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“My party is told to go to the field and play, but by no means score goals,” V. Žirinovskis complained.
15 minutes He has already written about the arrest of the popular governor of the Khabarovsk region, Sergei Furgal, his reasons and what the massive protests that have intensified there could mean.
Photo by Scanpix / ITAR-TASS / Arrest of Sergei Van
Perhaps, according to Marius Laurinavičius, chief analyst at the Vilnius Institute for Political Analysis, S. Furgal has been a victim of the struggle of the Russian clans, and perhaps we can talk about the carefully coordinated systemic opposition system of the Kremlin.
Journalists working in Khabarovsk testify that the mood there is really decisive, and that the local police express sympathy for the protesters. Is this a sign that it is much more difficult for Putin to control the regions?
Photo from TASS / Protest in Khabarovsk
“Society is out of control,” says Yuri Korguniuk, a political scientist at the Russian Academy of Sciences. “Old instruments no longer work.”
Surprise in Khabarovsk
One such instrument of the Kremlin is any opposition to the regime by cooling it down by targeting systemic opposition parties. Such political forces are the Communists and the Liberal Democrats of V. Žirinovskis.
They continue to criticize Putin, but then lose to him or United Russia in the elections. V. Zhirinovsky went to the presidency three times.
Similar schemes are being developed in the regions. Communist and nationalist candidates share the voices of the opposition, which almost invariably guarantees the victory of the ruling United Russia.
S. Furgal, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, was supposed to play the same role in 2018. But Moscow was not surprised when it even won the election of the governor of Khabarovsk; Deliberations immediately erupted when and how the Kremlin would eliminate it.
Communist and nationalist candidates share the voices of the opposition, which almost invariably guarantees the victory of the ruling United Russia.
That day finally dawned last Thursday when law enforcement officers pulled Furgal out of the back seat of a Lexus and took him to Moscow.
The Khabarovsk governor is suspected of ordering two murders a few years ago and is now under arrest for two months.
Scanpix / ITAR-TASS photo / Sergei Furgal arrested
But the inhabitants of the Khabarovsk region, where S. Furgal is really popular, were furious and flooded the streets with his arrest. Demonstrations of this size have not been there for almost three decades.
“He was the only governor to lift the region from the bottom after many years,” said Olesia Usolceva-Zimina, 41, who plans to go to a new protest on Saturday. “Obviously he didn’t like the Kremlin.”
A difficult situation
Really? According to many analysts, probably, but certainly not because Furgal was very transparent and fair, but because he did not listen to Moscow’s instructions. But it may also be that the Kremlin and Putin in particular did not like Furgal’s growing popularity.
Last year, a recording of a telephone conversation was deliberately leaked, in which Putin’s representative in the Russian Far East was heard to accuse S. Furgal that his ratings were increasing in Khabarovsk and the President was falling.
Reuters / Photo by Scanpix / Sergei Furgal
Proponents of S. Furgal say the latest fall of the Putin regime was the news that only 44 percent attended the referendum on the constitutional amendments in Khabarovsk in early July. population with the right to vote.
“I think a lot of people will agree that he could have been involved in less beautiful things.” But we want our choice to be respected, “said Mamayev, 33, who protests with others.
Such anger put V.Zirinovskis in an awkward position. If I make too much noise, Putin will get angry and will no longer protect you, will not allow you to earn more.
Photo by Scanpix / ITAR-TASS / Vladimir Zhirinovsky
So far, the Liberal Democrat leader is trying to maneuver. In the State Duma, he fiercely defends S. Furgal and accuses V. Putin of Stalinist repression.
But Zhirinovsky also warned protesters that they are at high risk of participating in unauthorized demonstrations. In fact, on the same Thursday, S. Furgalas himself delivered through his lawyer, asking the protesters to stop protesting.
“The situation is such that he (V.Žirinovskis, – ed.) Cannot be in opposition, he is dangerous. Žirinovskis mainly considers his party as a business, so it is problematic for him to criticize the government,” says the political scientist. J. Korguniukas.
Timid criticism of Putin
According to other analysts, both Zhirinovsky and the Kremlin should understand that dissatisfaction with Furgal’s arrest could become support for other opposition politicians, such as Alexei Navaln.
The Khabarovsk branch of the latter movement contributes greatly to the organization of the protests. Navaln is generally an increasingly recognizable face in Russia, although it is not yet mentioned on state television.
Photo by Scanpix / ITAR-TASS / Protests in Khabarovsk
“Zhirinovsky’s people should fight more boldly for their own interests. They should take their job as a political leader more seriously,” says O. Usolceva-Zimina.
Zhirinovsky sees his party primarily as a business, making it critical for him to criticize the government.
Speaking to The New York Times: “Zhirinovsky admitted that he can lose a lot of popularity. According to him, after S. Furgal won the elections, the Kremlin tried to persuade the new governor to leave the Liberal Democratic Party.
“It’s scary. Who will suffer for a team that always loses?” Asked Zhirinovsky, who is famous for his racist and sexist outbreaks, and added calls to Russia to occupy the former Soviet republics.
He supported Putin’s proposed amendments to Russia’s constitution, and was pleased that Putin could rule the country until his death. But in an interview with The New York Times, V. Zirinovskis made it clear that he saw that Putin was already bothering the Russians.
Photo by Scanpix / ITAR-TASS / Vladimir Zhirinovsky
“There will definitely be a new president, perhaps in 2024, perhaps earlier, or perhaps in 2028 or 2030. Khabarovsk demonstrated that today nothing can be done by force, that elections cannot be manipulated today,” said V. Zhirinovsky.
Indeed, Vitaly Blazevich, a longtime critic of Putin and who worked at a university in China, attended the demonstration in Khabarovsk on Saturday. In any case, V. Žirinovskis’ rhetoric is “absolutely unacceptable”.
“The van, of course, is not Vaclav Havel. But where do we get Vaclav Havel from? If people sing about Putin’s resignation, then I will be with these people,” said V. Blaževičius.
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