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To defeat Putin, or at least punish him severely, we need to understand who he is. Unfortunately, too many people in Western countries still consider him a legitimate political leader, debate his ideology, and seek political logic in his actions. This is a big mistake, creating new mistakes and helping Putin repeatedly deceive his enemies.
President Putin is not a politician, he is a gangster. The reason why Alexei Navalny has become famous in Russia and hated by Putin is precisely because from the beginning of the fight he has led Putin and his allies to achieve their own wealth and personal ambitions. This is because they have openly stated that they are a gang that seized power and used it for their own purposes.
Look at Putin as the leader of a mafia group. You will understand his brutality, cynicism, penchant for violence, taste for ostentatious luxury, and his willingness to lie and murder. His talk about religion, history, culture, and politics can all mislead Westerners. But although everyone knows that in Russia, gangsters have always loved to flaunt large crosses, pose in churches and show that they are warriors of higher justice and traditional values. , in their understanding, boils down to the ruthless code of conduct of professional criminals.
If you look at Putin as a mafia boss, you will see how to punish him and hasten his end. Status is very important to criminal leaders, both within the gang and in the outside world. Putin can seize power in Russia, declare himself the legitimate president, or even be crowned the successor of the Russian tsar. But why do democracies continue to recognize his criminal powers as legitimate? Why have the world’s fairly elected leaders been rigged elections for decades and detracted from their critics? Will we put ourselves on the same level as the criminals who killed, imprisoned or exiled everyone, and now attacked Ukraine and sparked a bloody war in Europe?
I do not promise that not recognizing the results of this weekend’s Russian presidential election will lead to the immediate collapse of Putin’s regime. But the fact that Russia is ruled not by an undisputed president but by a despised and publicly denounced figure sends an important signal to Russia’s civil society and elites still loyal to Putin, and to the world. It will be. Only then will those who remain loyal to President Putin begin to realize that the only way to return to normal economic and political life is to remove him.
Money is very important to criminal leaders. President Putin is indifferent to the suffering of ordinary people in both Ukraine and Russia. He doesn’t care about Russia’s economy – as long as there is enough money to maintain the military and security services and line his and his colleagues’ pockets. The only thing that really hurts Putin is the loss of income. While it may be difficult to directly target him at this point, it is possible to deprive his inner circle, representatives, and decision-makers of their ill-gotten gains.
Depriving gangsters of their wealth will cause them to lose loyalty to the leader. This is why I call for the maximum expansion and careful enforcement of sanctions against all more or less prominent Putin-aligned politicians, so-called businessmen, civil servants and law enforcement officials. By depriving thousands of influential figures of capital and assets, they lay the foundations for internal divisions and ultimately the collapse of the regime.
Extensive support for Ukraine and its military in the fight against President Putin’s unjust aggression has become a natural moral choice for Western countries. President Putin’s military defeat in Ukraine should push his regime to the brink of collapse. However, there are cases in history where defeat did not lead to the collapse of the dictator. For example, Saddam Hussein’s defeat in Kuwait did not end his rule. Hussein and his gang terrorized the people of Iraq and neighboring countries for another ten years. Supporting forces of resistance from within Russia is essential to prevent Putin’s regime from overcoming new crises, including the one caused by military setbacks in Ukraine.
Do not think that all Russian citizens support Putin and his war. Russia is under a harsh dictatorship. The number of political prisoners in Russia is three times higher than when the Soviet regime was fighting dissidents. Human rights are being trampled on and there is no freedom of speech or protest. But even in such difficult conditions, Russians find ways to demonstrate against the repressive regime. Any opportunity to legitimately express grievances becomes a mass protest. Hundreds of thousands of people lined up to register as anti-war candidates for the presidential election.
Her husband’s funeral in Moscow also sparked several days of protests. Despite all the efforts of the authorities, thousands of people visited his grave and covered it with flowers. People know that the regime is tracking all participants and that they can be punished later, but they still show up in Moscow and all over Russia.
My husband’s latest appeal to Russians was to join the “Anti-Putin at Noon” campaign. He called on all opponents of President Putin to come to the polls at noon on March 17, voting day. The goal is not to influence the outcome of the vote, which will be tampered with anyway, and not to support Putin’s puppets, who are allowed on the ballot. Alexei wanted to turn this into a nationwide protest, highlighting the unfairness of Putin’s election and the resistance of Russian civil society.
I call on Western political leaders to support all Russians against Putin’s gang. I urge you all to finally listen to the voice of Free Russia and take a principled attitude towards him, not to recognize the falsified election results, not to recognize Putin as the legitimate president of Russia. I ask.
The world must finally realize that President Putin is not who he wanted him to be. He is a usurper, a tyrant, a war criminal, and a murderer.
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