Putin Right to Call for the Russian People to Endure Ukrainian Drone Attacks but Dangerously Wrong to Act as if Elites Don’t Have To, Pastukhov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 12 – Putin and his regime are “completely correct” in calling for Russians to show patience in enduring the current wave of Ukrainian drone attacks, Vladimir Pastukhov says; but he and his colleagues are dangerously wrong to then act as if that appeal doesn’t apply to them.

            Russian elites are able to get gasoline when others cannot and to avoid sending their sons to fight in Ukraine when the offspring of others are not able to do the same, the London-based Russian analyst says (t.me/v_pastukhov/1952 reposted at echofm.online/opinions/poterpet-oni-predlagayut-drugim-a-ne-sebe).

            During World War II, members of the elite, including Stalin’s own children, fought in the war and all suffered from the shortages and risks; but now, the Putin regime is calling on Russians as a whole to suffer but not showing any willingness for its own members to do the same, Pastukhov says.

            That pattern risks triggering “a sense of class hatred,” with those being encouraged to endure saying that those doing the encouraging aren’t willing to endure the same things.  This all started, of course, a decade ago when Russians were told “there is no money but you need to hold on.” Now the situation is far worse because it is far more obvious.