“If someone currently wants to call himself a pro-Putin party in Bulgaria, then he says about himself: ‘I am a pro-fascist party’.” This is what Putin’s opponent and former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky says in an interview with BNR. The interview was given to a radio correspondent in Brussels, where Khodorkovsky was attending a meeting of the Russian democratic opposition in the European Parliament.
Asked what he would say to people who believe in the pro-Russian party Vazrazhdane, which is gaining popularity in Bulgaria, which is fighting for the country’s exit from NATO and against the introduction of the euro, as well as to Putin’s admirers, the oppositionist says that he does not like it. when an analogy is drawn between pro-Russian and Putin admirers. Because he perfectly imagines a pro-Russian party in Bulgaria and would perfectly understand a pro-Bulgarian Russian party, “since we have always been in the same cultural space”.
“Putin is another matter – it should not be said that he is pro-Russian, this is a pro-dictatorship party. If we have to be more specific and say what type this dictatorship is – it is a pro-fascist party. If someone currently wants to call himself a pro-Putin party in Bulgaria, he says about himself: “I am a pro-fascist party.” And we have to say this absolutely unequivocally”, explains Khodorkovsky.
The leader of “Vazrazhdane” said several times that they will open the camp in Belene and send their opponents there, the BNR correspondent recalls and asks if Khodorkovsky would share from his personal experience what such a camp is like?
“If you’re in a modern Russian camp, you won’t be starved or cold, but you won’t be treated like a human being. You are some kind of animal that they keep there and take care of to some extent, but it has to follow commands. And for me personally, as a person, this was probably the hardest – relatively speaking, if I had to choose between this dehumanization and the freer cutting of wood, I would choose the latter,” Khodorkovsky shares his experience.
Asked how he sees his own role after Putin’s regime, he says that after Putin, Russia will be a country on the brink of collapse. According to him, anyone who thinks that Russia should be destroyed is making a mistake. If this is necessary for someone, then his task is to support Putin.
“The longer Putin is in power, the more likely it is that Russia will become a battleground where a new dictator will be born, and so it will start all over again. It will be a shambles at first, so post-Putin Russia will be something that will require enormous effort. And, of course, these huge efforts will be able to be realized by people who are between the ages of 30 and 40 today. I think that for the limit over 40 it will be difficult. I have managed various companies for a very long time and I have seen that if the company develops more or less stably, then any person of any age can work in it if they are smart enough. And if a moment of heavy transition to another model of development is needed, not only mind is needed, but also a high degree of adaptability. And adaptability is still a quality of the young. Therefore, the task that I see before me is to bring the youth into the political orbit. And if I cope with it, I will consider that I have done what depends on me”, says Khodorkovsky.
This is exactly the task of the conference of the Russian democratic opposition that started in Brussels, in the EP. Representatives of anti-war movements and opposition organizations, which can be called the next generation – younger than those currently known, are invited to it.
“We can confidently state that a significant part of these people are those who, after the regime changes within the next 5 years, will play a significant role in the construction of a new Russia. Because at the moment there are not so many active people with organizational abilities, and it was precisely them that Putin tried to throw out of Russia. These people are municipal deputies, leaders of small social movements, so to speak, the youth part of the representatives of political movements. They stood out from the crowd with their active stance. And that’s exactly why they were purged from Russia,” believes Khodorkovsky.
