Editorial|Yulia Navalnaya and Vladimir Kara-Murza, the prominent figures of Russia’s democratic opposition in exile, visited Helsinki to meet with the Finnish government.
VJulija Navalnaya and Vladimir Kara-Murza, the two prominent figures of the former democratic opposition, visited Helsinki on Thursday and Friday. Officially, they were guests of the Finnish delegation of the Parliamentary General Assembly of the Council of Europe, but the program included meetings with the entire current state leadership.
The prestigious program was not a surprise, as both Navalnaya and Kara-Murza have recently met a lot with the leadership of Western countries. They have become leading actors of the opposition in exile, whose status and prestige have been increased by personal sacrifices and experiences.
Navalnaya is the widow of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian prison camp in February, and has continued his work after her husband’s death. On the other hand, Kara-Murza, a long-time opposition politician who received a 25-year sentence for resisting the Russian invasion, was released at the beginning of last month in a major prisoner exchange.
The moral authority of Navalnaya and Kara-Murza opens doors and brings attention, which is important for the exiled opposition. Describing cruel prison experiences is Kara-Murza’s way of telling the world about the harshness of Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship and reminding us of the political prisoners languishing in prisons in Russia and Belarus. At the same time, it is a way to talk about political goals.
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There are very weak light sources left in Russia.
The message became clear to Kara-Murzan In an interview with Helsingin Sanomat. First of all, according to him, in the West, Russia should not only be associated with Putin and his dictatorship, but also with the “other Russia”, that is, with people who oppose Putin’s dictatorship and its actions.
Kara-Murza also reminded that political systems in Russia often fall quickly and unexpectedly, and he predicted that this would also happen to Putin’s system. According to Kara-Murza, we have to start preparing for it now, so that we know how to act correctly in such a situation to guarantee democracy. Mistakes were made during the collapse of the Soviet Union, for which a heavy price is now being paid, he pointed out.
Vladimir Putin has built a system for Russia that is tough on the surface but hollow on the inside. It is difficult to estimate how long the system will last, especially after Putin.
One option is the collapse predicted by Kara-Murza, but its consequences are difficult to predict. Kara-Murza’s wish and goal is a democratic and rule-respecting Russia, but unfortunately many much more unpleasant alternatives are possible and even more likely.
Nor can the recklessness of ordinary Russians be explained only by repression and propaganda. There is no guarantee that the majority of Russians would be ready for, for example, the kind of accounting on the war in Ukraine that the development of the country would really require.
OFyt it’s dark in Russia. There are only very weak light sources left. There is practically no free civil society, and opposition activity is only possible from abroad. Even a very small-scale protest is dangerous. Courts are constantly handing down long prison sentences for very heinous acts.
Only time will tell what kind of role the liberal opposition represented by Kara-Murza will play in Russia after Putin. His views are still worth listening to.
It is only reasonable that Western countries also prepare for the option that at some point Russia wants to join the group of democratic, rule-abiding states. Plans and road maps should be ready by then.
Unfortunately, it is even more important to be prepared for the situation to continue as it is now or for it to clearly worsen.
The editorials are HS’s positions on a current topic. The articles are prepared by HS’s editorial department, and they reflect the magazine principle line.
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