vladibo666. Entries tagged with putin

By ALEXEY A. NAVALNY MARCH 19, 2014

MOSCOW — AS I write this, I am under house arrest. I was detained at a rally in

support of anti-Putin protesters who were jailed last month.

In September, I ran for mayor of Moscow as a pro-reform, pro-democracy opposition

candidate and received almost a third of the vote despite having no access to state

media. Today, my blog, which was until recently visited by over two million readers per

month, has been blocked as “extremist” after I called for friendly ties with Ukraine and

compliance with international law.

For years, I have been telling journalists that President Vladimir V. Putin’s approval

rating would soon peak and then tumble. Russia’s economy is stagnant, I said, and the

Russian people would soon weary of the president’s empty promises. Even a rally-

round-the-flag military adventure — a “little war,” as it’s known in Russia — would be

impossible, I believed. Russia no longer had enemies.

Then, on Feb. 28, Russia sent troops to Ukraine in precisely such a “little war.” I admit

that I underestimated Mr. Putin’s talent for finding enemies, as well as his dedication to

ruling as “president for life,” with powers on par with the czars’.

As a citizen and patriot, I cannot support actions against Russia that would worsen

conditions for our people. Still, I recommend two options that, if successfully

implemented, I believe would be welcomed by most Russians.

First, although Mr. Putin’s invasion has already prompted the European Union to impose

sanctions on 21 officials, and the United States on seven, most of these government

figures cannot be considered influential. They do not have major assets outside Russia

and are irrelevant to Mr. Putin; sanctioning them will not change Russia’s policy. After

all the tough talk from Western politicians, this action is mocked in Russia and even

seen as a tacit encouragement to Mr. Putin and his entourage, who seem to possess some

magical immunity.

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