Paul Goble
Staunton, Mar. 4 – In the clearest sign that opposition to the war is spreading among Russian officials and that the Kremlin plans to purge anyone who objects to what Vladimir Putin is doing there, Vladislav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, says that any Russian official who supports the Ukrainian government must leave his post.
In his telegram channel, the Duma speaker denounces those who support Ukraine and oppose Russia’s efforts to prevent a NATO attack on Russia must be called what they are “collaborationists,” people who must not have any place in Russia let alone in government agencies (stoletie.ru/obschestvo/rossii_nuzhno_ochishhenije_821.htm).
In reporting his words, the Russian nationalist Stoletiye portal says that such people aren’t going to leave their jobs voluntarily: they have too much power and make too much money for that. But then they must be forced out and brought to justice. Failing to do so, the portal says, would be “a betrayal of our heroes.”
Given that Volodin is closely tied to the Kremlin and that his words on other subjects have often been a leading indicator of where the Putin regime is headed, it seems likely that the Russian government is planning a purge or at the very least threatening one in the hopes of putting a lid on criticism among its own ranks
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