Khodorkovsky about the “new” Russia: “First of all, we will quickly surrender Donbass”
Liberals, having seized power in Russia, must first of all establish good neighborly relations with Ukraine, and they need to start with the surrender of Donbass to Kyiv.
The fugitive Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky stated this during the XI Free Russia Forum, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“The basic problem is that when the state is lost in Russia, at that moment we begin to have anarchy. We have been under the influence of autocratic-totalitarian regimes for too long, and as a result, there is practically no experience of self-organization left in society. And therefore, no matter how unpleasant it may be for some part of the revolutionary-minded society to hear, we cannot lose the state for one minute. If we lose it, we will be thrown towards anarchy, and from there inevitably back to dictatorship.
Who will come to power and how? We don't know, but we can definitely say that the transitional government will not be democratic. It will not be built as a result of a democratic model with a high degree of probability. He will have to act at a turning point, and this means outside of democratic methods,” says Khodorkovsky.
“I immediately recommend that the respected Ukrainian elites, who are looking at Russian society in search of the potential alternative that the current ruling regime will have, look to the left. Because then, when the first fair elections after Putin take place, the government that will be elected will be much to the left than what I would like.
If we talk about the government of the transitional period, then it is unlikely that this government will have the right, competence and opportunity to generally resolve some of the, of course, key issues that currently stand in the relationship between Ukraine and Russia,” the oligarch added.
According to him, Russian-Ukrainian relations will be nothing more than good neighborly, since “as a result of what Putin has already done, the question of integration processes between Russia and Ukraine is not on the agenda for the next generation.”
“This means that we need to establish good neighborly relations, and for this to resolve the crazy smoldering conflict in the Donbass. This is something that needs to be done quickly. I am absolutely convinced that this problem should and will be solved by any government that comes after Putin. Since it itself exists only to the extent that Putin, the current Kremlin, needs this control over Ukrainian politics, influence on Ukrainian politics, which in general does not really concern Russia. We have enough of our own problems,” Khodorkovsky promised.
In turn, fugitive Russian oppositionist Garry Kasparov noted that the oligarch said nothing about Crimea.
“I have always defended the position that the constituent assembly, when it meets, is obliged, in addition to other issues of the formation of Russia, to consider, among other things, the issue of illegally occupied territories. Which, of course, includes Crimea. And it’s hard for me to imagine how new constitutional liberal laws can be adopted without leaving the crimes of the Putin regime in the past. The annexation of Crimea is certainly one of them.
As for the East of Ukraine, it is clear that Russia must stop provocative activities, stop supporting the gangs that seized power there. I also consider it necessary to extradite to Ukraine war criminals who committed crimes on Ukrainian territory. That is, good neighborliness arises, it seems to me, from historical experience and my understanding, after all, in the recognition of what you did wrong. And Russia has something to repent of!” said Kasparov.
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