country spends on the treatment of diseases caused by alcohol. In addition, the government spends billions of rubles on the treatment of injuries sustained in a drunken brawl or during accidents caused by drunk drivers. Also, economic growth is significantly reduced, due to the fact that a drinking worker is more stupid than a teetotaler, gets injured at work and produces low-quality products.