One of the unique features before the start of the election procedure was the passionate, with elements of mutual resentment, public dispute between Vladimir Putin’s opponents over whether to obey Alexei Navalny’s instructions given by his co-workers or whether to involve their own reason and emotion.
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Navalny’s people have published a list of so-called smart voting, ie the names of candidates to whom the opponents of the current Russian regime are to cast their vote in elections in order to weaken Putin’s United Russia. But the result is very controversial.
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In a situation where virtually no opposition forces are allowed, Navalny called for massive support for the Stalinist communists. 137 recommendations were issued for them, 48 recommendations for the nationalist group Just Russia – For the Truth.
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Navalny himself told from the camp in a relatively angry tone that these recommendations should not be muddled and should be fulfilled. “Since 2003, ie ALMOST 20 YEARS, individual individual candidates have not won the State Duma elections,” he stated as his main argument. But these candidates can hardly be considered independent, let alone those run by the Communist Party.
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Putin’s opponents have forgotten their main rival, the Kremlin, and are arguing with each other on a small media square Putin has left them to support whether or not to support Stalin’s descendants.
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Well-known liberal Leonid Gozman claims that he should vote for the Communists because, according to him, this is a blow to the system. He also writes that “instead of one bastard from United Russia, you will help another bastard from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation or the LDSR, who will be equally subordinate to the Kremlin and will still vote for its cannibal laws.” Gozman’s conclusion is unexpected: “It turns out that society can do something, and therefore the state must take it into account.”
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However, the well-known publicist, writer and former dissident, 85-year-old Lev Timofeyev, argues that Navalny’s clever vote can strengthen the Communists so much that they feel compelled to “throw off their clown robes and begin to claim real power. Nationalization? Stalinization? What else will they want to establish? ”Timofejev asks the question and continues:“ Will we soon witness the war in the terrarium? Or will we experience a full-fledged civil war in which no one will remain a mere observer? ”
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In a recent Levada Center survey, 49 percent of respondents supported a return to the Soviet Union’s political and economic system. Almost half of the Russians are ready for the transition from Putin’s mud to Stalin’s puddle.
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| Through the eyes of Sasha Mitrofanova |
| Alexander Mitrofanov most often comments on domestic political events and topics related to developments in Russia. You can also play this podcast at Podcasty.cz, Spotify or on Apple Podcasts. |
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