Moscow, February 14. Russian Nikolai Ribakov, leader of the only legal opposition party in Russia, the liberal Yábloko, assured EFE today that Russia is “very close” to becoming a dictatorship and warned that the more the conflict with the Ukraine will last, the more authoritarian it will become. Vladimir Putin’s regime.
“We are very close to being a dictatorship, but we are still in a phase of authoritarianism. Of course, the longer the military actions last, the more authoritarian the country will be,” Ribakov said at the Yabloko offices in Moscow.
Ribakov leads the only party that publicly opposes the military campaign, a pacifist position he has maintained since the first Chechen war (1994).
THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS
“There is a lot of negativity now in Russia. It is a time of hatred and disregard for human life. Stalin’s propaganda is being reinforced. Over the past year, many people have been willing to sacrifice life others for the sake of a so-called victory,” he said.
However, he believes that “Russia has not changed in the last twelve months”, but that the military intervention has aggravated “existing anti-Western and isolationist tendencies”.
“There was an attempt to break out of this spiral in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but we got it wrong very quickly and cynicism overcame compassion in politics and we quickly returned to Bolshevik dogma according to where the end justifies the means,” he said.
The result is a Presidential Constitution, a political system without division of powers and the marginalization of the people from decision-making.
AUTHORITY DRIFT
“The most dangerous thing is that the mechanism for the democratic and peaceful transfer of power has been destroyed. When everything depends on one person, the risks are great, even more so in the current situation,” he said. .
The liberal politician lamented that the conflict in Ukraine “is plunging the country more and more into a quagmire from which we must get out as soon as possible”.
“Whoever says that all this was invented by Putin, that he is guilty of everything and that if he leaves, the sun will rise from Kaliningrad to Sakhalin from morning to evening and we will all be happy, this is not even worse times may come,” he said.
According to him, the Russians are divided into two groups. “Some who support killing people are those who advocate victory for Russia or those who defend Ukraine. Others, much less, believe in never killing,” he explains. he.
“Peace advocates are seen in Russia as half-crazed. Most Russians are bloodthirsty, both for and against Putin,” he says.
PUTIN DON’T BLUFF
In a clear allusion to the West, Ribakov insists that “Putin believes everything he says”, including when he talks about a possible nuclear war.
“Don’t hesitate. Putin is not going to bluff. He anticipated his every step, including the ultimatum before the war. So far, everything he has said has brought him back to reality,” he commented.
He recalls that “Putin said that as martyrs we will go to heaven and they will fly away. This is not an allegory, it is a direct message about what can happen”.
He assures that the same can be said when the Kremlin and its closest circle say that “if there is no Putin, there is no Russia” and “without Russia, the world has no meaning for us”.
“For Putin, defeat in the war means the death of Russia. He repeatedly warned him. Nuclear weapons will be used in case the existence of the country is threatened. And from his point of view, this scenario (defeat) would be the same threat,” he argued.
He considers it important that there are more and more people, including in Russia, who are demanding that his government assess “the real threat of an outbreak of nuclear war”.
AN URGENT CEASFIRE
Yábloko proposes a ceasefire declaration, the exchange of prisoners and the investigation of war crimes as the basis for peace negotiations.
“The cessation of hostilities opens the possibility of starting peace negotiations. Without a truce, it is impossible to negotiate. Those who demand that the fighting continue are not in the trenches,” he said.
He believes that “a world or a Europe without Russia is not possible” and that “the sinking of Russians and Europeans” does not suit the United States either.
“There are only four people in the world who can do it: Putin, Zelensky, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. Defeat is unacceptable for Russia and also for the West. And if neither side finds the acceptable defeat, then they will have to think about stopping the war,” he said.