What Putin Views as His Greatest Victory in Fact His Greatest Loss, Gozman Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 2 – Because no one believes the figures the Kremlin has released, what Vladimir Putin views as his greatest victory, the approval of constitutional amendments that may keep him in office and free his hands to act as he wishes, is in fact “the greatest defeat” he has suffered in the 20 years since he first became president, Leonid Gozman says.

            The opposition politician who heads the Union of Right Forces says that this is because “no one believes” the results officials have reported. Not only that but those in power  know that “everyone knows they are lying” (gordonua.com/blogs/gozman/pobeda-putina-eto-samyy-bolshoy-ego-proigrysh-za-20-let-nikto-ne-verit-v-ih-cifry-1507454.html).

            Putin and his minions “wanted to demonstrate national unity but have been forced to acknowledge that more than a fifth of the citizenry voted against – and this is already not the two percent-sized fifth column and foreign agents. This is a significant part of the people in the name of which [those in office] no longer have the right to speak.”

            And just imagine, Gozman says, how many “in fact” voted against the amendments before the authorities engaged in massive falsification. Moreover, those who did vote yes more often than not did so not for Putin. In the old Soviet tradition, this was simply an act of loyalty and a demonstration that you do not want to have any interaction with the authorities.”

            The vote was thus not an act of approval but rather something else because being forced to vote out of those considerations, those who did so now “hate the regime even more than those who voted against or simply did not take part in this farce,” the Russian opposition politician continues.

            For a long time already, Russians haven’t liked Putin and with each of his mistakes have ceased to respect him. But now, after this latest farce and the regime’s hysterical promotions, Russians “have come to despise” him and his regime because “they not simply violated the law” but behaved with arrogance and stupidity.

            “It was clear to everything that they are mortally afraid;” and they should be, Gozman says, because “there cannot be a stable power which people despise.” The powers may hold on for a certain time, relying on the Russian Guard, setting one group against another and organizing pogroms, and even keeping people too poor to think about other things.

             Now in the wake of the vote, the opposition party leader says, it is also clear that they “have lost and that they will leave.” Their departure by itself won’t solve all of Russia’s problems; but at least Russians will be able to address them without the interference of Putin and his cabal.