Russian opposition leader Nikolai Ribakov sees the invasion of Ukraine, more than a decision by President Vladimir Putin, as the result of a pro-Kremlin “system” that accepts war and even, since the conflict in Chechnya, civilian targets.
In an interview with Lusa in Moscow, Ribakov countered that it was only Putin’s decisions that led to the invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year, pointing to “the way state power has developed over the years.”
“It was this system that led to the outbreak of war,” says Ribakov.
“Already in the Chechen war, the army was deployed against the peaceful population. In both the first and second Chechen wars, the regime presented the use of weapons against civilian targets as acceptable in the war,” he told Lusa.
Ribakov points out that today “all parties vote in the same way, both in the Lower House and the Upper House” of parliament, and the media also “occupy the same political space and support Putin with more or less aggressiveness”.
The judiciary, especially after the changes to the constitution, “relies entirely on power,” he insists.
For the leader of Yabloko, there had been signs “for a long time” that an invasion might take place and the party had been warning of the possibility for years.
“Yabloko loudly warned back in 2014 about the danger of the political trends of the time. One of our directives was to prevent what happened on February 24 last year. As people, we hoped it wouldn’t happen; as politicians, we pointed at risk,” he told Lusa.
Ribakov emphasizes that already in the summer of 2021, Putin published an article on the Kremlin website, reproduced by several newspapers, in which he questioned the “history and state of Ukraine”, but “no one paid attention to it, neither in Russia , nor abroad”.
“The horror of the situation stems from the fact that nobody pays attention to what Putin says between the lines. We said to the voters: look, Putin’s party is facing elections with a list headed by the defense and foreign ministers business What else “Is it necessary for them to understand? Putin does not speak clearly, but he knows how to make his plans and intentions clear,” he emphasizes.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 8.1 million to European countries -, according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
At least 18 million Ukrainians currently need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million people need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 8,173 civilian deaths and 13,620 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are well below the real ones.
Politicians from Russia’s only anti-Putin party face murder and persecution
Russia’s Yabloko party, which currently claims to be the only one to reject President Vladimir Putin, will continue to oppose it, despite its leaders being targets of criminal proceedings and even assassinations.
In an interview with Lusa, Yabloko’s leader since 2019, Nikolai Ribakov, said that the “pressure” on the party is “being pushed to the limit”, with six leaders “killed for their political activity” in three administrative regions – Kamchatka, Yakutia and Khakassia – in recent years.
Three other leaders are being charged in court with “discrediting” the Russian military. Ukraine one year.
On the day of the interview with Lusa, a State Duma deputy accused Yabloko of extremism before the Justice Ministry. The reason for the accusation is the Peace Plan that the party presented in 2017.
“Unfortunately, five years after the release of that document, a deputy whom no one knows decided to draw attention to himself. But if our plan had been approved at the time, many, many deaths would have been avoided,” he said. Lusa.
“It is true that we work under pressure, which is nothing new for us, who have been working in this environment for 30 years,” he added.
At the same time, Ribakov said, the party’s pages on social networks are blocked when government policies are criticized, severely limiting the party’s communication with the population.
Despite the “pressure”, Ribakov believes that in the 2026 legislature, Yabloko will achieve “real representation in the State Duma”, Russia’s parliament, something it currently lacks.
“It’s hard to plan for three years, but I’m optimistic,” he told Lusa.
The party is already preparing electoral lists as it targets next year’s presidential election.
“As a party, we had understood that well in advance [as eleições] they are not serious, neither free nor democratic. (…) But we will continue to participate and we will not give up, as it is our duty to voters to make them aware of a unique political platform, very different from the existing ones,” he continued.
“As a joke, we usually say that in Russia there are two parties: Putin’s, which includes all others, and ours, Yabloko,” said the opposition leader.
With all political formations with a seat in the Duma behind Putin, Yabloko is the only one who does not support the president.
“We know that there are only two ways to change power: through elections or through revolution. However, we are firmly against this second way, because we still remember what led to the history of our country,” he told Lusa in a reference to the bloody coups of the last century.
Yabloko has no representation in the State Duma, although it has elected 11 deputies to regional legislative assemblies (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Karelia and Pskov).
Putin’s United Russia party has an absolute majority in the Duma – 326 seats – far ahead of the Communist Party, which has 57 seats.
When asked about the role of the Communist Party, Ribakov has no doubt that he has become an ally of Putin.
“Not I say it, but Putin himself, who long ago declared that the communists were his greatest allies in the ‘special operation’,” the Kremlin’s designation for the invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
Stopping the ‘special operation’ is now Yabloko’s main goal, because without it “society is increasingly perishing”.
Yabloko maintains contacts with Russian diplomacy, with the Ministry of Defense, with the person responsible for Human Rights, namely to release prisoners of war, in some cases successfully.
Ribakov warns of “separation from Europe” and “restoration of Stalinist methods”
The leader of Russia’s Yabloko Party (opposition), Nikolai Ribakov, in an interview with Lusa, warned of trends in the country of “separation from Europe” and “restoration of Stalinist and Bolshevik methods”.
“The policy of [Vladimir] Putin [Presidente russo] has dragged society so far that, even when we become aware of a positive achievement, we consider it insignificant, with no impact on the overall picture,” Ribakov said in an interview with Lusa.
“The general trends in Russia, affecting all branches of life, are directed towards separation from Europe, from the Western world, towards repressive means against the citizens, towards the restoration of Stalinist and Bolshevik methods… We see that this path of the country’s development is wrong and leads to the deterioration of both society and economy,” he said.
For Ribakov, a modern society “cannot evolve if it is isolated from the rest of the world”, which “leads to the departure of many young people from the country, the part of society that is able to build the future “.
The fact that the country is “going back in time”, he concedes, means that the party’s own proposals, which include expanding access to gas or housing, alongside pedagogical innovations, go in the opposite direction.
An example of Russian “separation” from Europe, he says, is teaching, questioning Russia’s participation in the Bologna process, which could mean that degrees from Russian universities abroad are no longer recognized.
“As if they didn’t want foreign students to come here to study and leave with prestigious degrees all over the world. I mean, we’re going back to the existing system in the Soviet Union. Therefore, young people who graduate in Russia will know that they not be able to use knowledge in other countries,” he told Lusa.
“The idea of doing as before is implanted. Our leaders insist that it will succeed, which is false. The world is evolving at great speed and we will remain on the sidelines. You cannot make progress by opening internet pages blocking or blocking social rights it is basically about isolating citizens from information this will not lead to any positive change as the exodus of our young people shows the authorities are facing this flight arguing that only those that remain are needed. It is a way of treating the citizens of our own country,” he said.
Born 44 years ago in St. Petersburg, Ribakov is an economist by training, but also “politician, educator, ecologist, human rights defender and painter”.
Between 2010 and 2015 he was editor-in-chief of the electronic edition of the opposition-oriented newspaper Bellona.
Yabloko’s leader told Lusa that he will run for president of the party and that it will run for president even “recognizing that elections in Russia are not happening like in Portugal”.
“Elections are not just about counting votes, but about what happens during six years, the time in between. If citizens are deprived of all information, there will be no vote count that reflects what they really want and think”, beforehand.
“Even if Putin goes down in history, the return to normality would not be quick: it would take a long time to change the system, to restore normal relations with other countries. For now, the interests of the citizens are subject to the interests of the state.” Ribakov accuses.
Source: DN
