Friday, October 4, 2024

Through Sasha Mitrofanov’s Eyes: Dreams of Russia’s Future and Today’s Realities

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Alan Binder
Alan Binder
"Alcohol scholar. Twitter lover. Zombieaholic. Hipster-friendly coffee fanatic."

I will try to identify the main directions of similar ideas about Russia in the near future. And I will exclude an otherwise important element from these considerations, which is the presence or absence of Vladimir Putin.

At the outset, it must be said that the system itself did not provide any insight. It generally and vaguely promotes the Great Russian Empire, which plays a decisive role in the world, but does not offer specific features, except for the liquidation of Ukraine. The population should be content with threats that if Russia does not like the arrangement of conditions on Earth, it will physically destroy this failed planet. This is repeated at the highest level in the Kremlin.

Even the so-called future Russia, which is Alexei Navalny’s credo, is not more realistic. Moreover, the pillars of the PRB change over time, and while the corresponding written program exists somewhere, the Russian audience basically does not know anything about it.

Not only does Navalny’s group cooperate with other Russian opposition factions in exile. These factions meet regularly, there is a lot of talk, but only the approach of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Garry Kasparov is more or less developed, which is based on the assumption of power by the democrats and gradually, with many concessions, the building of a parliamentary democracy. However, it is not clear why and how these politicians came to power in Russia when they have no political base there.

Then there is the odd but impressive source who presents himself as a “general in the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service” with the legend that he is a man who once worked closely with Putin, but later changed his mindset and became passionate about democracy in Russia. This person, who from unknown places identifies himself as Viktor Mikhailovich, is very active on social networks and has visual tentacles. One is former Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) professor Valery Solovey and the other is former KGB illegal in France, Sergey Zhirnov.

Solovyov and “General Viktor Mikhailovich” have been constantly exchanging inside information allegedly from Putin’s inner circle, and more recently they have assured their listeners that they will rule the country before long. Who, however, is not clear. Solovyov ends each YouTube speech with a Stalinist exclamation: Victory will be ours!

But for now, Vladimir Putin and his people rule.

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