The author of this article – Russian economist and political scientist, Professor V.L. Inozemtsev – analyzes the current political regime in Russia, arguing that the ruling elite systematically rejects any calls for change, thus carrying the nation, in his opinion, towards an inevitable clash with the changing economic and political reality. Being sure of the unwillingness of the president to liberalize the political domain, the author advances the concept of what he calls “preventive democracy” – a type of deliberative procedure aimed at elaborating some kind of compromise between elite and opposition.