What Happened To Russia — And What To Do With It

🇷🇺 РУССКОЯЗЫЧНАЯ ВЕРСИЯ | 🇷🇺 RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE VERSION

I have devoted more than 10 years to studying public life and striving for its peaceful improvement in Russia and the world. And my aspirations — among other things — have been tested by public activism during Navalnyi’s campaign, by participation in the peaceful protests, by monitoring the 2018 presidential «elections» as an independent observer, by cooperation with Navalny’s Headquarters and international media, by pressure at the university, by police pressure, by court hearings in Russia, by persecution by special agencies of the Russian government, by independent non-profit journalism, by helping with peaceful protests organizing, and by informational and financial help for peaceful civilians from Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and other countries.

On June 15, 2022, I ended my anonymous, non-profit journalistic activities — and a couple of months later, I was already writing what I wanted to say in a series of interviews: about my life in Russia from 1996 to 2017, about my political activism from 2017 to 2019, about my forced emigration from Russia to the U.S. in 2019, about international journalism and information distribution for 2 and a half years, and about analysis of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Six months ago, I have already known all the topics that I was going to touch during all parts of the interview — but I definitely had no idea how psychologically difficult it would be for me to record each of the series. How sickening it can be to mention events I have lived with since 2014 and thought about for several last years — absolutely every day. How much doubt I could have before publishing all of that. I rewrote my thoughts on paper several dozen times — for each interview. I wrote, rewrote, erased, stopped working, went back to the work, started again. Dozens of times. Spent weeks, months. For each interview.

I promised myself that our last conversation would only happen if my last prediction comes true, which I publicly announced to all my friends and acquaintances on the day Russia invaded Ukraine — that the Russian government will close its borders to all the men it could use in the trenches. This happened on the fourteenth of April.

The point of no return has been passed. Putin’s regime has become a fascist dictatorship.

Now, I am ready for one last conversation on this subject. Not with an anonymous man in a mask but with you. I will tell you about my views on what happened to Russia and what to do with it.

As I said in the very first interview, I do not know how my family and relatives will feel about my views — but this will not change my position. First of all, I need to complete this period of my life for myself — even if it happens that, unfortunately, no one else will know my story. It was extremely important for me to finally make these confessions.

I was born in Russia and have lived there for 23 years. I lived both in its regional center, in a village, and in the «second capital» of Russia. I did wage labor in Russia and I worked on my own business. And because of the latter, I was able to go to the United States.

I witnessed the formation of Putin’s regime from its «official» beginning in 2000 — everything back then was unfolding right in front of my eyes. I was never guided by the principle that «it has nothing to do with me» — I never agreed to exchange my freedom for artificial security. And even after the court hearings, I continued my political activism in Russia and attended peaceful protests — just in a secret mode for the police and for Navalny’s Headquarters.

That is why I am absolutely convinced that I have the right to share my opinion about what is happening in Russia — and that my opinion is valid and valuable.

I have never — absolutely never — in my life supported Putin’s regime or Vladimir Putin himself. At first, I was even genuinely surprised at how some people supported a man like him. And personally, I could see from the very beginning how much Putin trusts no one and hides his personal life, not even acknowledging his own children publicly, how much he stays away from his own fellow citizens, how much he uses demagoguery instead of clear answers to questions, how much he rejects other people’s points of view — and how many resentments and psychological complexes this human has inside of him.

Then, when I began to study Putin’s actual biography, his childhood and growing up, establishing the first relationships with his «buddies» at the «Ozero» cooperative and the «LLCInvest» company, relationships with ex-wife, job in Germany, work in Saint Petersburg, job in Moscow, how Putin became a president in general, and after studying a detailed psychological portrait of this KGB agent, it became much more clear to me why Putin is who he is. And when I began to study the methods of the government propaganda on the psychologically vulnerable population of the former Soviet Union, it also became much more clear to me why this man was getting his support in the first place and what this support was based on.

Russia’s position in the world today is primarily the result of the domestic and foreign policies of Putin’s regime and Vladimir Putin personally. Russia had simply unbelievable potential and tremendous influence in the international arena, which was built on the bones of the millions of lives given for our freedom in the 20th century. With Russia’s natural resources, it was possible to take this country to a whole new level, providing a worthy alternative to other countries. And finally, Russia had an incredibly huge human potential — including those who were willing to work for the benefit of their fellow citizens as well as for the benefit of people from around the world. Today, we have the opportunity to observe what Russia has left from all of that. We are witnessing a terrible disaster.

