What do you think of the Western policy to impose sanctions on Russia for the suppression of the opposition?
“There is no need to impose sanctions on Russia. Sanctions must be imposed, much stricter than now, against those who rob Russia, impoverish her people and deprive them of a future. This should be called “a package of sanctions in support of the Russian people, against corruption, lies and tyranny”.
Let’s say this clearly: For now, all sanctions were tailor-made to avoid almost all major participants in Putin’s gangster gang. Do you want proof? Name a real culprit who has suffered. The planes, the yachts, the billions on western banks – everything is in its place.
The leaders of the West, especially President Biden, should show real decisiveness in the fight against corruption. First of all, stop calling Putin’s oligarchs businessmen. Any Putin bandit or mafiosi who calls themselves a “businessman” is almost immediately seen as “almost one of our guys”, a person you can do business with.
It’s interesting that lawmakers understand this. Statements by the leaders and participants of the anti-corruption caucus, which was recently formed in the US Congress, are true. European Parliament representatives are determined to impose sanctions on oligarchs. But executives on both sides of the Atlantic struggle with an army of lawyers, lobbyists and bankers fighting for the right of owners of dirty and gory money to go unpunished.
This is why I call for the personal targeting of oligarchs and evildoers. Such actions by the West will be fully supported by Russian society and cause for celebration. In the eyes of an ordinary person, these very measures will show that the West is not hypocritical – they are not all the same – and finally someone has stood up for the interests of ordinary people.
Does the threat of additional Western sanctions help protect you in prison?
It’s hard to say. On the one hand, with real incomes falling for the population for seven years in a row, Putin is genuinely concerned that new sectoral sanctions will crash the Russian economy. On the other hand, the “I don’t give in to pressure” attitude has long since turned into its trademark, irrational struggle. If they demand something of me, I do the opposite, even if it is at the expense of my own interests. As they say in Russia, “I get frostbite in my ears to bully my mother.”
