Everything Becomes Clear in Russia If You Call Things by Their Real Names, Babchenko Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, March 13 – Putin’s greatest success has been in getting Russians and many others to call things in Russia by other than their real names, but everything about his system becomes clear if one uses not his terms for this or that phenomenon but rather the proper terms for it, Arkady Babchenko says.

            In a comment on the Kasparov portal, the Moscow commentator says that this simple act of replacing false names with real ones clarifies things almost instantly and provides the best possible guidance on how everyone should respond in ways different that Vladimir Putin and his regime want (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=5AA6995DCB00A).

            When the Putin media use the expression “elections of the President of the Russian Federation in Crimea,” that immediately raises many questions. How can this be? Should one take part or not? Should one vote for one of the opposition candidates? Or perhaps not vote at all,” Babchenko continues.

            But if one recognizes that each of the words the Putin regime uses is intended to hide reality and to mislead people and then substitutes for them the words that in fact describe the situation, everything becomes instantly clear.

            “There are no elections of the President of the Russian Federation in Crimea. Because to start with, there is no such thing as a Federation. A federation is a state formation in which the subjects have the right to a definite degree of independence. Russia is a unitary state administrated not just from one center but by one man.”

            Moreover, Babchenko continues, “there is no President because a President is an elected position and Vladimir Putin is a usurper. He seized power by force. There are no elections because elections are a FREE expression of the will of citizens, with all candidates having access to the media, the opportunity to form parties and register, honest voting and so on.”

            Instead, what is happening in Russia on March 18 is “a forced special operation to extend the term of the usurper on the throne. And there is no Russian region called ‘Crimea.’ What there is is occupied Ukrainian territory. Consequently, there are no ‘elections of the President of the Russian Federation in Crimea.”

            Rather, Babchenko concludes, there is “an operation of the occupation command under the direction of a gauleiter for territories that have been seized.” And he notes that with the correct terminology, all questions fall away and answer themselves, albeit not in ways the Kremlin wants.

            It is long past time for everyone to “call things by their own names.”