Of course, believing anything Vladimir Putin says after all that he has done in his life would be incredibly naive and stupid. This man is a liar who deserves absolutely no trust, because he will say anything if it’s beneficial to him. But nevertheless, let’s assume that he is truly convinced of what he is saying. Let’s take a few of the most popular examples of how he justifies his rule.

Time after time, year after year, Vladimir Putin talks about the unacceptability of the United States world domination. Well, this criticism of the modern American government’s ambitions is justified — it’s not just me and not just one country in the world that thinks so. And not because «the United States is bad, because it is the United States» — but because no government should have unlimited power: it is fatal for the whole humanity. But who among the powerful governments will listen to these arguments of Putin now, after Putin’s regime has built up a «diplomacy» and alliances like in the example of the conflict with Ukraine and most countries?

Time after time, year after year, Vladimir Putin talks about the United States intervention in Iraq that was based on lies, mentioning the fake vial of powder that was once presented by the U.S. as a «weapon of mass destruction» in Iraq. Well, you can not deny that — it’s not just me and not just one country in the world that remembers these lies. But how does Putin’s regime respond to this intervention? By its own intervention in Ukraine, by bringing total horror, by the broken lives of millions of families, by the destruction of cities and the deaths of astronomical number of people without providing any reasonable evidence of a possible «Ukrainian invasion» of a Russian territory?

Time after time, year after year, Vladimir Putin talks about how the countries of the West and Europe threaten Russia’s independence and prosperity. Well, this statement should not be taken lightly — Western and European governments, just like any other governments on Earth, do indeed pursue their interests in the first place by various means. But how does Putin’s regime respond to this? With its destructive foreign and domestic policy, which itself puts Russia on the path of disintegration and humiliating dependence on Western, European and (especially!) Asian governments — and at such speed that no «unfriendly countries» could even dream of?

Time after time, year after year, Vladimir Putin talks about the crisis of the Western institutions, Western monopolized media, the reduction of freedom of speech and the reduction of public rights and guarantees in the West. Once again, this criticism of the situation in the West can also be called justified, and I am not the only one in the world who thinks about this too. But what alternative has Putin’s regime created for the world? The current Russia on the threshold of its guaranteed demographic catastrophe and social catastrophe?

I can give much more of such examples to all of you. Right when the international community is finally becoming disappointed with the «safety» of American globalization that was promoted for over 20 years by various U.S. politicians and businessmen — right when it started to happen, the actions of the Putin regime and Vladimir Putin personally, as much as I wouldn’t like it to, are giving American globalism a second wind right now and justifying its existence for a huge number of people. Just like the accession of more of Russia’s neighboring countries to NATO.

If this president had any appreciation for Russian culture, he would realize how much the fate of his dictatorship echoes «The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish» written by Alexander Pushkin. If this president studied real history instead of admiring questionable philosophers, he would know what «splendid little wars» eventually lead to.

However, to focus all the attention on Putin and to declare this man an «absolute evil» just because «he is Vladimir Putin» is either a sign of an inability to analyze and draw conclusions from what has happened or a disgusting desire to deliberately misinform people.
You do not have to be a genius to simply call a dictator an evil — but it is much more important to examine his psychology in order to minimize the possibility of the next tyranny occurring in the future.

Putin was formed by the system and conditions in which he was born, with which he grew up, studied, and in which he made connections. This system, which he could not resist, eventually led him and his inner circle of subordinates first to power and then to the usurpation of that power. And Putin is not the first and not the last person who has been shaped by a similar environment. There were similar people before him — and these people, unfortunately, will continue to appear for an indefinite period of time after Putin.

Nevertheless, this human made his own choices in life — and it was him who eventually decided to merge with the repressive government machine into a single entity, leading to the destruction of both the roots of civil society in Russia and to the invasion of Ukraine and all the horrors that went along with it. The events in Ukraine showed especially clearly how disconnected Putin is from reality, how dependent he has become on his «sources of information», how dependent he has become on unrestricted power. All of that happened right after he made his personal choice to seize the desired throne with his own hands and feet. And there are no justifications for all of these choices that Vladimir Putin has made. Just like the people connected with these choices — there can be no justification for them either.

