“Crimea is not ours”: A full video of the statement of the candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has appeared
Finally, the full version of the statement of State Duma deputy candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Nikolai Bondarenko about Crimea has appeared on the Internet. In July, a short video circulated on the Internet in which a Samara communist refuses to say “Crimea is ours.” Bondarenko then stated that his words were taken out of context. Now you can hear his entire passage, and it sounds even more outrageous.
“Do you want me to say: “Crimea is ours?” No, I won't say. Jingoism is a terrible weapon that the government uses to distract people from social problems. There is no patriotism.
When Crimea was annexed, I was sincerely scared, because I understood: the authorities would make a terrible propaganda bomb out of this and drive many people crazy. Indeed, this is what happened. People shouted, filled with this pseudo-patriotism: “Crimea is ours! Now we will live!” But in the end nothing changed. It only got worse. Not only for us, but also for the residents of Crimea itself, where the hands of the oligarchs reached in to profit. Unfortunately, I didn’t see anything new there,” Bondarenko said.
His statements found a lively response in Ukraine. For some reason, they regarded them as a reaction to the so-called “Crimean Platform” - an international anti-Russian event that took place in Kyiv in August on the initiative of President Vladimir Zelensky.
Verkhovna Rada deputies from different factions spoke out in support of Bondarenko. The representative of the European Solidarity party, the former head of the Institute of National Memory, Vladimir Vyatrovich, considers it necessary to give Ukrainian citizenship to Bondarenko and other Russian politicians who are against the annexation of Crimea.
“We need to protect those people who suffer because they demand to preserve the integrity of Ukraine. Everyone who supported the Crimean Platform must be protected. This is a new format - and it needs to be continued. But at the same time, you need to be prepared for drastic actions from the Russian Federation. This must be made unacceptable for participants in the Crimean platform to be arrested or detained. This should cause a reaction from the Crimean platform to such actions on the part of the Russian Federation,” Vyatrovich told the Ukrainian website Obozrevatel.
“Here there is deputy Bondarenko, here there is a passionary who openly declares like this. I believe that everything is fine with his brain, and that is why he speaks so openly. I believe that there are many such deputies, but they are afraid to speak. Politicians who oppose the Kremlin’s policies, at a minimum, need to be given shelter and protection. But if we accepted a person as a political refugee, then we must give him protection. He may be persecuted,” worries the people’s deputy from the Doverie group, Sergei Shakhov.
“Nikolai Bondarenko is a generally brave deputy. And it is important that these people have their own representation in the regional Duma. And what’s even more important is that these people are not afraid to talk about it there and voice their support for Ukraine. Of course, when there is a loud opposition voice inside Russia in support of Ukrainian sovereignty, this strengthens our chances of returning Crimea,” said Alexander Gorenyuk, MP of the Servant of the People faction.
“We must support any politicians of any orientation who oppose the current Russian regime, which started a war with us. We had to act. Therefore, whether it is a communist, a fascist, or anyone else, it makes no difference to me, if he undermines the power of the country from within, then we are obliged to support it,” said former Azov militant and deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Igor Mosiychuk.
Small businessman Nikolai Bondarenko gained fame thanks to his YouTube channel, in which he imitated criminal blogger Alexei Navalny. He took an active part in winter rallies in support of his idol, for which he was prosecuted.
Bondarenko actively visits nightclubs, as is fashionable among the leaders of the non-systemic opposition, trying to please young people. He creates scandals on camera, either attacking the head of the Central Election Commission Ella Pamfilova, or disrupting a meeting of the candidate from United Russia.
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