Both Putin and those connected with Putinism simply must bear full responsibility for the consequences of their choices to the whole world — according to the standards of an independent and open international court. The hope that these people will voluntarily repent of what they have done and are doing is simply the height of naivety. Their main values in life are endless enrichment and unlimited power. Their public life is based on doublethink, they are unbelievably cynical. Words, values, faith in ideals to them are just tools that they twist as they wish when it is to their personal advantage. They have invented a parallel reality and they forcibly convince anyone who disagrees to find it adequate and who doubts. The longer these people represent the Russian government, the more they want to become the new aristocrats, completely forgetting that they are just managers in the service of civil society. These people are psychologically ill.

Here are just 2 phrases said by Vladimir Putin himself. Just 2 phrases from 5 years ago — said in 2018:

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Especially — people willing to sell their souls for it. When the Soviet Union existed, current Russian politicians, businessmen close to the government, and propagandists were «true pioneers» and «communists». When the Soviet Union fell, these same people suddenly became critics of communism and «true liberals». When Putin began to concentrate more and more power in his hands, these same people suddenly became critics of liberalism and «true supporters» of their own «special Russian world» that only they «understand». They consider Europe and the West as «enemies» — but buy literal palaces and obtain permanent residence in those countries. They «advocate family values» — but have several mistresses who have «secret» children with them. They unconditionally accept the laws passed from above on mandatory mobilization and «electronic military subpoenas» — but set themselves and their family members immunity from any conscription in advance.

And guess what? When Putin’s regime finally falls, I am sure these same people will be among the first to swear at Putinism and personally Vladimir Putin using the dirtiest words, trying their best to convince us that «in reality», they have always supported the freedom of speech, democracy, and liberalism — supported anything needed, just so we can all «forgive» them once again. How many times should this disgusting scam happen before all of that finally becomes obvious? If we do not have open court trials, we are simply doomed to repeat what has happened and what is happening.

Vladimir Putin and those involved with him have already become forever inseparable from the actions they have taken. And these people, all their lives, and all their deeds will definitely go down in history, regardless of how they wanted to do it themselves. These people will never be able to hide or rewrite their deeds in the 21st century: all their secrets will sooner or later become available to the world. Our task as a society is to confront the obvious evil and to learn from what we have now as responsibly as possible, preventing a repeat of the horror that has not fully manifested itself yet. Because the Russian society, the governments of the European Union, and the governments of the West — the whole world is responsible in its proportions for the creation and establishment of Putin’s regime in Russia. And only by accepting this responsibility and joining forces, we can learn the lessons of what happened — together.

Now, talking about support for Putin’s regime and Vladimir Putin personally. I have lived both in the regional center of Russia, in one of villages, and in the «second capital» of the country — and I have communicated with an enormous amount of people with very different views from all these places, including both the most invisible people on the verge of poverty and the very famous and wealthy people whose names are constantly mentioned in social networks and in the media. The «absolute support from the population» that propaganda on either side tries to promote does not exist – do not let them fool you. And the sociological surveys in the wartime Russia reflect the real situation even less — those who try to convince you otherwise do so either as fools or as scums.

Are there people who only care about their own comfort and who are not interested in the consequences of Russia’s war with Ukraine at all? Those who follow the war like some kind of a «reality show»? Yes, these people exist. Are there those who lose their humanity day by day, justifying and approving the deaths of Ukrainians and Russians? To my grief, these people exist too. But once again — there is no «absolute support». More than that, no one even knows how many people in Russia support this war and in what proportions. People are very frightened to share their true opinion, — even over the phone — and I can understand them: I know what representatives of Putin’s regime are capable of very well. I remember myself escaping persecution by a vengeful repressive machine in 2019 and having to leave my former life in Russia — all alone. And I remember the eyes of my fellow citizens escaping the insane bloodthirsty system in 2022 with a single suitcase or a backpack.

Audiences of propaganda channels usually receive a picture of the most disgusting conformists eager to sell themselves for 30 pieces of silver, simply people with mental disorders, and the most psychologically vulnerable and misinformed average citizens. But these people do not define «the whole Russia» by any means. People’s «visible» silence does not equal their real silence. Nor does it mean their support of the horror in Russia. Nor does it mean their indifference to the horror in Ukraine. The regime in Russia cannot be replaced with «a simple desire» — and the Euromaidan example is not appropriate here, because the political situation in Russia and Ukraine was very different in 2014 already. Are you sure you know what even the peaceful protests participants risk in today’s Russia? What is going on in the territories unrecognized by international law, controlled by the henchmen of Putinism? Are you sure you know what every person in Russia, who remains «visibly» silent, experiences? Have you ever lived in a state where fundamental (literally!) rights and freedoms are taken away from a person? Where a person is forcibly sent to a literal death and treated like a powerless slave?

I have never — absolutely never — in my life sympathized with representatives of Putin’s regime. I have never been sympathetic to their views. Over time, this antipathy transformed into a complete dislike, which only multiplied after I was persecuted by Russian government services and forced to stay in the United States after a summer student trip.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the point of no return in my perception of Putinism, its representatives, and Vladimir Putin himself. Their actions, their words, their «legacy» disgust me — and I make an effort not to turn this disgust into blind hatred: I do not want to be like these people, who are losing their humanity more and more every day.

If the Last Judgment exists, these people will not be able to escape it. No amount of money and no amount of power will help them.

I do not feel «blind love» for Russia — or any other country. The fact that I was randomly born in Russia in 1996 is not some kind of an achievement or punishment.
I just realize the incredible importance of this country — its influence, its culture, its very complicated history, and all the social experiments that have taken place on its territory. The incredible importance for humanity as a whole. And I deeply care about my peaceful fellow citizens who were forced or made the decision to stay in Russia.

I do not support the isolation of peaceful citizens of Russia for so-called «safety» for the rest of the «civilized world». I am not going to support accusations of the «collective Russian guilt» and discrimination on the basis of nationality: I haven’t polished benches for 26 years, so I understand what this idiotic nonsense may transform into in the end.

No one forced me to fight against anti-Ukrainian propaganda since 2014. No one forced me to be in opposition to the annexation of Crimea and the creation of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic. No one forced me to help peaceful Ukrainian refugees in the United States after start of Russian invasion of Ukraine. I did it all for free. I did it because I have always been against the cannibalistic acceptance of Ukrainian deaths.

No one forced me to create and distribute journalistic materials to help peaceful protesters in Belarus since 2020. No one forced me to help peaceful Belarusian refugees in the United States after the repression of Lukashenko’s dictatorial regime. I did all of this for free. I did it because I have always been against the cannibalistic acceptance of bullying and torture of Belarusian political activists and prisoners.

And so, when help is needed for my compatriots from Russia, I have helped, I am helping, and I will help them as well. Even if it has become convenient to turn away from Russians, to accuse them of «collective guilt» with «slavery», and to try to isolate them from the «outside world» by foolishly or deliberately mixing ordinary Russians and Putin’s establishment. I have always been, I am, and I will always be against the cannibalistic acceptance of abuse, torture, and death of my fellow citizens.

And I am convinced that once again, the truth will be on my side.

If we allow scumbags and fools to isolate and degrade Russians on the basis of «collective guilt» and nationality, if we abandon the mobilized ones and prisoners, who return from battlefields, without any psychological help — radicals will definitely take advantage of this. And then, Hitler will be able to come to power after Putin.

I advocate a full integration of Russian peaceful citizens into the international community as soon as possible after the end of Putin’s regime: it is necessary, even if you are only interested in your own security or in security of your own country. The experience of the 20th century guarantees that.

An «average» Russian exists in an unhealthy and violent psychological environment since birth. I have experienced enough during school lessons, during police interrogations, and during fights with the Russian bureaucracy in my first 23 years in Russia, and I know what I am talking about. The government forcibly instills learned helplessness, a sense of humiliation, a denial of self-respect, and dignity for generations. Generations! The educational system, the police system, the justice system, the enormous bureaucratic machine, the army, the inhumane prison system — these structures are built on dominoes of humiliation, force, and suppression. And all this repressed humiliation, once experienced by a person, remains in subconsciousness for life. A person gets rid of this humiliation either by visiting hours-long psychotherapy sessions (which in Russia is very rare and mainly practiced only by the generations of the «Internet era»), or by working on themselves «against all odds», or by transferring the humiliation further, subconsciously trying to take it out on weaker people.

Some people, because of their unsettled and full of tragedies personal life, begin to project themselves onto the government, so that they can have at least something to be proud of — even if their image of the government consists of contradictions and lies. Many people of old age miss the «great empire» — when in reality, they miss their youth and more predictable, understandable lives. Some simply do not know the difference between Russia as a country and the «managers» of that country — politicians of the Russian government. Some get the Stockholm syndrome and begin to justify the sadism of their own oppressors. Some people are extremely lonely and feel like no one needs them except the government, which «takes care of them and brings them a pension». Some have never passed infantilism, and the government uses it very effectively while telling them «what to think and how to live».

Did I mention all the reasons and examples? Of course not. But even they explain a lot — and much better than the «statements» of adults with the teenage psychological development.

Russians are just as ordinary people as anyone else. Psychology of people born in Russia does not differ from the psychology of others. Peaceful Russians, who need help and support, should not be bullied — it is necessary to support their desire for responsibility and independence, perceive them as equals, and give positive reinforcement to their efforts.

Of course, you may object now and ask me: «Then who wrote millions of accusations during Stalin’s tyranny? Who snitches on their teachers and their students in the current Putin’s tyranny? And all the horrors going on in Ukraine? You think everything happens by itself?»

But I think about this every day myself as well. During Stalin’s tyranny in the 20th century, accusations were written by members of Soviet people. In the 21st century, accusations are written by members of Russian people. Both the desire of the government to destroy, classify, and fake archive documents, as well as the desire of the government to free all of those involved from responsibility for the crimes committed — all of that has led to the society which has not learned its lessons from the horrors of the 20th century and which is repeating them again. We simply must declassify and make all the archived documents, which the government wants to hide from public, and fundamentally change our attitude toward our own historical heritage. We simply must hold all those involved in the crimes as fully accountable for both their speeches and their actions, including the events of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We simply must prosecute criminals and murderers according to all independent, open, international standards. No one should get away from this accountability.

At the same time, Soviet and Russian people as such are not criminals and not bad people. There can be no collective guilt on the basis of nationality here. It is very important to understand that and to not let ourselves get fooled by it. Both the representatives of the Soviet and Putin regimes and those who support them for their own reasons — all these people were not born with that. The «Soviet» and «Putin’s» dictatorships are not connected only with the 20th century Soviet Union and the 21st century Russia. It can happen in any country and to any citizens — be it American citizens or Canadian citizens. After all, even the United States and Canada are not the standards of freedom because of their enormous corrupted governments that use radical right and radical left for increasing their own power. And yes, both the United States and Canada can become countries with the «Soviet» or «Putin’s» regimes. Even such changes are a matter of conditions and time.

Or the examples of the transformations of Canada and the U.S. are not convincing enough? No problem — for the sake of interest, I will even limit myself to the 20th century and mention only the most famous dictators:

Germany — dictator Adolf Hitler. Was in power for over 12 years (from 1933 until his death in 1945).
Italy — dictator Benito Mussolini. Was in power for over 20 years (from 1922 to 1943).
North Korea — dictator Kim Il Sung. Was in power for 46 years (from the creation of North Korea in 1948 until his death in 1994).
Chile — dictator Augusto Pinochet. He was in power for 16 years (from 1973 to 1990).
Myanmar — dictator Than Shwe. In power for 19 years (from 1992 to 2011).
Spain — dictator Francisco Franco. Was in power for over 36 years (from 1939 until his death on November 20, 1975).
Indonesia — dictator Haji Mohammed Suharto. Was in power for 31 years (from 1967 to 1998).
Iraq — dictator Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein was in power for 24 years (1979-2003).
Albania — dictator Enver Hoxha. He was in power for 41 years (from 1944 to 1985).
Ethiopia — dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam. He was in power for more than 16 years (from 1947 to 1991).
Yugoslavia — dictator Josip Broz Tito. Was in power for 35 years (from 1945 until his death in 1980).
Sudan — dictator Omar al-Bashir. Was in power for more than 30 years (from 1989 to 2019).
Zimbabwe — dictator Robert Mugabe. Was in power for more than 37 years (from 1980 to 2017).
Romania — dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Was in power for more than 24 years (from 1965 to 1989).

So, does it mean Germans, Italians, and Spaniards are also «criminals», are also «bad people», are also born with a «slave mentality»? What about nationality, time of birth, and skin color — do we get them by one of gods «for good deeds»? And in Korea, I guess, «slave energy» comes from under the ground in the north while «free energy» comes in the south, right?
Or maybe none of this matters, and Russians are «orcs» because Russia has different laws of physics existing on its territory with «Russian genes of slavery» flying through the air since the Mongol invasion — without entering the borders of the «freest» countries, of course? Or what?..

Exactly. That’s what I thought.

Egocentric scumbags and fools, who often don’t even lift a finger to change things in real life, will never be satisfied. They will always find someone to blame for «slavery». Russians will be «guilty» for «choosing to be born in Mordor» and for not going against the Kremlin with bare hands right after being born. Belarusians will be «guilty» for not being able to all come to Minsk at the same time to overthrow the dictator Lukashenko with wooden sticks. Even Afghans will be «guilty» of failing to stop the «Taliban». Even Americans will be «guilty» of failing to stop the 9/11 terrorism in New York.
Egocentric scumbags and fools will give the «slave» status to everyone — except themselves, of course. The «bravest», the «most moral», and the «freest». Actual help for their neighbors and fellow citizens in need is not really important for them: they truly care about appearing «good» for themselves and for their imaginary «subscribers» on social networks.

I have seen enough of this even both in Philadelphia and in New York City — and what’s interesting, exclusively among immigrants from the post-Soviet states. People who were looking for opportunities to pay for fictive cases for political asylum and who started to get pregnant in a hurry to get the U.S. citizenship had told me enough times to «Get out of America and go back to Russia». Enough times people refused to continue communicating with me and getting to know me just because I was born in Russia — literally because of that reason. So I know very well what I am talking about here.

I am not interested in whitewashing the mistakes of the population of Russia and the Soviet Union. It is important for me to understand the reasons for these mistakes and to share them with others, so that future generations do not go through what we have gone through and are going through.

Russian citizens are my fellow citizens. And I would sincerely want to ease the conditions of my fellow citizens, who are forced to leave their families, their homes, and their stable future in a hurry to escape the Russian government – in order to not to kill or be killed.

I have no moral right to urge my fellow citizens to participate in anything on a Russian territory, as I currently reside abroad myself, but I have a sincere deep respect for the people who participate in peaceful rallies, protests, and public speeches against the tyranny of Putin’s regime. I would sincerely want to ease the conditions for Alexei Navalnyi, Ilya Yashin, Yevgeniy Roizman, Sasha Skochilenko from Saint Petersburg, Masha Moskaleva in the Tula region, and for all the other peaceful political prisoners with any peaceful political views who are feared and hated by the current Russian authorities.

I am sincerely grateful to all the peaceful civil organizations that help the victims of the people who got insane from their power. And I sincerely pity the elderly, children, and adults in Russia, whose lives are guaranteed to get worse and worse, worse and worse, worse and worse — as long as Putin’s regime represents the Russian government.

I have never disassociated myself from my Russian fellow citizens and I have no intention of disassociating myself from them. I am convinced that it is Russian society that will have the greatest opportunity and the greatest responsibility to get rid of consequences of Putinism in Russia.

No one knows when the usurpation of Putin’s regime will fall — in a year, two years, ten years, decades. But in reality, this dictatorship has already lost. It has already lost at the stage of its creation — because it has lost to time itself. To a desire to live.

So when Putin’s regime stops representing the Russian government, I will certainly visit Russia — I will visit my home city Samara, my very important Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, and other cities of my homeland. I will definitely use my experience from living in the United States and from visiting other countries to help Russian civil society. And I will definitely talk with my fellow citizens with all sorts of peaceful views at the same table and under the same roof – in peace.

Now, you know who I am – and you know this part of my life. I sincerely hope that all of that has helped you to better understand me as a person, me as a representative of Russian people, me as a Russian American — and how we got to all of that in the first place. And if my story has made you think, then it was not useless at all. And whatever happens, happens.

Україна буде вільною. Беларусь будзе вольнай. Моя Родина — Россия — будет свободной.

Why Do I Publish «What Happened To Russia» Right Now?

«What Happened To Russia — And What To Do With It» is one of the most important publications of my first 26 years of life. Its text, links, and a video were ready long before June 25, 2023 — but I promised myself that I will make this work public right after the beginning of extraordinary events in Russian domestic politics. As extraordinary as the Russian invasion of Ukraine (on February 24, 2022) was for Russian foreign politics.

When Yevgeniy Prigozhin — the founder of PMC «Wagner» — released his new video on June 23, I started waiting for a response from the Russian state with great interest. I have never sympathized with Prigozhin, I have never trusted his words — but by being uniquely close person to Putin, he said extremely uncomfortable things for Putin’s regime in that video, a huge part of which is true. Things that everyone close to the Kremlin knows and guesses, but that none of them dares to say out loud.

After that, on the evening of the same day, Yevgeniy Prigozhin started a military turmoil, and I realized that the extraordinary event I was expecting had started. Attempts to form social unrest and turmoil in Russia were only a matter of time for me, given the disastrous results of Putin regime’s war with Ukraine and the state’s attempts to put the «genie» it had released back into the bottle — but I certainly did not anticipate that the turmoil will unfold only by Prigozhin, in this format, and at this time. I followed this event from its start to finish, updating the major news feeds every 15 minutes — just like I did during the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After two days of continuously tracking events, I fell asleep for 15 hours shortly after they were over and right after finishing to write this text.

So, what do we have as a result of Yevgeniy Prigozhin’s turmoil, which went almost without losses (on the country scale) and for the most part was fueled by voice messages (!) on a messenger?

The lies and lawlessness of the Putin regime have exceeded all bounds of adequacy. It is precisely the ability to inflict violence and the power of coercion that allow dictators to maintain the legitimacy of their rule. But as soon as a dictator demonstrates weakness, more and more people begin to see that the king is, in fact, naked.

Prigozhin seriously mocked the artificial image of an «indestructible» Russian state and showed that this state’s monopoly on violence no longer exists even within Russia itself.

The owners of the remaining PMCs and criminal associations in Russia have seen what a window of opportunity exists for their own turmoils when it is profitable for them to start these turmoils under a weakened state. And how easily, how lightning-quickly the power and propaganda apparatuses can «forgive» the owners of PMCs and criminal associations all their deeds, if only these people behave confidently enough with the representatives of the regime, while peaceful civilians get real prison sentences for a simple piece of paper on the street. Literally.
I am absolutely convinced that Ramzan Kadyrov watched the events of June 23 and 24 very closely. Very closely.

The governments of other countries have seen how much Putin’s regime is wary of the small (compared to the army and the security apparatus) private military. Who among Putin’s politicians and propagandists are ready to make a choice in favor of their boss, and at what speed, under the slightly unobvious balance of power. How vulnerable this regime is to a more serious opponent on its own territory. And to what extent Vladimir Putin disappears from view even when the most dangerous events for the preservation of his rule arise, prompting him to solve his problems using the hands of other people and even the presidents of other countries.

A significant number of «ordinary people», whom the majority of the Russian opposition did not even try to talk to and drag to their side (as they have been busy with their hypocrisy, egoism, narcissism, and detachment from reality for the last 1.5 years), ended up meeting and walking «Wagner» and Prigozhin out in Rostov-on-Don like heroes, which is a serious potential threat to the stability of the dilapidated authority.

The history of the modern Russian government has already divided into «before» and «after» — just as it did on the day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A historical event has happened, which has not yet exhausted itself at all — and this event will have direct consequences. Those who «authoritatively» declare that everything is over because Prigozhin negotiated with Putin via Lukashenko have no idea what events will await us after this. Even if Yevgeniy Prigozhin himself, for one reason or another, ceases to exist after the agreement is made, as it happened with Wat Tyler’s Rebellion in England in 1381.

That is why I published «What Happened To Russia» — not six months ago, not a few months ago, but today. And this is the best time to share it with you.

🇷🇺 РУССКОЯЗЫЧНАЯ ВЕРСИЯ | 🇷🇺 RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE VERSION

References

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An image of the Moscow city (Russia) is licensed under public domain.